Frustrated & discouraged

BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN · Jun 12, 2012

I can only imagine how frustrated you are, and I'm sorry you are struggling. That said, the market is competitive enough now that I would not hire a felon either when there are plenty of nonfelons in the applicant pool. I get flamed for this all the time, but people with criminal backgrounds and those that are using various medications that often come under fire, etc., need to realize that there is plenty of competition that do not have these disadvantages. In order to overcome the burden of your unfortunate past, you are going to have to offer something no one else can. An advanced degree would be a minimum. I'd also recommend thousands of hours of volunteer work. Perhaps Remote Area Medical, or the like. It is going to take something very significant to entice someone to look past the criminal record.

Good luck to you.

Nurse4life2011 · Jun 12, 2012

Thanks BlueDevil I appreciate your honesty. I'm working on getting my record expunged it's a long process, & I don't know how much longer my landlord,bills,loans,etc will wait. Lol

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 12, 2012

it must be very hard for you. :hug: right now......there are multiple applicants for every position and many hospitals have hiring freezes. it is however, highly variant and a willingness to re-locate will help.

has the nursing shortage disappeared?

it's that time of year again. graduating nursing students are preparing to take the nclex and are looking for their first jobs. this year, many are finding those first jobs in short supply.

reports are rampant of new graduates being unable to find open positions in their specialty of choice, and even more shockingly, many are finding it tough to find any openings at all.

these new rns entered school with the promise that nursing is a recession-proof career. they were told the nursing shortage would guarantee them employment whenever and wherever they wanted.

so what happened? has the nursing shortage—that we've heard about incessantly for years—suddenly gone away?

the short term answer is clearly yes, although in the long term, unfortunately, the shortage will still be there. the recession has brought a temporary reprieve to the shortage. nurses who were close to retirement have seen their 401(k) portfolios plummet and their potential retirement income decline. they are postponing retirement a few more years until the economy—and their portfolios—pick up.

many nurses have seen their spouses and partners lose their jobs and have increased their hours to make ends meet for their families. some who left the profession to care for children or for other reasons have rejoined the workforce for similar reasons.

in addition, many hospitals are not hiring. the recession brought hiring freezes to healthcare facilities across the country, and many are still in effect. help wanted ads for healthcare professionals dropped by 18,400 listings in july, even as the overall economy saw a modest increase of 139,200 in online job listings.

for the rest of the article http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/co...sappeared.html

nurses are talking about: jobs for new grads

the big lie?losing our skills

the holy grail

take a job, any job

get out of the hospital

back to school?

give us a chance

without a doubt, the main source of frustration experienced by recently graduated and licensed but still unemployed nurses is what could be called "the big lie."in other words, the television commercials that encourage young people to become nurses -- and then abandon them for months (or years) without employment; and the educators who tell them that the associate's degree is perfectly adequate to guarantee employment, that they will have their pick of jobs when they graduate, and that there is plenty of time to get a bsn later on. who knows whether it is greed, ignorance, or wishful thinking that underlies the fairy tales told to nursing students about their future job prospects? whatever the motivation, the disillusionment of our new grads is palpable. the jobs they expected after all of their hard work just haven't materialized, and some grads are getting pretty desperate.

medscape: medscape access

for the rest of the article you need to register for medscape but it is free and is a great resource and source of information

be a nurse...if you can

not too long ago, the threat of a growing nursing shortage prompted thousands of prospective students to choose nursing as a career, and nursing schools rapidly filled to capacity. nursing was frequently referred to as a "recession-proof" career, and the outlook for finding a job after graduation was rosy.

experience and employment: the vicious cycle

now, the bloom, as they say, is off the rose. it seems that many of our new grads are stuck in that perennial dilemma: they can't get a job without experience, and they can't get experience without a job. this situation was not anticipated by thousands of nursing students who were told, often repeatedly, that a global nursing shortage practically guaranteed employment for them.

consider, for example, the situation faced by new graduates in california. a survey of hospitals by the california institute for nursing & health care found that as many as 40% of new graduates may not be able to find jobs in california hospitals, because only 65% of the state's potential employers were hiring new graduates and generally planned to hire fewer new graduates than in previous years. overwhelming numbers of new graduates submitted applications for the few available positions for new graduates. it wasn't that the hospitals weren't hiring at all, but that they wanted nurses with experience.

what happened to the jobs?

most experts blame the crumbling economy for ruining the job prospects of new graduate nurses around the country, but as usual these days, the truth is more complex.

uneven distribution. the demand for nurses was supposed to exceed the supply by the year 2010.the question of whether we truly have a nursing shortage right now is a fair one. the answer, it seems, is "it depends." apparently, it depends on where you live and where you are willing to work. neither the distribution or supply of nurses, or the demand, is uniform. some geographic (mostly rural) areas have a shortage of nurses, whereas some urban locations are witnessing an oversupply of nurses. new graduates seeking jobs in these regions will face a very competitive job market.

economic recession. the shrinking job pool is widely believed to be a consequence of the declining us economy. temporarily at least, economic pressures and job losses in all industries have induced thousands of experienced but aging nurses to forego retirement and even increase their working hours to support their families.

medscape: medscape access again requires registration but it is free no strings...

i am not stepping on your dreams. be the best nurse you can be. know that you are not alone.

i wish you the best on your nursing journey.:loveya:

Trauma Columnist · Jun 13, 2012

Moving to nursing licensure with criminal history - lots of good info in that forum.

suzieQRNstudent · Jun 13, 2012

Have you tried applying for a staffing agency? I know that some of them might be willing to take a chance on you whereas hospitals may not. Also I know that in some states Felons can be bonded and if you can be then hospitals might be willing to give you a chance because of the trust issue. If someone else is responsible for you and your behavior they may be willing to give you a chance. I would check on it. I know in Florida they have it and I thought it might be a nationwide program. Wish you all the best! Don't give up!!!

Katiebaby4848 · Jul 11, 2012

Good luck & work on getting it expunged ASAP