Can't Find Outpatient RN Jobs (Low Experience)

[Anas Khan]

Hello! I'm a newer nurse with 4 months of experience in an acute care facility. I didn't mind bedside care, but month after month this specific facility was cutting all support for RNs and it totally traumatized me with the lack of support. I quit and was hoping to find an outpatient job, but it seems like they all want 1 year of outpatient experience? I'm located in Mid-California. I was wondering what everyone else's experience was like and whether anyone else has had experience finding outpatient jobs with less than half a year experience. I was looking into Public Health Nursing, but as that's mostly a county specific job it seems like it'll take months before even hearing back.

[ponderingDNP]

I wouldn't be all that eager to secure an outpatient position with only 4 months experience if I were you. I was new to outpatient 4 years ago and the only thing that saved me was my years of med/surg exposure. I only needed to learn the outpatient process (policy/procedure), which I struggled with. But my care and education to the patients were so on point that two providers wrote me letters of recommendation, AND the Daisy Award was bestowed upon me.😃

The organization did hire newer nurses and each of them quit within a year.😔 Also hired was an experienced nurse (at least 20 years under the belt) with only OB experience and that nurse is STILL struggling because of the lack of experience in managing chronic conditions. This is not only affecting her assigned patients but each time another nurse has to guide her through each of her patients visits, care is delayed to the patients of the nurse helping her.

Another was so overwhelmed that the manager had to perform and EKG on her in the middle of the shift.

 Outpatient is unpredictable in primary care because one never knows what's going to walk through the door. Other areas may be better, the same, or worse. If you can, try to return to acute care. Employers are requiring this experience for a reason.😉