Am I dreaming or is there really a nursing shortage?

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I am from the UK and am nearly through my green card process. I want to come and work in the US and have been waiting for a year and a half to get my green card. I am just 3 weeks away from getting it but now my agency have called me and have told me they are unable to find me a job in Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York or New Jersey. Am I mistaken in thinking that there is a nursing shortage in the US? Here I am desperate for a job, and after all this time I am told there are none available. I am an ICU nurse with 10 years experience, and my agency has 20 years experience of placing UK nurses in the US.

Apparently it is because the contracts offered are too short or not appropriate, and that I have no US experience. I wanted to live and work in Connecticut so I could be with my partner but right now I would take anything in NY, NH, NJ, VT, or even Maryland, Washington DC etc, as long as I can travel to see my partner regularly. Can anyone recommend a hospital in the East of the country that has vacancies in ICU? Please...I am desperate. If I can bombard my agency wih leads maybe I will shake them up enough to pursue them for me.

Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

Emerald, thank you. I will check those hospitals out.

redwingirlie, I am glad to be reassured that there is indeed a shortage. Unfortunately, my agency isn't like a regular agency, where you can join others and work for them all simultaneously. My agency is a specialsit agency, concntrating on bringing UK nurses to the US. Their contract is exclusive, and because they pay for everything upfront, I am indebted to work for them for 18 months. I just have to accept whatever they give me I guess. At least I can get my green card and get over to the States. Eventually I'll be able to choose where I work and live.

ainz, I can't imagine US hospitals being worse than UK ones, but I guess I will have to wai and see. I am used to working flat out with many responsibilies. We don't have RTs in the UK, and more often than not we don't have any aides or healthcare assistants, so we have to look after our patients totally on our own with no help. It gets pretty heavy sometimes so I am sure I am prepared to work hard. I don't care how hard I have to work. I just want to be with my partner. We've been waiting 2 and a half years and I can't wait anymore.

Rocknurse:

1) Try to get out of that contract with that agency. They sound really scary.

2) Slavery was outlawed in this country in 1865. There are many agencies that recruit unsuspecting nurses from foreign countries. They particularly will prey on those that perceive themselves as desperate. There was one incident that I am aware of in Lubbock, TX where they brought in girls from Asia to work in a nursing home(with the promise of helping them learn english, get licensed, etc in exchange for one years work.) The immigration and Naturalization services found the girls being held sort of as hostages in a makeshift dormitory in the basement of a nursing home, having had there passports confiscated by the nursing home operators.

BE CAREFUL!! Many parts of the US are still like the wild west!

3) Get a travel visa and come to the US yourself, stay with friend and get out a little yourself and interview with hospitals or temporary agencies YOURSELF. An RN with 10 years experience can find a job in the U.S. without too much difficulty, please.

4) Check out websites of:

American Nurse Association. They have collective bargaining agreements with many hospitals in the Northeast. This would probably be a lot safer.

American Association of Critical Care Nurses. Become a member and e-mail some of those folks. They know ICU's that are short-handed and in need of good nurses.

Be careful. There are many wolves running loose on this side of the pond.

Just my humble opinion, Edward, IL

Yes edward it certainly smacks of indentured servitude at the least....

We'd love to have you in California! Because the weather is so mild people drive many miles from home to a job that fits. Cant do that in CT.

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

Nursefinders has travel nursing jobs available in California right now! I'm checking them out because I luvvvvvv Sunny California!

I'm checking into several options for myself beginning next Spring in hopes to land the job I will be content with for 13 weeks at a time.

Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

Thanx Edward, but I don't think my agency are quite that bad! I do know of nurses that have been placed by them and they were quite happy. I certainly am not gullible enough to have my passport taken off me. They actually have a good reputation in England, it's just that my situation is awkward right now. I have spent so long compiling my green card application that it would be madness to change anything right now. It would mean horrendous delays and maybe even having to apply from the beginning again, which I couldn't bear. My agency are negotiating my green card, so you can see how indebted I am to them at the moment. I signed the contract aware that I may not be placed where I wanted to but I did not imagine that they wouldn't be able to place me in an ajoining state. Nebraska is really not what I had in mind! I also signed the contract aware that if I left before everything was completed that I would have to pay back the expenses. I couldn't afford to pay for legal fees and the exam fees myself at the time. I need to hang on right now and see what happens over the next 3 weeks as it is a critical time in my immigration status. I cannot afford to mess anything up for the sake of impatience. I appreciate you pointing me in the direction of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses..that's a very useful contact...thank you.

You're all so kind! Your input is much appreciated...thank you! :)

I have an idea. While you wait, try contacting hospitals in CT and NYC directly, and inquire about sign-on bonuses, which can run as high as $10,000-$12,000 for new grads, in return for a 2-year commitment. If you were lucky enough to get hired with a bonus, you could use that to reimburse the agency for breaking your contract. (However, they will usually pay it out over the 2 years.)Or, at least you could tell the agency that you have found a hospital that is interested, and then see if they could arrange a contract for you there. Hospitals in CT include Yale-New Haven Hospital, Hospital of St. Raphael, Hartford Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital, Hospital for Special Care, Greenwich Hospital, Griffin Hospital, Milford Hospital, and others.

Rockurse, sorry to hear your story and I feel afraid that I will experience the same with you.

You know I want to work as a nurse in the U.S,too. I have inquired an agence in the U.S,which recruits nurses from oversea, and the president of the agence said he will guid me through all the procedures needed for working s a nurse in the U.S. He said they will not charge me any fee , but I have to do all the procedures by myself. At present I am applying for the NCLEX-RN.

I don't know whether I will encounter similiar situation in the near future . Could you tell me any lesson from your experience?

Thank you

Rocknurse....I wish you the best of luck and hope that you hear something very soon.

I know what it is like to be separated from your mate when you live in a different country...it is hard!

As other posters mentioned...there are PLENTY of positions on the east coast. Maryland has tons of openings.

Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I think what I will do is wait and see what they come up with in the next couple of weeks, and if my embassy interview ends up getting postponed, then I will do as you say and try to find my own job with a sign on bonus to pay off my agency. That's a great idea!

The only advice I have if you want to work in the US is to keep trying and not give up. If you are desperate to get to America then you just have to try anything and even put up with a lot of stuff that you don't want. Beggars can't be choosers I guess. There are so many ways of doing it, and so many pitfalls that each person has to try and find out for themselves. My advice is to find out everything you can about the immigration process, as this is the hardest part.

Sounds like bureaucratic nonsense to me. We are always short staffed. Find out what criteria are they using? Then ask yourself are they doing this to suit them or you? I wish there will come a day when we are independant contractors

Rocknurse,

There are plenty of jobs here on the east coast, especially in ICU. As I have experienced in the past with travel agencies, you may have to do the foot work yourself and find your own job. Then go back to your agency and tell them that you found a place that will hire you. This makes the agency not worth a cent, but at least you may find a decent job. The hospitals from New England to Maryland that use travel/agency nurses is too many to mention. Search them out online by state and what type of hospital you want and start calling! (I realize this may get expensive from London, but many places have "800" numbers. Good luck to you.

PS: Although I am relocating elsewhere soon, I know Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical center in New Hampshire is hiring in the ICU. It's an excellent teaching hospital and the working conditions are some of the best I've seen anywhere in the US! PM me if you have any other questions. Good luck.

Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

Thank you so much TraumaNurse! I will check out that hospital right now. I know you're right, which is why this is so frustrating. I think I am going to have to help them help me, and find my own job.

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