How to get hired without experience

[midcom]

I am a new LPN grad who wants to work in a clinic but after every interview, I learn that they offered the position to a nurse with experience. I'm getting very frustrated. I won't ask how to get experience when I can't get hired but since you already have a clinic job, maybe you can suggest some ways of getting experience. Would working in LTC help at all? I'm at a loss for what to do.

I am a mature graduate & have had lots of life experience, I was the top student in my class, learn quickly, I have a great letter of recommendation, wonderful references, am personable, have excellent communication skills, and get along with everyone. I would be an assest to any practice that would give me a chance, if only I could get that chance.

Dixie

[GeauxNursing]

you market yourself very well! I wish you came to work with me!

I have my job only because I worked there as a PCT for 3 years up until graduation then just transitioned to LVN role. What was your previous job? Any networking that can be done with fellow grads or previous instructors? I'm learning it has a lot to do with who you know.

good luck!

Oh, where do you live? Do you have Care Now clinics there? The walk-in type clinics for broken arms, shots, work physicals, colds, that sort of thing? I know they hire new grads all the time.

[GeauxNursing]

Wow, lol, didn't realize this post was so old!

[3boysmom3]

I started in my clinic as a floater, and was given a position with one doctor about two years ago. I think the floater position was the BEST, actually! I didn't have to get bogged down with ongoing issues with any one patient; every day was just a new day to be started. Of course the good thing about working with one MD is that I have "my" own patients, and so I have the chance to establish relationships with them,which I love. But overall- she's got it good with a floater position!!! (also a little less guilt-inducing if you have to call in)...

[midcom]

Actually, I'm the one getting called in. If someone calls in sick, I can expect to get a call because my supervisor knows I usually will work.

I agree that there are good parts about being a float. If I don't have the time, I don't feel guilty leaving a few items in the regular nurse's worklist, especially getting prior authorizations, for instance.

For GeauxNursing, my former job was in IT, which actually has been very helpful. Since I started working we have gone to electronic charting. Several of the older registry nurses have quit or retired because they were intimidated by the computers. I'm usually able to pick it up pretty easily & am often asked for help by the nurses who work with it daily.

I live in Iowa ( unfortunately the state with the lowest nursing pay) and part of my job is to work at something similar to your "Care Now clinic". In our area they are called Urgent Care or Convenient Care. I work Convenient Care every other weekend. The patients we are supposed to be seeing are minor injuries, UTIs, URIs, acute things, not physicals or routine vaccinations. Those patients are required to make appointments to see their caregiver during the regular work week( we have coverage until 8:00PM). Unfortunately, many of our patients think that since we are called "convenient" it means that they can come because it is inconvenient to come during the week. Our intention is to treat the people who would normally go to the ER but don't really need to be treated there.

This is the area at our clinic where we have the most turnover but even it isn't often. I guess they get tired of working weekends. However, they rarely hire new nurses for this job as there is so much to learn and we only have 2 nurses working. I was a new nurse but didn't get set loose on weekends until orienting & working many days during regular work hours and then, when I did go to weekends, they had a 3rd nurse for a few weeks. The nurse who I have worked with on the weekend since I started recently quit so they are hoping to hire someone soon. I know that the other nurses hope it's soon because they have to take turns filling in for her.

Oops, sorry, I tend to go on & on.

Dixie

[STNA]

Dixie,

I've been reading this thread and I've enjoyed hearing about your experiences. I am a new grad and I just got (finally) hired at an office. Do you have any advice for me as I start out? . . . Anything you wish you would have known when you got hired?

[3boysmom3]

Hi Dixie,

Yes, your clinic sounds a little different than mine, although I know there are many things common to all ambulatory care clinics.

I work at a hospital-based clinic, so I am actually an employee of the hospital. There are some really good aspects to that, such as: my pay is the same as a hospital RN, and since I worked for the hospital for a gazillion years already I've worked my way up the pay scale pretty well. We close at 5:00pm Mon-Thurs, and at noon on Friday, so we have virtually no turnover. Even when we get frustrated we know that that's a schedule we're not likely to find again! Also, as employees of the hospital the doctors are not our bosses. Of course working for a hospital you have plenty of "bosses" but at least we're not in a pickle if we should get some doctor who wants to be a tyrant. They can't ask us to stay late, run personal errands, etc. We've been lucky about that (not having a tyrant), but it could certainly happen.

The downside is: well, we work for a hospital. That means we are subject to the regular JCAHO inspections and have to abide by all of their rules. The charts have to be just so; we have to keep relentless logs of our sample medications, keep up with all the required education sent out frequently by the hospital education dept., and on and on and on. That's not really bad, it just means there are some headaches that those in private office don't contend with.

Our floater is there every day; it's a full-time position. She's either taking vital signs and putting patients in rooms for the regular nurses, or helping a regular nurse as we're all very bombarded every day. If she calls in sick it means the regular nurses just run a little faster, lol. She is extremely valuable to us. If a nurse calls in sick, the floater then covers for that nurse's doctor.

You have routine patients that should have scheduled with their PCP; our situtation is patients that situation is very sick patients walking in who should have gone to the ER but absolutely refused to because of what they consider an unreasonable hassle and wait (we sometimes end up taking them there ourselves). And then, just general "walk-ins" who don't think the "by appointment only" policy applies to them. Sometimes I feel like asking "OK, Mrs. Smith, which one of these scheduled patients would you like for me to bump out of their sheduled time since you want to take one of their spots?" Of course I never would say that and we just absorb them.

I like clinic work; I've been it for six years now (I was working inpatient mental health for years prior to that, until the hospital closed our psych dept. due to what they felt was insufficient $$$ coming in from it).\

(and you said YOU tend to go on and on!)

To STNA: If you were applying at my clinic, of course I couldn't ask you this but I would LOVE it if you said on your own "I almost never call in; I have adequate back-up babysitting arrangements so I don't have to call in every time my babysitter can't work; I don't smoke, so you'll never have to hunt for me outside; and I am not "above" doing any task needed (because we are truly a jack of all trades in a clinic- if there's a mess on the floor we get the vacuum, etc., as housekeeping only comes once a day; we might have to take a wheelchair to the parking lot to help bring a patient in, etc.)

[STNA]

Lol. That's how I got hired . . . : )

[momichar]

It was great reading this post. I am a new grad and would love love love to work in a clinic, but without any experience I feel like my chances are slim to none. I don't even know where to begin right now, but hearing you describe the job makes me want to do it even more. I will be sending out resumes to all the clinics I can find in my area and hoping for the best. Dixie, I hope all is well with you, your story was inspiring.