I've been talking to other nursing students and nursing majors in my school and on this website and I'm hearing a lot of complaints about the job market and here is my issue.
What I don't understand (this may not apply to you) but nursing majors seem to have this thing in their heads that if they just take the NCLEX and then pass then they should have tons jobs just waiting for them when they graduate or that they should be hired on the spot simply because you did what you were supposed to do to get a piece of paper that said your a nurse now. As nursing majors we need to start thinking a little more like the business majors out there. You ask a graduating business major how the job market would look for them if they hadn't don't some sort of internship before they graduate and you will find that it looks pretty bleak. So why do we as nursing majors think that we don't have to do anything extra before we graduate to help ensure that we have jobs when we need them? I mean sure, you will find business majors who graduated without doing an internship and those are the people who are going to have the hardest time finding jobs but the business majors who have gone out and done an internship in addition to their normal classwork are the ones who are going to have the easiest time in the job market. Nursing majors and future nurses, before you graduate find an internship or someway you can get hands on experience because as the job market gets more competitive its going to get harder to find a job and without that bit of experience to help set you apart then you are going to be struggling for a job. No clinicals do not count as an internship or doing that "extra" you need to set you apart. Just look at the positions that have 10 new grad nurses fighting for one spot, each new grad may have a GPA that are within .05 - .1 of the next applicant. So how does the hiring manager decide which nurse to hire? I can tell you that your GPA and personality may not be enough to get you a job, because most of the other applicants will have a high GPA like you and be just as eager to work as you are. So you need to have some sort of experience to help you stand out. If you can't find a formal internship then you should look into becoming a CNA or a SNA (Student Nurse Associate or something similar) to help you get some hands on experience, this work might not be glamorous or anything but you will be around nurses and learn more about what they do just by being in that setting.
Well, I remember being back in nursing 101 and them telling us that at job fairs you'll have employers pretty much fighting over you. Not so much, now. I will be graduating in May and getting an internship position is a little unrealistic for me--- Because mom and dad didn't pay for school (not assuming they did for anyone else, just saying my situation) and I live on my own 400 miles away from them and need a full time job to support me. Working 40+ hours a week on top of going to school full time and having 16-24 clinical hours/week... it'll be a little tough to fit an internship in there. And since a lot of hospitals around here were on a hiring freeze, it was a little tough to try and get a CNA position [especially when they pay less than my current job.] My class is just starting to see now how tough it'll be out there because we were told up until last semester that we'd be fine. I know not a lot separtes me from other grads, but the only thing I really have to go on is the fact that I'm a supervisor at a retail pharmacy (so some management experience) and was able to maintain a high GPA while balancing full time work and full time school. I know most of my class doesn't work, but that probably won't be enough as far as getting a job goes. It's unrealistic to assume that all nursing students should be doing internships and all when some of us have absolutely zero time to do so. School + Work has kept me at a steady 75 hours a week and I feel like I have nothing to show for it.
Sorry, this isn't directed really at anyone. I'm just frustrated trying to apply for jobs and worried that I can't get one. Then having to listen to the whole "well, you shoulda done blah blah blah" is just the topper. Luckily I have worked to get rid of debt but I'm tired of living paycheck to paycheck.
I have to agree and disagree. I am a struggling new grad from May 09, and I do see your point that nursing is no different from business. It is still competitive. I guess the keyword here is EXPECTATIONS. We all had high expectations for ourselves, and those expectations were let down. what if we had no expectations coming out from school? that usually it will take at least 6 months to land a decent job. What if we knew that finding a job was just as hard as a business major.. we be sure to do more than we were required back in school. I agree some people didn't have the resource to actually do unpaid internships or juggle 3 jobs at once.. but there are ways to make yourself stand out that might only require 2 hours a week.. or even less. you just gotta think outside the box. even with a little bit more, you can stand out over other new grads. 7 months out and now i finally decided to think outside the box and doing more to stand out.
let me share with you new grads a little secret. your professors are huge resources. in any way possible.. if they have a research project, i would volunteer and be part of it. if theres a committee, i would be on the board of the committee, if theres an organization, i would participate in running it. if theres an opportunity to teach students grades below you, i'd do it. and now you can stand out from the rest. trying to do more than the bar, makes you stand out and get hired.
I admit I am guilty of having high expectations and didn't put myself out there enough while i was back in school, assuming that nursing jobs were in high demand. However, I agree with some people here that we were spoon fed information that was false assurance! via media, teachers, community. Call me silly but half of our class weren't even aware of the new grad struggles when we graduated. some old fashion teachers even said we dont even need these new grad programs. To the professors/students: be adaptive and learn how to adjust to the poor economy and focus on standing out. Never have expectations.. because if you expected jobs to be handed out like candy, sure you'd be disappointed. to the new students reading this, we are valuable resources to learn information from. i wish i had a mentor (or even this site) to guide me back in nursing school. good luck everyone
I've been talking to other nursing students and nursing majors in my school and on this website and I'm hearing a lot of complaints about the job market and here is my issue.
