future E.R. nurse and CRNA

B52-H · Apr 23, 2011

Getting hired directly into the ER is very difficult

Scholarships, college clubs, honor society really doesn't help much. Tons of people have it and they are looking for work. Hospitals want prior RN experience above everything else.

If CRNA is your ultimate goal then you would have to eventually go back to school for your BSN and then grad school. IMO you would be better off going through a BSN program initially to ride out the bad economy. Hopefully things will be better by then.

Look through any of the threads on here and you will see the new grad job market is horrible. It's like buying a lottery ticket at this point with the hundreds, sometimes thousands of applications they receive for a handful of spots. Working in a nursing home again is a very real possibility.

zippeh · Apr 24, 2011

Getting hired directly into the ER is very difficult
Scholarships, college clubs, honor society really doesn't help much. Tons of people have it and they are looking for work. Hospitals want prior RN experience above everything else.
If CRNA is your ultimate goal then you would have to eventually go back to school for your BSN and then grad school. IMO you would be better off going through a BSN program initially to ride out the bad economy. Hopefully things will be better by then.
Look through any of the threads on here and you will see the new grad job market is horrible. It's like buying a lottery ticket at this point with the hundreds, sometimes thousands of applications they receive for a handful of spots. Working in a nursing home again is a very real possibility.

I might just be starting to get into Nursing, even though I've known this is what I want to become ever since I was in the 7th grade, I don't understand this statement. I look at my papers, and online, and I see Nurse's wanted everywhere I turn. In fact, their all R.N. positions. I live in Chicago, and everyone I've talked to has found jobs practically instantly. I don't know if it's different here than in other places. But, to me, I really don't see this being a threat to my future. Maybe I'm just uneducated, or maybe its just different here, but around me I don't seem to notice it.

zippeh · Apr 24, 2011

Well, actually now I kinda was reading through some articles. I am kind of scared to continue my studies into Nursing. I don't want to be stuck in a market where it is unlikely to get a job.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Apr 24, 2011

Well, actually now I kinda was reading through some articles. I am kind of scared to continue my studies into Nursing. I don't want to be stuck in a market where it is unlikely to get a job.

Nobody knows what the nursing job market will be like in the future. The situation might have improved by the time you graduate from a school of nursing. Therefore, if nursing is your passion, I would continue along that career pathway.

B52-H · Apr 25, 2011

Well, actually now I kinda was reading through some articles. I am kind of scared to continue my studies into Nursing. I don't want to be stuck in a market where it is unlikely to get a job.

This chain of realization made me smile :) Just type in "RN New Grad can't find work/employment" into google and look at the results. Sort the results to the past year and it's pretty horrifying lol.

Hospitals always have postings for RNs. If you look closely you will see that almost all of them require at least 1 year of experience. And if you do some research on the internet, sometimes these postings are just fillers; job postings that they have no intention or need of filling.

Like previously said, if nursing is truly your passion then by all means go for it. Just be sure you fully understand that employment may or may not happen. Like most things in life, its a gamble and you may go bust.

When will things get better? No one knows. If anyone knew with 100% certainty, they would be rich from trading stocks. The one thing we do know for sure is that the job market is cyclical. New grad employment is horrible right now and eventually it will pick back up; but no one knows when. Could be a year, 5 years or 10.

WIN007 · Apr 25, 2011

Well, actually now I kinda was reading through some articles. I am kind of scared to continue my studies into Nursing. I don't want to be stuck in a market where it is unlikely to get a job.

If it's your passion and what you want to do then don't let that stop you. I believe employment can be found in most fields for the people who are the most passionate about them; these people typically end up being the best in the field. Just make sure that's what it is; also remember there's a lot more to healthcare than nursing. An RT, radiologist, PA , medical records administrator, pathologist, et al, are all viable options. So is an AS or BS (or MS) in biotechnology and working for a pharma. I mention this because many people don't consider these options and there's some newly emerging ones that are very interesting (to me, anyway).

I do think it's possible for you to get hired onto ED if you have experience as a tech, granted prospects of are surely not what it was 10 years ago. Depending where you live and how diligent a job search you're willing to invest in or not will determine this much.

CRNA is a masters degree, actually a little longer. These programs are not on every corner, they are not easy to get accepted into (please mind your grades in undergrad) and like medical school, you go where you get accepted and don't expect to see the light of day until you're done. It's a huge commitment in chemistry and math and it most definitely is NOT for people who don't like that or are risk-averse, or aren't extremely detail oriented. Many require you to have a certain number of years in critical care or trauma. I believe there's a Society of CRNA website for professionals in that field you might check out and pose your questions there for better and current info.

zippeh · Apr 26, 2011

Yeah I know CRNA is tough. But, I am really good in both Chem and Math. Their practically my specialties. I'll see where the future takes me. Right now I know my #1 goal is to get my BSN, and work my way to the E.R.

Btw, thanks for all the information, I found it very interesting :] I'll explore more on the options and see if anything interests me.