Houston, TX New Graduate Residency

[Jbark1]

Hello all!

I'm proud to say that I just graduated with my BSN from UTH! I feel like I am one of a few in my class that did not land a job by graduation I felt that I was very qualified on paper (3.5 nursing GPA, previous BA, service industry experience, research assistant, leadership positions), however I was frankly a little surprised to only be invited to two residency interviews. I thought I would at least get invited to Match Day with MH, but I did not (perhaps because I never had clinical there?). I interviewed for Medical ICU/IMU with Harris Health and ultimately I was not selected; still waiting for a response from HCA. At this point, I am not sure what I need to be doing in order to get my first RN job.

I have been told by a couple people that I could apply for RN positions once I sit for and pass the NCLEX, however it would not be a "new grad residency", rather I would be precepted by a nurse and the training would be similar to an experienced RN on the unit. I understand the value of a residency program, but is it the *only way* to become a RN in the Houston area? I still intend on applying for the next cohort of residencies, but what if nothing comes out of that? I feel lost; in no way do I feel that I am entitled to a residency position, however I do not know where to go from here. My student loans need to start being paid back soon; I don't know if I should get a part-time retail job while I am waiting to take NCLEX and apply for the next round of residencies or if I should defer my loan repayment and hope something comes my way.

I know this is a long-winded post, but if you know the Houston market and you can give me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it. It's almost 3am and I cannot sleep because of my anxiety over this. I have a young child and have been staying with my parents and they keep asking me about job offers but I don't know what to tell them other than I am doing my best

[527813]

Hi! I also graduated this past may. I understand how you feel. I had an interview with MH, HCA, and CHI St. Luke's and didn't get any job offers. I don't know what i'm doing wrong either. My stats are pretty good and I'm surprised I wasn't offered any positions. The majority of my graduating class received job offers. The only thing I feel I should do at this point is reapply literally everywhere and hope for the best. I haven't taken the NCLEX yet so hopefully after I pass the NCLEX i'll have a better chance of getting hired. Don't lose hope!