Hawaiian advice needed!

U.S.A. Hawaii

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I am a new grad and moving to Oahu, HI in two months from MA. Any helpful tips and suggestions as how and where to apply?? I do not have any experience besides clinical time. I was thinking of doing some strong certification courses before I left to at least have that behind my belt... Of anyone is from Oahu- I would greatly appreciate some advice!

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Thread moved to Hawaii Nursing forum to elicit further response.

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Thank you!

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Hello. I'm in Oahu and I've been here for about 2 1/2 months. (started applying for jobs 7 months before we actually moved here) I have about 7 months of ICU experience and NO ONE IS CALLING BACK from the hundreds of applications I've sent in. I have BLS, ACLS, Critical Care course and EKG certifications.

My husband is in the military and therefore I had no choice but to move here. I'm thinking about going back to the mainland because there is NOTHING here for me. You have to have at the minimum 12 months... But most prefer 2 years and unfortunately companies can do whatever they want and raise standards because this island is saturated with RN's. Both experienced and inexperienced! There's even a waiting line to volunteer if you can believe it. I refuse to work as a CNA because that's NOT what I busted my butt off for in nursing school. There's nothing wrong with the CNA profession, however working in the title and paygrade of a CNA but working like an RN is not something I'm interested in. I have another friend who's like me and left her job to come out here only to find out 1 year later, no one wants to hire her. So... If you can help it, please don't move here. I'm not trying to be negative, but really, there is NO jobs out here unless you're an experienced RN or you know someone in the company who's going to help you get a job. That's my advice for you... Good luck to you!

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Specializes in Medical/Surgical, Ambulatory Care.

I agree with pp in regards to trying to get as much experience as you can on the mainland before you decide to come here. I know it's a hard decision, and I was actually going to stay behind myself where I had a great job, but at the end of the day I couldn't imagine being separated from my husband unless it was for deployment reasons.

RNHALL11, I was in the exact same boat as you, and I even worked as a MSA at TAMC for some time. With the closing of St. Francis, it has made the RN job market here a total beast. You either have to have a ton of experience, or know the nurses/nurse managers on the floor who facilitate the hiring.

If you want to wait it out here, you can participate in Tripler's Red Cross Volunteer Program. I've also heard that St. Francis will reopen again later on this year or early '14, but under QMC (they are going to place their in-house new-grads in those RN slots first. Those new grads have been waiting at least a year, and have worked as CNAs or have volunteered).

Good luck to you as well.

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Wow that's for the info! I'm expecting to get stationed there the beginning of next year. The job outlook sounds awful for new rns!

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I agree with RNHAL11. It is very difficult finding a RN job here. I graduated with my BSN in August then moved to Hawaii back in September from PA (my boyfriend is here with the Army for 3 years). I literally sent in so many applications all over the island and didn't get any calls back. I even broke down and applied to a bunch of nurse's aide positions because I talked to the nurse recruiters at the hospitals here and they told me they wouldn't even consider me for a nurse residency program unless I work as an aide or unit secretary for months or even years because it's so competitive. Needless to say, I sent in a ton of nurse's aide applications and still got rejected from all of them even though I'm way overqualified! So frustrating. I finally decided to start applying to nursing homes/assisted living facilities to at least get some type of RN experience even though it's not in the hospital. I just got offered a job at an assisted living facility here and I start in a couple weeks. I figured some RN experience is better than none, and once we leave the island in a couple years I'll hopefully be able to get some experience working in the hospital. I really would recommend getting at least 6 months-1 year RN acute care experience before coming to the island, but even then I heard it's still very difficult finding a job. If i were you, I would be open to working in other clinical settings (especially nursing homes or AL) while you live here because the chance of getting any hospital job without any acute care RN experience is slim. I wish you the best of luck though with your job search! :)

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Wow thank you all so much for ur words of wisdom. This is so discouraging... Especially since their are a ton of jobs posted online...

This is going to be one of the hardest decisions I will have to make and it's looking even harder :(

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Hi tmartin83. Thanks for the info. I was told there weren't accepting anymore volunteers at Tripler... I've been applying to MSA positions and NO ONE is calling either. :( I have veterans preference too. So frustrating!!!!

To PaRN12: Congrats on your job offer!!! :) I've applied to nursing homes/AL too. NOTHING. It must be ME these companies don't like. Lol. I knew coming here I wasn't going to land a hospital job and to be honest, I just want to work as an RN so I can maintain my skills, but no one is calling. I'm working on my BSN now and I graduate in August. I'm hoping that changes my luck.

Hailmoy1: If you do move here, I trully wish you the best. I don't want to discourage you at all from moving here, that's not my intention. I just don't want you to put all your eggs in one basket only to be hit with the lack of jobs out here. VERY FRUSTRATING!!!

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Specializes in Infection Control & Wound Care.

My godness! I receive almost every day in my e-mail proposes for RN jobs on Maui, is that possible? Am I crazy?

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Specializes in MedSurg/Ortho/ER.

Hi RNHal11! I heard Hilo Medical Center just hired new grads recently. But this is in the Big Island,Hawaii. There are also some openings for RNII positions but these are temporary fulltime positions. You might want to check it out their website (if you are willing to move to Big Island ) :)Good luck!

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RNHal11- That is so frustrating!! What websites are you looking at? I always used indeed.com and a few weeks ago I started looking on Craigslist and that's where I found a few AL jobs that were hiring so I applied and got interviews a few days later. Maybe you could try that? You could also try making a list of nursing homes/AL facilities on the island and call them to see if they are hiring RNs. I know of a couple nursing homes/AL facilities that are hiring right now...if you want more info/suggestions you can message me and we can discuss it!

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