Confused, Newly Qualified Nurse

CHATSDALE · Nov 3, 2006

don't give up opportunities are out there and you will find yours...sometime is is just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other

i don't know what the job situation is in the uk but keep looking..check in on places where you did clinicals and check with fellow students who have found jobs

good luck

Amy2005 · Nov 3, 2006

Are there nursing employment agencies in UK?

How do you go about your job hunt - do you go in person?

Have you checked nursing journals for employment ads?

I ask these, because in my own experience, even when there's a hiring freeze on generally, when I went in person - then I received a phone call inviting me in for the interview - because the person said that they liked me. The only way that they are going to get that "first impression" is if you show up in person.

And in the past when there was a recession, I went in to places that I thought of, they had not advertised, but they phoned me because I had filled out the application, went for the interview and got hired. And continued to get calls about contracts as well.

And if you can connect with an employment agency, and indicate your areas of interest, they'll phone you (often at the last minute) - and this way you can get in to see a variety of settings. By doing that work for an agency, I was offered a job by the unit administrator and became an employee of the hospital.

Even the employment agencies that seem to focus on office staff, sometimes have employment opportunities for RNs, - as I noticed locally - when I went in for another reason, I saw their board wanting RNs for respiratory services.

There are ways.

Good luck.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Nov 4, 2006

Hi everyone. am a newly qualified nurse with A BSc in adult nursing form the uk. After studying three years,writing a ten thousand dissertation and putting in my clinical hours of practice i cannot or have not being able to secure a job in the uk.
I feel so let down and at the moment feel as though i wasted three years of my training as i cannot utilize the skills learnt. I do work as a healthcare assistant in various settings but thats not satisfactory.Anybody with any advice on job hunting in uk/ abroard please help considering i have no post-training experience. Anywhere i can get sponsored while still gaining experience of new system of healthcare( ie different to UK ).
welcome all ideas/suggestions.

Hi and welcome :groupwelcome:

I would suggest asking this question in the UK forum which you will find as a sub heading in the international forum. Yes jobs are pretty hard to find at the moment in the UK have you tried the community and GP surgeries? The surgery I work advertised for a nurse preferably with experience but not essential to replace me and did not have 1 enquiry for the job which really suprised everyone and I also know of a few surgeries in my area advertising for nurses. Regarding working abroad a lot depends on where you want to work. In the US you may have problems because of the training as you need certain hours in other specialities which you may not have covered in your training but all you have to do is make hours up with a recognised school of nursing or university. Check out both the International and UK forum as plenty of threads on working abroad.

Good luck

Kaylesh · Nov 4, 2006

Not sure if you able or want to .. but have you thought about relocating to another area of the UK? I know up here in Scotland it seems the trusts always have jobs for both new and experienced nurses.

I myself have recently bought a property here in Fife and am not willing/able to think about relocating. Besides I love it here in Fife.

So i realise that option is not for everyone.

Most of Scotlands nursing jobs can be found on http://www.returntoscotland.com

Good Luck in your search

Kaylesh

nursey2008 · Oct 5, 2008

it is very tough being a newly qualified nurse.. at least in this part of the world. I have been going through similar experiences like you. I qualified in germany in sept 2007, have been unemployed for 6 months and was promised much better perspectives here in ireland where i am now. The truth is: It is so extremely difficult here because of healthboard cutbacks and the hospitals that still hire staff they ask for 2-4 years work experience.

I joined an agency and do agency nursing in private hospitals. It is not easy but it helps me to get hospital experience on my cv. I dont particularly enjoy agency nursing because u dont have security, no benefits (just basic amount of leave days, no paid sick days), the good thing is that payment is very good.

Try to apply with an agency. They will tell you this is not for newly qualified but in the end they have a quite high demand for staff (at least here) so it is something to survive with for the time being.

Good luck to u and all the best