Dilemma

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Okay, I hope you all can provide some insight. I apologize in advance for the ramble.

I am a second degree nursing student. Prior to that I spent 8 + years in the IT industry as an analyst, coder, and administrator for financial and retail companies. Former degree is Business with a concentration in MIS. I decided to go into nursing because I was ready for a change and I had always had an interest in healthcare. I have gone back and forth with I wanted to do in this area, but while I like caring for patients I kind of miss IT. So why not combine the two right? I wanted to work as RN for a few years to gain some experience, but as a new graduate I am finding getting a position as an RN very difficult. Granted I am not yet licensed, (will take boards in July), but I am getting rejection letter, after rejection letter. It is frustrating and I feel like a failure.:crying2: I never have gone through this before. I have always been an excellent student, had a successful career and never had difficulty obtaining positions. So my dilemma is do I wait, find temporary work to pay the bills and keep applying for RN positions, or do I speed my entry into Informatics and start looking for a role in that area. However I am not sure anyone will give me a chance without paid clinical nursing experience, I have been able to use Epic for a year as student, but haven't worked the back end of the product. My previous skill set in the Business Intelligence area is always in demand, but I want to combine my healthcare knowledge and not just strictly go back to being technical. My fear is that if I don't find a nursing position and go right into some type of Healthcare IT position, I will never be able to get clinical experience so that I can be taken seriously. However I am running out money and will soon have to start paying back student loans. What are your thoughts?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Nursing Informatics.

Hey Deb! I think you should get some nursing experience before you get into NI. You already have the IT background, getting some clinical background will give you a whole new perspective from the IT side! What about even a part time nursing job? with out the license now a days it's probably harder to land that job. As the nursing population is aging jobs should be opening soon! I suggest to all new nurses, spend a good year on a med-surg unit getting a good solid foundation then branch out. JMHO. In the meantime go ahead and study for your NI certification. We are currently in a huge build right now and one of our best super duper users has only been a nurse for 1 year! Good luck in your endevors!

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Specializes in Informatics, Education, and Oncology.

I'd say hedge your bets - meaning: keep applying for nursing (full time or part-time jobs) and apply for entry level jobs in informatics. If the hiring manager hires you knowing you have no actual clincial practice experience (other than your nursing student clinicals) so be it - You do have bills to pay. You could get an NI job and get practice experience in a per diem position working every other weekend. You know there are nursing instructors out there that went straight through school to MSN or Phd degree complition without actual practice experience? YEP!

I'm assuming you have applied to RN positions in acute care hospitals...... try applying to ECF/nursing homes and home health agencies too. Register with staffing and registry agencies too!

Good Luck.

Okay, I hope you all can provide some insight. I apologize in advance for the ramble.

I am a second degree nursing student. Prior to that I spent 8 + years in the IT industry as an analyst, coder, and administrator for financial and retail companies. Former degree is Business with a concentration in MIS. I decided to go into nursing because I was ready for a change and I had always had an interest in healthcare. I have gone back and forth with I wanted to do in this area, but while I like caring for patients I kind of miss IT. So why not combine the two right? I wanted to work as RN for a few years to gain some experience, but as a new graduate I am finding getting a position as an RN very difficult. Granted I am not yet licensed, (will take boards in July), but I am getting rejection letter, after rejection letter. It is frustrating and I feel like a failure.:crying2: I never have gone through this before. I have always been an excellent student, had a successful career and never had difficulty obtaining positions. So my dilemma is do I wait, find temporary work to pay the bills and keep applying for RN positions, or do I speed my entry into Informatics and start looking for a role in that area. However I am not sure anyone will give me a chance without paid clinical nursing experience, I have been able to use Epic for a year as student, but haven't worked the back end of the product. My previous skill set in the Business Intelligence area is always in demand, but I want to combine my healthcare knowledge and not just strictly go back to being technical. My fear is that if I don't find a nursing position and go right into some type of Healthcare IT position, I will never be able to get clinical experience so that I can be taken seriously. However I am running out money and will soon have to start paying back student loans. What are your thoughts?

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Thanks for the feedback. I have mostly been applying to acute care facilities. I am hoping that something comes up once I get my license. I just need to wait it out and maybe do some temporary work. I would hate not to get in some clinical experience after spending all this time in school. :-). However I will see what comes up first. I will keep you posted.

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