ATTN: bay area RN new grads.. Were you able to land a new grad job?

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I recently just passed my boards and am finding it is VERY hard to land a job as a new grad at a hospital. I know you dont necessarily have to enter a new grad program but a lot of hospitals i have tried applying at say you must be in a new grad. Are you all getting the same treatment? Kind of ironic.

I think nursing school was misleading. they brag how easy it is to obtain jobs after graduation and how you will have many offers lined up after you graduate but i am searching for jobs in the bay area and nothing.

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Wow, I start NS in April and to hear this is very discouraging. What is SNF? I could take a guess as to what that means, but I don't know for sure. Lame question, I know! Anyways, I live in the East Bay and am curious as I have friends who work for Kaiser and they say that Kaiser is always looking for nurses. What about part time work? Is that hard to come by also?

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Specializes in Transplant/Surgical ICU.

SNF = skilled nursing facility = nursing home

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Specializes in NICU.
wow i am getting extremely nervous about finding a job now. I am currently studying in sacramento, but i am really anxious to move back to the bay area, where i am originally from and where family, friends and my boyfriend all currently live. I graduate in August of this year and I want to start looking at places to apply as early as April. Does anyone have any specific suggestions as to how I could deal with the apparent new grad job shortage? I can only live off loans for so long!

i found out all to late that deadlines for the new grad progams I wanted were passed. So what i would tell you to do now. Is look around at the hospitals in the area you think you want to work at. Make a list, contact each nurse recruiter and find out WHEN each ones deadline is. Hosptials scheduals are different. Like john muir in walnut creek, their next program starts in aug meaning their deadline will be around 4 months before it.

If you dont care about new grad programs, still contact the recruiters to get information. But if you do want new grad programs, youll most likely have to apply in sept/oct/nov because they usually will start somewhere between jan-march for that half of the year.

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Specializes in NICU, Telephone Triage.
i applied online to numerous positions at kaiser through their website but have not heard anything. did you apply online? should i attend one of their information sessions?

It's better to go to their hiring events. The online apps. take forever.

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Specializes in Surgical Nursing.

Hi Everyone...

Just wondering, what exactly are new grad programs and do you have to do one? Is it recommended for certain departments versus others?

Thank You....

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Specializes in NICU.

No, you dont have to do a new grad program. Some hospitals just have you paired with a preceptor for a certain amount of time.

but a new grad program is basically classes that are meant to review and suppliment your knowledge for easy transition onto your unit. They vary slightl from hospital to hospital.

Here are examples of how 2 different hospitals describe it:

*Eight weeks minimum with up to 16 weeks for specialty areas

*New Grad Skills Days to gain proficiency

*Support team (preceptor, clinical educator and nurse manager) provides guidance on hospital policy and procedure interpretations, clinical skill development and unit/values based organization integration

As part of our RN New Graduate Program, you will become a vital contributor to a strong, dedicated and skilled nursing team! In addition to creating an individualized orientation with your preceptor and educator, we also offer classes that include but are not limited to: critical thinking, code blue, communication (patients, physicians and peers), risk management, medication administration/errors, time management etc. Time is also built into the program to allow nurses to share their orientation experiences, i.e. "How are things going?"

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Hi Everyone...

Just wondering, what exactly are new grad programs and do you have to do one? Is it recommended for certain departments versus others?

Thank You....

Well I was talking to the nursing recruiter at Good Samaritan's in San Jose and she said that their new grad programs start in July and in March, but it doesn't mean that they don't hire new grad programs in between those dates. So I'm guessing it is the same with other hospitals. I just want to be in a program because I am in an accelerated RN program, so I just want as much preparation as possible to take care of my own patients and to get used to the facility. Though I am not quite sure about certain departments...

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Same for me! I graduated in December 2007 and thought it would be a lot easier than expected. For 2 hospitals in the Bay Area I hear that they have been averaging 400 applicants. I am starting to get discouraged.

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Hi all,

I've been searching for months. There is so much competition. I've interviewed 8 times and they say I did an excellent job but they prefer to hire someone who had the preceptorship in that area. Well, I had Med Surg and there's not alot out there. It's soooo frustrating that even new grad spots need prior experience. I don't see how to make myself more competitive. I'm licenced, taken ACLS and PALS. Are there super interviewing skills seminars? Can't really relocate because kids are in school.

Any ideas? It's really sad. I'm almost ready to hang it up. Recruiters aren't helpful either. Now I see why in our previous class, some didn't get jobs until after a year.

hanbo

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Wow. I would think that people would move out quick if faced with A YEAR of no job. It would take a long time to make up that amount of money lost, even with the high salary difference. Look at it this way for argument sake, if a new grad makes $27 in CA and $20 in AZ. The difference is $7 an hour, or $14,000 that first year. That means if I hire on in AZ and you wait a year, and I get $2 an hour raises each year and you get $3 a year, you will still need to work nearly 10 years to catch up with me.

All things the same, I guess the working conditions are enviable, and probably worth the wait, so I guess I will clam up.

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I think the "problem" is that CA has increased salaries to such a level that it is attracting a large number of people to pursue nursing, and thereby reducing any shortages. Trust me, if you lived in another part of the country, you would have job offers out the wazoo. I'm not a nurse yet but that does scare me as well--to give up so many years of taking classes, etc...and then having a hard time finding a job. It's one of the reasons why i want to go into nursing--to not have to deal with that.

I agree with you about the money. I am a pre-nursing student and in my microbiology class I was listening to two people talking (not eavesdropping, they were talking out loud). One person said that she wanted to be a radio tech and not a nurse, the other person was trying to coerce her into being a nurse by saying, "nurses get paid hella money. You should do nursing and make that money thats why I 'm doing it." I mean this conversation went on for like 10 minutes I couldnt believe it but the other person stood her ground and didnt cave in to something she doesnt want to be "just for the money."

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