Graduated last May.... NO JOB

xandarosa · May 30, 2012

I'm in the same boat as you. Right now I'm getting my BSN to try to help. I've looked all over Texas. My son's disabled so I can't leave Tx. Home Health, Nursing Homes, Rural hospitals, etc everywhere

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 30, 2012

i graduated last may from an adn program and still have not found a job.

if i am recalling correctly, you landed a job at a nursing home right around the time that you graduated from school. however, you quit because you felt you were not being trained properly, did not wish to have 20 elderly residents under your care, and had concerns about losing your license.

i do not intend to sound mean or overly blunt, but your unemployment is purely by choice because you could have chosen to maintain employment at the ltc facility. i worked at ltc facilities for more than four years before landing a hospital job, and yes, several hiring managers at the hospitals counted my ltc experience.

believe it or not, nurses are more likely to have their licenses referred while working at a hospital. very few nurses ever lose their licenses while employed at a nursing home. beggars cannot be choosers in a slumping economy when masses of other inexperienced nurses compete for the same few jobs. new grads must be willing to do the type of unpleasant work that they never imagined themselves doing. good luck to you.

mom35 · May 30, 2012

if willing to relocate to eagle pass texas, fdrmc is almost always hiring. I had to move here from dfw to get my first position.

RobinMRn · May 31, 2012

i graduated last may from an adn program and still have not found a job.
so i've been unemployed for 1 year.
i know many people are on the same boat.
anyone here?

i finished nursing school last july and i also have not had any luck finding a job. i started an rn to bsn program in april though and hope to be done by september. i'm going to try looking again once i have my bsn. it is very frusrating, what area are you in?

CaliforniaRNnow · May 31, 2012

Glad to see I'm not the only one!!

CaliforniaRNnow · May 31, 2012

your unemployment is purely by choice

your ltc facility must've been absolutely wonderful to work for. i wish i had the same luck!!! i would've stayed at a place like that. even if it was fast-paced, busy, and required 20 patients, i would work there if the employers treated their employees like human beings and gave them the training that they need to do the job right. that's just common sense.

my ltc facility put me in a horrible position. they did not offer me good training because the nurse was way too busy to even train me. and the nurses had to do atleast 3 jobs, including being the secretary. it was not a good place to start out (or ever work). so i did the right thing and quit because i was going to end up losing my license for "neglecting" someone because i was too busy doing more than one job, or something else really bad that would cause me to lose my license because i had absolutely no idea what was going on. and guess what? my classmate ended up replacing me and she ended up quitting, too because of the working conditions and how they treated their nurses.

so we both (and however many other people had quit... which is a lot) are unemployed and you know what, i'd rather be unemployed than work at such a place. trust me, you would quit, too. we will not allow the slumping economy to be an excuse to stay in a position where you know your license could end up being revoked. that is not how i want to start my career after working so hard in nursing school.

yes, i am a beggar, as every other nurse who has graduated. but i can choose any other place besides that. what are the odds that my first job would be so bad? i'll even work at an er (which i seriously don't want to do) instead of that place. i've applied everywhere and am willing to do anything. i know my position; i know where i stand. i've made the right decisions in life and will be rewarded.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 31, 2012

Your LTC facility must've been absolutely wonderful to work for. I wish I had the same luck!!! I would've stayed at a place like that.

I've worked at several LTC facilities, and some of them have been scary. My first LTC job out of nursing school lasted only 6 weeks because I only received 1 day of orientation and was basically baptized by fire. I had 30 elderly residents under my care.

I ended up quitting when I found a job at another LTC facility located closer to my home that offered slightly better ratios of 1 nurse to 20 residents. I only received 1 day of training and had to figure out everything by myself. The gig was physically and mentally tough, and some of the managers were verbally abusive, but I ended up staying at this workplace for two years.

I resigned from this place to work at another LTC that offered me $4 more per hour. However, it was night shift and I would be responsible for 68 residents. I only received two days of training. The conditions were downright scary, but a person can make it work if one wants it badly enough.

I'll also reiterate that very few nurses 'lose their licenses' in nursing homes. Most of the nurses who have had their licenses revoked had hospital employment at the time that disciplinary action was taken against their licensure.

I've made the right decisions in life and WILL be rewarded.

I'm not entirely sure that remaining at home, accruing no work experience, and being financially supported by parents are 'right' decisions that will result in rewards. The longer you are out of work, the less attractive you look to prospective employers.

Earning more degrees and obtaining no experience in one's chosen field will not help the situation. In the nursing profession, education will not take one very far without the work experience that follows.

CaliforniaRNnow · May 31, 2012

earning more degrees and obtaining no experience in one's chosen field will not help the situation.

first of all, i'm glad you see my point of view with the ltc facility situation. and "very few nurses"? okay, with my luck, i would be one of those few nurses. it's not like it's impossible to get a mark on your nursing record from a nursing home...

and what i've quoted you on, that's exactly the opposite of what my teachers have told me! haha. they kept telling us to continue our education because right now, it's so hard to get a job as an adn. so i'm continuing my education to be hirable. there are so many people out there who have not had a job for atleast a year who can't find a job. so it's not just me. and i even know someone who couldn't find a job for 10 years and now she works at a magnet hospital. there are great opportunities out there! you say education will not take one very far without the work experience that follows... well, that's what i'm doing. i'm getting my education and will follow that with work. thanks for your concern.

RobinMRn · May 31, 2012

thecommuter,

i dont understand why you are so bitter against new nurses who don't want to risk their patients lives and their hard earned license "just for a job".

i think the original poster had legitimate concern over her work conditions and made a wise decision to not continue with that type of job. would you want your family member or yourself being cared for someone who had no orientation and a huge patient load with no experience? i know i wouldn't. at least she is smart enough to recognize that it wasn't a good fit for her instead of putting her patients at risk.

nurses work hard for their license, you make it sound like its unreasonable to expect an orientation and training.

also, continuing your education is actually a better choice in this situation than taking an unsafe job. at least having more education will open more doors. i think gaining more education and waiting for a more suitable job would actually be a good decision.

i really can't understand why someone who has been a nurse for a while would recommend just taking any job, even if it is not safe, " just to gain experience".

the economy stinks for everyone, its okay that new nurses are upset over not being able to find anything. we worked hard to become rn's, why is it sooo unreasonable to you that people are upset over not finding a job?

i know for myself i have looked really hard, i haven't been picky at all and i have had hardly any feedback. i won't however pay a ton of money to put my kids in daycare for a job i absolutely hate and that is unsafe.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 1, 2012

thecommuter,
i dont understand why you are so bitter against new nurses who don't want to risk their patients lives and their hard earned license "just for a job".

i possess no feelings of bitterness toward new nurses. in fact, i do not feel bitter toward anyone on an online forum filled with persons with whom i am not acquainted in real life.

however, it is slightly untruthful to claim that one has been unemployed for an entire year while purposely failing to mention the nursing home job that the individual voluntarily left.

CaliforniaRNnow · Jun 1, 2012

it is slightly untruthful to claim that one has been unemployed for an entire year while purposely failing to mention the nursing home job that the individual voluntarily left.

maybe it's because it lasted 1 week and is hardly called a job - more like a failed attempt at training someone. and fyi, i have been unemployed for an entire year... even after the ltc facility.

thecommuter, i dont understand why you are so bitter against new nurses who don't want to risk their patients lives and their hard earned license "just for a job".

wow, someone reasonable is here!! thanks for sticking up for the people who are working very hard and won't settle for a job that puts patients as well as nurses at risk.