Anybody please recommend a region of the country in great shortage of nurses?

[mitcornsus]

I'm in a 2-year diploma RN program in New Jersey graduating this May/June. I have a BS degree in business. Unfortunately I do not have any prior Health care work experiences. I have to work full-time (in a business setting) over the whole program and did not do any summer externship. Most of my classmates either already work at the health care field, or do the externship at ICU, emergency room, med-surg etc in the summer.

Since some big hospitals in NJ closed due to bad economy over the past years, the market for new graduate in the area is bad, I know it is especially bad for people like me who is not a BSN and have no prior health care work experiences.

I would really appreciate any recommendation of the region of the country that is in real shortage of nurses. I'm single, and willing to relocate to any part of the country. I would like to start working at emergency room, ICU, or med-surg.

I'm also wondering, is it possible for me to apply for a new graduate position far away? say in Arizona. Cause interview is almost impossible (expensive and time-costly). Would hospital just hire new graduate over the phone interview? Or do I need to wait till graduate, move to the area and look for jobs from there?

Thanks for any suggestions...

[rn4lyfe08]

Yup. I live in Philly and NO jobs here. ADVANCE for Nurses says there aren't really any jobs out there in the tri-state area PA,NJ,and DE. Travel agencies are looking to hire in KS, TX (usually near the border). I'm looking into TX out of desperation as I graduated in May 2008 and still can't get a job. The travel agencies are hiring for direct-hire permanent positions. Haven't heard many good things about the border towns but figured I could put up with it for a year.

Good Luck to both of us!

[primerk]

If it was not so cold in Milwaukee, I just might wanna work there!

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

Yup. I live in Philly and NO jobs here. ADVANCE for Nurses says there aren't really any jobs out there in the tri-state area PA,NJ,and DE. Travel agencies are looking to hire in KS, TX (usually near the border). I'm looking into TX out of desperation as I graduated in May 2008 and still can't get a job. The travel agencies are hiring for direct-hire permanent positions. Haven't heard many good things about the border towns but figured I could put up with it for a year.

Good Luck to both of us!

I couldn't!

If you are considering working in a border town, being bilingual is essential.

[Melinurse]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

I mentioned Arizona because recently I had a personal trip there, mentioned it as an example. Now I know situations there are not good for new graduates. Thanks for the info.

Situations in the area I live in is not good. My friend who is an RN in a City hospital of New York City said the hospital has a hiring freeze, and RN schedule change back from 12-hr shift to 8-hr shift. I know I'm not competitive on the new graduate market. Maybe I can get a job in a Nursing home in the area, but I heard once your first RN job is in Nursing home, it will be very difficult to move to a hospital, and you will be kind of "stuck" there. While there is nothing wrong working at a nursing home, I would like myself to have more options.

Again, thanks for all suggestions. I'll look in the areas mentioned in the posts above. I'm OK with bad weather. Worst case scenario, I can get a couple of years of experience, and come back to NYC metro area later on.

Staring in a LTC facility does not always have to mean you cannot work in acute care later. You could work LTC part time and get another part time in another discipline giving you more experiences and improving your chances.

Maybe even after a year or so you could work agency and gain even more experiences to make your protfolio/resume look better?

Just ideas.

[20 Year OR Nurse]

Hi,

If you like the area that you presently live in, take the time now, before graduation to contact the nurse recruiters at hospitals local to you. You might be able to pre-apply, and possibly be accepted for a position if you take the initiative and start now. Also, look into Magnet Hospitals. They are required to maintain a forward thinking perspective, and most have very good orientation/fellowship programs. Last, get your toe in the door! Start with a part-time position if that's all that is available. My wife graduated during a hiring slump (1983) and couldn't get a job at McDonalds let alone in nursing. She started in home health, and then got a part-time position at the local hospital, and that was converted to a full-time position shortly after. Good luck, and good hunting!