What I don't understand (this may not apply to you) but nursing majors seem to have this thing in their heads that if they just take the NCLEX and then pass then they should have tons jobs just waiting for them when they graduate or that they should be hired on the spot simply because you did what you were supposed to do to get a piece of paper that said your a nurse now. As nursing majors we need to start thinking a little more like the business majors out there. You ask a graduating business major how the job market would look for them if they hadn't don't some sort of internship before they graduate and you will find that it looks pretty bleak. So why do we as nursing majors think that we don't have to do anything extra before we graduate to help ensure that we have jobs when we need them? I mean sure, you will find business majors who graduated without doing an internship and those are the people who are going to have the hardest time finding jobs but the business majors who have gone out and done an internship in addition to their normal classwork are the ones who are going to have the easiest time in the job market. Nursing majors and future nurses, before you graduate find an internship or someway you can get hands on experience because as the job market gets more competitive its going to get harder to find a job and without that bit of experience to help set you apart then you are going to be struggling for a job. No clinicals do not count as an internship or doing that "extra" you need to set you apart. Just look at the positions that have 10 new grad nurses fighting for one spot, each new grad may have a GPA that are within .05 - .1 of the next applicant. So how does the hiring manager decide which nurse to hire? I can tell you that your GPA and personality may not be enough to get you a job, because most of the other applicants will have a high GPA like you and be just as eager to work as you are. So you need to have some sort of experience to help you stand out. If you can't find a formal internship then you should look into becoming a CNA or a SNA (Student Nurse Associate or something similar) to help you get some hands on experience, this work might not be glamorous or anything but you will be around nurses and learn more about what they do just by being in that setting.
:dzed::oornt:
!Chris
Kudos!! As a soon to be Nursing School student, I couldn't have said it better! When I look at jobs in my home state of WA, they all say one thing: must have at least a year of experience. This means that an internship/externship where you automatically sign a contract with the hospital to work there upon completion is the way to go. That being said, these internships/externships are highly competitive to get. Thats why I'm going to volunteer at the hospital, work as a CNA during nursing school, and (hopefully) keep my grades high enough to graduate with honors. This way I have a shot at one of these internship/externship contract situations.
I did a year long externship. I graduated over 6 months ago and still can't find a job. I didn't expect to get a job handed to me but I also didn't expect to be in my situation. I am not being picky about jobs. I will take night shift, PM, days, whatever. I'm sick of the attitude that this is somehow our fault. I guess it is my fault that I was unlucky enough to graduate when I did.
Let me first say that I'm sorry if my post sounded brash or insensitive. I didn't mean to come off that way, I guess I'm just frustrated having a lot of my new grads/nursing students friends saying "I can't find a job." and when I ask what they have done to help bolster their resumes besides just graduating from school and passing the NCLEX most of the time they say "Umm nothing..." and get an attitude like they shouldn't have to do anything besides just graduate in order to get a job. Obviously the nursing world and job market have changed over the years and finding jobs in 2010 will be different than 2008 or 2004 or even 2000. Another thing that frustrates me is how the advice from professors doesn't change that much as the years have gone on and the job market has changed. "There will be plenty of jobs when you graduate!" might have been true in 2000 but isn't true in 2010 and its not fair to tell that to nursing students and when they are new grads. like now then the schools are like "Well your on your own!". Not every school or every professor is like that but many are and its doing an injustice to the students more than anything. So again I wanted to say sorry because I realize my post sounded harsh and I didn't mean it to be, I just feel like nursing schools should start preparing students for a rougher job market out their then they are currently doing.
Sigh....I'm sorry, I know you mean well, but as a new grad, I must say I'm getting pretty sick of being told 'you should have known better' by people who did it the 'right' way. Working wasn't an option for me, period, the end. And it had nothing to do with me expecting to be 'handed a job'. The problem for new grads is that the job market WASN'T this way when we started, so we approached our education differently. Hopefully those just beginning nursing school will pay attention to the economy, but this really doesn't help those of us that have graduated.
I agree, As a single mom returning to college in my thirties, with zero previous medical experience....There was no way I could've done anymore than I did in school. Sure I wanted and would've taken a Summer Internship in a different city, every summer for experience, but there was nobody to leave my children with.
I never thought I would be handed a job. That is why I made sure I had/have a professionally done resume, extra classes (ACLS, BLS, certificates, etc). Still looking.....frustrated but optomistic (and taking online classes starting Jan 20 to keep busy).
