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I've been a nurse for 4 years and have not worked in the hospital setting but am trying to get back in so I've been applying for positions like internships and positions at certain hospitals that are listed as having no experience required. Then I'm getting rejection notifications saying that my background and experience don't meet any positions they have available. What does that even mean?! I spent hours last night filling out 13 different applications for positions and in one email they dismissed me.
So disillusioned and frustrated. How can I apply for an internship and be rejected based on lack of experience?!
I daresay you will learn a whole lot more about being a nurse working at a SNF than you would doing vaccine clinics. If I were a hiring manager in L&D, I would take the nurse with SNF experience over the nurse with flu shot experience in a heartbeat.Anyone can learn how to give shots, but working in a SNF tells me that you have great time management, prioritization and delegation skills, and those are not things that anyone can learn in one afternoon.
I agree with this. To be frank, what would concern me if I were interviewing you is what appears to be an apparent lack of work ethic, maturity, judgement and insight, as well as a possible sense of entitlement. I would strongly encourage you to reconsider your position or you may well have to reconsider your career. However, that you already said you would leave nursing before accepting work in a nursing home is telling. Perhaps you should redirect your efforts toward a different field; it sounds as though your heart isn't in this, truly.
The residency programs in my area are only open to BSN prepared new graduates or BSN experienced RN's looking to transfer into the specialty of the residency. Possibly this is the case with your area as well.For everyone else, does gaining experience in a nursing home help to land a position in a hospital a couple years down the road? Or does it limit you to nursing homes since this is not acute care experience? Thanks
In my area LTC experience doesn't count as far as the are hospitals are concerned. They all want acute care experience. It is not impossible to get a hospital job after working LTC, but you are basically seen as the same as a new grad as far as experience goes, so it makes it difficult.
I daresay you will learn a whole lot more about being a nurse working at a SNF than you would doing vaccine clinics. If I were a hiring manager in L&D, I would take the nurse with SNF experience over the nurse with flu shot experience in a heartbeat.Anyone can learn how to give shots, but working in a SNF tells me that you have great time management, prioritization and delegation skills, and those are not things that anyone can learn in one afternoon.
I wish you were hiring in my area! As I mentioned in a another post, our area hospitals don't consider LTC experience! Though a nurse I work...worked ...with just got a hospital position after applying for every open position for over 8 months. But they did not take her LTC experience into account at all.
I agree that I don't think it is realistic for new grads to limit their job search to acute care employment. Although I would prefer to work in a hospital, I find myself in the same boat as moodyred. I have been applying to every job that looks close to hiring recent grads. Even the registries, home health and hospice want 1 year experience. I questioned the last 2 recruiters that called about how to meet their requirements and they both suggested getting a year anywhere, even long term care or volunteer, could qualify one to work there. I would like to volunteer to get ER experience, but the hospitals don't want volunteers in the nursing areas because of liability. I don't understand why the nursing education field is so disjointed. With so many RNs leaving the field because of starvation, we need bridge programs to get RNs through that first year. It would require some public/private partnerships and probably grant funding, but would definitely be the best for health care and society as a whole.
I'm confused about the response to my 'attitude' and 'sense of entitlement'. FWIW I HAVE applied to positions in offices and other areas. I'm not comfortable working in home health because I have no experience and would be out there on my own with no immediate help. I have looked at prison positions previously but never saw any that didn't require experience. The one area I didn't want to work in was LTC and when we were in nursing school we were told that if we didn't want to work somewhere then we shouldn't because it affects your whole life. I guess I believed them when they made it sound like having a nursing degree actually meant something and that we would be able to get a job with it (a job we actually want). I didn't get into nursing to work in an LTC where you are understaffed and overworked. If I had to do it with the promise of moving on I would. FWIW I've looked at LTC facilities here and they also require 1 year of experience. I checked again last night and did not find a single RN position that didn't require experience. I never thought of school nursing but I could look into that though I don't think the hospital will see that as relevant experience either.
There's nothing wrong with knowing where I want to work and where I don't. It seems ridiculous to judge someone for that and say they aren't cut out to be a nurse because they don't want to work in LTC. I made a huge mistake believing that having an RN degree 'guarantees' you'll always have a job. If I'd known this and it had been at all possible I would have never taken a break between graduating and now.
If I work in an LTC it will lower the time I can spend on school. It's worth it to give up that time if I'm working in the field I want to but giving up valuable time on my BSN to work in a job I don't want with no promise it will help me get where I want doesn't sound like an automatic 'yes'. But I guess it's pointless to work on my BSN thinking it will make me a more attractive candidate it they are still going to throw out my app because I don't have hospital based experience.
Of course there's nothing wrong with having a preference in what area you want to work in. I bet every single nurse has a preference. But if you're unemployed and having a hard time finding work, sometimes you take whatever opportunity is available. I agree with Blue Devil that if you'd rather not be a nurse than work LTC, then perhaps it would be a good idea to find a different field. Because right now, options are slim in many areas unless you're willing to relocate.
When I see the plight of other new grads who are applying for EVERYTHING out there and still not finding work, it just makes me a little less sympathetic to the nurse who is being highly selective about where she's willing to work, but is still complaining about not being hired.
Yes. Only applying for hospital positions. I have no desire to work in an office, clinic, home health or nursing homes.
FWIW I HAVE applied to positions in offices and other areas.
So which is it? Only applied to acute care hospital jobs, or have applied to anything and everything (with the exception of HH or LTC)? Because I see you saying two different things here.
I'm in Canada so most of us here are required now to have BSN degrees. With that said, I worked in LTC (as a psw- cna's in the states I think) while I was in school for my degree. And make no mistake I had to work to pay for school. I graduated 4 years later and wrote my RN liscense. For one year I still could not get a hospital position because of the over saturation of nurses in my area as well. I expanded my search, wasn't picky with any job (LTC gives you experience yes even if its not hands on you learn to time manage and communication. I just started applying for hospital positions because I have always wanted to work on a med/surg unit. To make myself more marketable I started taking classes towards coronary and critical care to help keep up my education. I even signed on with an agency locally that staff me to rehab floors and now medical floors (ones i am comfortable with) Ever thought of doing this while your looking for your dream job? I wasn't happy about starting out in LTC either but the experience is what is landing me interviews and with positive results. One hiring manager told me as long as your showing initiative and have the attitude it doesn't matter if you can't "run a code yet like a ccu nurse" because that they can teach- but the compassion they can't. Might be something to think about. Steve jobs didn't start out in a dream position either........
I'd be interested in starting as a new grad in LTC if I know I would get relevant experience and be able to transition to a hospital in a year or two. I've thus far been avoiding applying to LTC because it's not my field of interest and was worried I would lose the new grad title and never be eligible for a hospital position. I have put in a few applications to LTC that are affiliated with a hospital though, figuring I'd be an internal candidate after gaining experience making for an easier transition to acute care. I feel like the role of an RN can vary so much in LTC and that makes me nervous as a new grad, I want adequate training upon hire. I most certainly don't feel above LTC, but my dream is NICU and LTC seems so far from that. Every time I see postings that ask for experience, it says "min 1 year acute care experience", wouldn't that negate the LTC experience then?
I guess it all boils down to it that most places, I assume, are going to consider working as a nurse experience even though it's not in a hospital. At least that's what I'm hoping, and I'm thinking it might be time for me to also extend my job search.
klone, MSN, RN
14,857 Posts
But you said that if you take a job in an area you don't want to work in, it will drastically slow down your progress. Working in an area you don't want to be in won't slow it down any more than working in an area you *do* want to be in.