Experienced RN in Austin Area cannot find a non-bedside job

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I moved from NC with recent experience as a clinical manager in Home Health (1 yr) and 7 years as a phone nurse consultant for pharmaceutical companies (very customer service driven, AE reporting etc.) I come from about 13 years in Adult ICU but have not been bedside for 8 years now. That seems to be the problem. I love to teach and have been developing education for staff in my roles as I develop my role. I have this highlighted on my resume and my references back that up. The problem is that most companies are not taking a chance on me. I am really considering looking at other career paths because nursing is not responding to my job search. Has anyone else left nursing due to this?? Anything helpful would be great. I am in the North Austin area of Texas.

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I am having this very problem in Florida :(

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

If you are looking for management or educator positions, in Texas most companies want you to be at an MSN level. You didn't mention how advanced your education is, but this may be a significant hindrance, especially in Austin where the market is very tight.

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I do not have my Masters. Surely there is something out there for me even without a MSN. Tons of jobs but none for someone slowing down in the nursing profession.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Professional Development and Nurse Educator roles traditionally require MSN for entry level. Some people do get into those positions with a BSN (you don't mention if you have a BSN or an ASN), but it usually comes with a formal agreement to get your MSN and/or certification within a certain amount of time, usually two to three years. If you have an ASN though you will not be considered for educator roles.

Added to that, Austin is the most competitive nursing market in Texas due to the number of nurses living there and nursing schools. I am sorry I can't be more encouraging about your prospects. You are being extremely specific for what you want without the educational level needed to get it where you currently are living.

You may wish to consider other types of nursing or looking at small community hospitals in rural towns.

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I have done that believe me. I am not being specific on applying but just listing this as something I can do in addition to a role outside of the hospital. I have not really applied to teaching jobs due to the requirements listing Masters level applicants. Not looking for encouragement but some work. Thank you for your insight.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Unfortunately all that can be offered on this website is insight. People are not allowed to solicit others for jobs nor advertise them on this bulletin board. I hope the information was helpful and wish you luck in your search.

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My original question was if anyone else is experiencing this and if anyone is considering leaving nursing due to various reasons in finding a job. I am aware that this site cannot offer specifics on applying for a job. Austin was not as promising for nursing as I originally thought ?

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Hi, HooRN,

I live in Dallas! My advice would be to, just keep applying, & in the mean time, I would apply for a position at an long-term care facility. You have not worked at the bedside in 8 yrs. So at least, you could be working on building some recent floor experience. There are verrryyyy few non-bedside jobs available in Texas, especially for nurses who do not have recent floor experience. Its always good to keep your toe in bedside nursing because practices change. Based on your description you have quite a bit of experience, but you do not hold a Master's degree. I work as a floor nurse, and I am letting you know more than 80% of the nurses on my unit have Master's degrees & cannot find an alternative job that does not involve teaching. My unit just hired a floor RN who has been an NP for 7 yrs, who hasn't been able to land another NP job; she broke down crying on the unit a night before because she hasn't worked as a bedside nurse in 5 yrs. She states she doesn't remember it being this hard. lol Anyway, there is a lot of competition out there, many of the nurses in non-bedside positions have been in their roles for years and now have Master's.

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Specializes in anesthesiology.
On 9/9/2019 at 3:09 PM, HooRN said:

I have done that believe me. I am not being specific on applying but just listing this as something I can do in addition to a role outside of the hospital. I have not really applied to teaching jobs due to the requirements listing Masters level applicants. Not looking for encouragement but some work. Thank you for your insight.

I think you want a recruiter or maybe a jobs site. This is a nursing blog... I'm sure your attitude isn't holding you back any.

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