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I'm in nursing school now and I always ask my professors "What is the job market like once we graduate?" and "How are we going to find jobs with so many new graduates competing us for so few positions?" and most professors give me glossed over answers like "Well don't worry about that now. They will always need new nurses!" or "You will have a BSN and that's going to make you better than the ADN and Diploma graduates" and it makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs as my classmates (the one's with no experience working in the heathcare field usually) grin from ear to ear and nod along as they are being spoon-fed this BS about "They will always need nurses.
*** Asking a nursing instructor such questions is a little like asking a celibate priest about marital relations. How would they have any idea?
Don't worry about finding a job now!" or that somehow a BSN will be the magic that guarantees a job (which I know it won't necessarily.) Its just a little annoying that's all.
*** A new BSN will guarantee that you will not be hired into the critical care nurse residency program (7 month training program for new grad to go directly into ICU) at the hospital where I work and at at least two others I know of. I work at a large Magnet, teaching hospital and trauma center. We only hire new grad ADNs into the residency prorgam for the critical care units.
Let me first say that I'm sorry if my post sounded brash or insensitive. I didn't mean to come off that way, I guess I'm just frustrated having a lot of my new grads/nursing students friends saying "I can't find a job." and when I ask what they have done to help bolster their resumes besides just graduating from school and passing the NCLEX most of the time they say "Umm nothing..." and get an attitude like they shouldn't have to do anything besides just graduate in order to get a job. Obviously the nursing world and job market have changed over the years and finding jobs in 2010 will be different than 2008 or 2004 or even 2000. Another thing that frustrates me is how the advice from professors doesn't change that much as the years have gone on and the job market has changed. "There will be plenty of jobs when you graduate!" might have been true in 2000 but isn't true in 2010 and its not fair to tell that to nursing students and when they are new grads. like now then the schools are like "Well your on your own!". Not every school or every professor is like that but many are and its doing an injustice to the students more than anything. So again I wanted to say sorry because I realize my post sounded harsh and I didn't mean it to be, I just feel like nursing schools should start preparing students for a rougher job market out their then they are currently doing.
!Chris
You were harsh and insensitive. Like you, I started nursing school in the Fall of 2008. I am hoping and planning on graduating this Spring. I calculated very carefully. I was accepted at two schools. I asked the advisor about their placement rates for jobs. She laughed at me and said, "That's never been a problem." I looked at the strength of their program.
At the career fair in the Fall of 2008, all of us had people drooling at the thought of our impending graduations. They wanted our names and numbers. By Spring, the fair was sporificely populated and in October, very few hospitals came and no one even took resumes.
In the Spring of 2009, news of a shortage of jobs spread like wild fire. At that point, I applied for CNA jobs and externships and got no response. This is largely due to the fact that with an anticipated graduation date in December, no one wanted to hire me. When I changed my graduation date, this situation has remained constant.
Local nurse managers have become so frustrated with nursing students in my area that they have taken to simply deleting voicemails as soon as they figure out you are a nursing student. One friend told me that if anyone gives out his NMs number (he is a CNA), they are getting fired. Period. End of Story. The manager is sick of the calls.
The trick where you knock on doors (a favorite suggestion of instructors and well intentioned nurses) has only angered NMs more and caused them to have a policy or a sign on their door stating that resumes must be handed into HR.
I got my ACLS to boost my resume. I am careful with my grades. I try to network, network, network. I have nothing, no leads just a ton of information about the financials of local hospitals. My instructors are even impressed with the amount of information I have.
My friends in the December class have reported an interesting phenomena. It seems that getting called for interviews is almost random. You can apply to dozens of jobs at dozens of hospitals and a call back? Its just random. No one knows why when or how. There is no common denominator. There is not a single factor that one can point to to say "This is why so and so got a call back."
The entire BSN education is predicated on acute care experience. Without it, you might as well forget getting a job. (This was true before the shortage of jobs.) I am not surprised that your friends stare at you stupidly. Its probably because they have no idea why you can't see all of this.
We agree about the instructors. They are doing the whole head in sand trick.
BTW, its "You're on your own" and the "there" you wanted in that last sentence was "there" not "their"
Let me first say that I'm sorry if my post sounded brash or insensitive. I didn't mean to come off that way, I guess I'm just frustrated having a lot of my new grads/nursing students friends saying "I can't find a job." and when I ask what they have done to help bolster their resumes besides just graduating from school and passing the NCLEX most of the time they say "Umm nothing..." and get an attitude like they shouldn't have to do anything besides just graduate in order to get a job. Obviously the nursing world and job market have changed over the years and finding jobs in 2010 will be different than 2008 or 2004 or even 2000. Another thing that frustrates me is how the advice from professors doesn't change that much as the years have gone on and the job market has changed. "There will be plenty of jobs when you graduate!" might have been true in 2000 but isn't true in 2010 and its not fair to tell that to nursing students and when they are new grads. like now then the schools are like "Well your on your own!". Not every school or every professor is like that but many are and its doing an injustice to the students more than anything. So again I wanted to say sorry because I realize my post sounded harsh and I didn't mean it to be, I just feel like nursing schools should start preparing students for a rougher job market out their then they are currently doing.
