I've been prompted to post my own thread after reading another about a person in a similar situation.
I graduated with my ADN in May 2007, it took me 4 tries to pass the NCLEX test for my RN license, as I was very distracted with family health issues and didn't pass until June of last year. I applied for every nursing job within a 150 mile radius of where I live, all I got were answers of "we aren't hiring anyone right now, not even janitors", "we're supposed to get some extra funds in the next couple months, check back", "we can't hire anyone without any experience right now because we don't have the money to train anyone", etc, etc, etc.........
Here it is, two years after I graduated and a year after I got the RN initials and still no job. It's really starting to hit me, I've read a couple posts here on allnurses where posters say that after a year or two of graduating with no clinical nursing experience you are un-marketable, forget it, go back and take a refresher or something, and still it won't be easy. I have 14 years of volunteer EMS experience, I ride the box everyday, I do assessments, vitals, documentation, airway management, you name it, I've been on 6 codes in the last month, but because it isn't nursing experience it doesn't give me any way shape or form of an in at any hospital, ALF, Dr's office, nothing.
At this point I'm considering moving anywhere to get a job if someone will hire me for any kind of RN job, but I have very deep roots in my community. The thought of packing up and moving off makes me even more depressed than I already am, but I am coming to realize I can't stay here and wait for the local places to start hiring again. Heck, the economy is just starting to catch up to us in this area, and I know from past experience it will take us another year to two years behind the rest of the country to recover.
I just remember five years ago when I was accepted into the nursing program at our local community college thinking, wow within five years I could be a travel nurse, or pretty much anything else I wanted, now I'm just trying to figure out what the heck happened and what I'm going to do.
So....I guess I'm not really looking for advice in this post, but I would love to hear others experiences, especially if you are or have been in a similar situation, just please someone tell me I didn't just waste three years of my life and get $25 grand in debt for nothing.....
I recently relocated to another facility. At first the thought of 'moving' and not knowing what to expect scared me a lot. Once when I settled down, I realized that things're not as bad as I thought. My facility had relocation compensation and everyone's very supportive.
If I were you, I'll move to somewhere to get some work experiences. After you get 1 yr of nursing experience, you can always move back to your community. "The first job is always the hardest".
I recently relocated to another facility. At first the thought of 'moving' and not knowing what to expect scared me a lot. Once when I settled down, I realized that things're not as bad as I thought. My facility had relocation compensation and everyone's very supportive.
If I were you, I'll move to somewhere to get some work experiences. After you get 1 yr of nursing experience, you can always move back to your community. "The first job is always the hardest".
Thanks Diaper, your situation sounds similar to mine while you were in the "pre-move" stage, it's good to hear that you've had a good experience since. I've been doing alot of searching and have found quite a few open positions around where my parents winter in Florida, and I'm going to be sending out apps to them soon. It gives me hope that there are open positions with comparable pay and benefits to what I can't find here......
Like you said, it's getting over the hurdle, "The first job is always the hardest", truer words I've never heard :uhoh21:
Dude, read the last post in my "Loser Looking For a Job" thread (just kidding ) and you will realize that if I can do it, anyone can.
I was told I had a bad attitude for not wanting to involve myself in LTC, but the hell with that, I knew what I wanted and just had to wait a little longer to get it. And the same will happen to you, so don't despair--keep plugging away and it will come.
Dude, read the last post in my "Loser Looking For a Job" thread (just kidding ) and you will realize that if I can do it, anyone can.
I was told I had a bad attitude for not wanting to involve myself in LTC, but the hell with that, I knew what I wanted and just had to wait a little longer to get it. And the same will happen to you, so don't despair--keep plugging away and it will come.
Thanks Mez, congrats on the job, I replied to your other thread. Yeah i hear yah there about the LTC, like I said I'm looking at a couple places right now with open positions so I have my fingers crossed, sent out the apps today....
Just wondering...are you planning on taking a refresher course or just applying w/o one??
Oh, just re-read your post..I see you are an EMT. I can't believe that doesn't give you an "in". I think those of us that have any kind of a gap from when we graduated to when we began practicing...it just looks funny. Big red flag, no matter what the reason. Too bad.
Hey thrash, no I'm not planning on taking a refresher course unless I'm told that I need it. At this point I can't really afford to do one, plus a couple nurse recruiters I've talked to said my EMT experience is a plus, at least it shows that I have some ongoing experience to keep some skills sharp. How is your search going?, has the gap in between graduating and practicing been any problem to you at all?, I'm not too awful concerned about it, I think most people/places understand that due to the current economy it's not really an issue, although it certainly does not give us an edge when interviewing against more recent grads....
) and you will realize that if I can do it, anyone can.
Diaper, RN
87 Posts
I recently relocated to another facility. At first the thought of 'moving' and not knowing what to expect scared me a lot. Once when I settled down, I realized that things're not as bad as I thought. My facility had relocation compensation and everyone's very supportive.
If I were you, I'll move to somewhere to get some work experiences. After you get 1 yr of nursing experience, you can always move back to your community. "The first job is always the hardest".