!Chris
I wouldn't complain to any of the unemployed new grads about being "frustrated" right now, lol, that in and of itself comes off as insensitive. Frustration is spending 6+ months searching for a job and getting constant rejection or no reply at all while your debt builds up and creditors start calling. That is real world frustration. Yes, getting experience to improve your resume would be helpful but the opportunities to do so right now are currently quite limited.
Would you tell your friends to their faces that they aren't doing everything they can do get a job?
Would you tell your professors that they are being naive and misleading?
*** A new BSN will guarantee that you will not be hired into the critical care nurse residency program (7 month training program for new grad to go directly into ICU) at the hospital where I work and at at least two others I know of. I work at a large Magnet, teaching hospital and trauma center. We only hire new grad ADNs into the residency prorgam for the critical care units.
Really? I don't believe I've heard of such a thing. Do you know the reason why? I've questioned, and still do, whether a BSN was really much of an advantage in direct patient care, bedside nursing, but I've never thought it was an inherent disadvantage, and really, it seems like critical care might be one area where having a little more science and math (My BSN peers took a full semester, each, of anatomy and physiology, and, I believe, a true chemistry course and a college math course. I took one semester of A&P and got credit for high school chemistry and algebra.)
My facility, also a Magnet and teaching hospital, hires some GNs for critical care, and they also get a rather lengthy orientation (20 weeks, I believe.) A couple of my classmates who started there moved to acute care, but others have stayed and love it. I do acute care, myself, but I'm lately starting to like the shifts I do in stepdown the best. With six regular patients, it sometimes seems like all I do is pass meds and chart, so I enjoy being able to focus a little more closely on three. But I also like the variety of doing both.
What in the heck was I thinking when I went back to school this past August? I started my pre-reqs for Nursing but now I am terrified of going any further. I graduated from the University of New Orleans in 2003 w/ a Business degree. After not feeling happy with that, I decided last year to go into Nursing. So in September 2009, I took my TEAS exam to be able to apply to Nursing program....I failed. I should have known that was a sign.
After much thought I decided to go into the LPN program and then transition into the RN program (have to take that darn TEAS exam again).
After reading so many RN's not finding jobs, I am scared death about going for an LPN degree. If they won't hire RN's, what are the chances of me finding a job as an LPN?!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its true what a poster said, the nursing schools tell you all this bull poopy about being able to find a job as a nurse, because there will always be sick people and diseases don't take vacations. I went to nursing program fair a couple of months ago at my college and person had nothing but "promising" things to say about a nursing career. Heck, the LPN info brouchure says, "Just 16 months is all you need to enjoy a rewarding career in Nursing". They should add in "if you are one of the lucky ones to find a job"
I currently volunteer at our Childrens Hospital and I absolutely love it. I had been wanting to do it for the longest and my career advisor told me that it would be a great opportunity to network and get "one foot in the door". Should I start applying for nursing job 2 years before graduating? Maybe I get lucky.
MissCharlieRN
64 Posts
Well, I remember being back in nursing 101 and them telling us that at job fairs you'll have employers pretty much fighting over you. Not so much, now. I will be graduating in May and getting an internship position is a little unrealistic for me--- Because mom and dad didn't pay for school (not assuming they did for anyone else, just saying my situation) and I live on my own 400 miles away from them and need a full time job to support me. Working 40+ hours a week on top of going to school full time and having 16-24 clinical hours/week... it'll be a little tough to fit an internship in there. And since a lot of hospitals around here were on a hiring freeze, it was a little tough to try and get a CNA position [especially when they pay less than my current job.] My class is just starting to see now how tough it'll be out there because we were told up until last semester that we'd be fine. I know not a lot separtes me from other grads, but the only thing I really have to go on is the fact that I'm a supervisor at a retail pharmacy (so some management experience) and was able to maintain a high GPA while balancing full time work and full time school. I know most of my class doesn't work, but that probably won't be enough as far as getting a job goes. It's unrealistic to assume that all nursing students should be doing internships and all when some of us have absolutely zero time to do so. School + Work has kept me at a steady 75 hours a week and I feel like I have nothing to show for it.
Sorry, this isn't directed really at anyone. I'm just frustrated trying to apply for jobs and worried that I can't get one. Then having to listen to the whole "well, you shoulda done blah blah blah" is just the topper. Luckily I have worked to get rid of debt but I'm tired of living paycheck to paycheck.