I graduated in 2010 and nursing have been a bumpy road for me. Thousands of applications later and I still have not been able to work in acute care. For the past 4.5 years I've been busy in SNF, home health, clinics. I pass meds for 36 patients, change catheters, put IV's, tend to the dead and dying, assess, order meds, talk to MD's admit discharge, know a lot a about ventilators, trach suctioning, PICC lines, wound care, J tube, diabetes, and overall patient care. However none of these skills seem to be of any importance as long as you have the abbreviation SNF attached to it. I have an insanely strong back and speak 3 languages.
I figure that the only way I'll get my experience will be going someplace where no one wants to go. Because here in California is literally a waste of time to even apply to any hospital. I was looking just at Sutter Health in my "jobs page" and I have applied more then 500 times in the last few years. I sometimes think that these jobs don't even exist.
Can anyone tell me of places that might be hiring RN's with my kind of experience. My dream and only dream is to work as a traveler around the Bay Area, and all I need is one year of acute care experience. So I decided to stop everything is go after that. Can anyone help me?
I feel your pain. I also graduated in 2010 and no hospital in California would take a serious look at me. I ended up relocating to Alaska for an outpatient clinic position at an IHS facility. I progressed onto case management and am now a diabetes educator. Six years later, I figure I will have no problem getting a position back in CA. I was wrong. Because I still do not have hospital experience, my application was almost instantaneously rejected. I am now moving to Wyoming to accept my dream job in a CCU step-down telemetry unit.
I agree with other nurses who posted. Start looking out of state. I can't say enough good things about the Indian Health Service, and they tend to hire both new grads and nurses with experience similar to yours. They also have facilities nation-wide. Good luck!
Try seeking out independent community hospitals, ones that aren't part of some big network everyone thinks to check. I was recently hired at such a hospital in northern California, and it sounds like they've had trouble finding candidates even in the recent past. I'd never even heard of them before my friend referred me, and I've been applying online all over California for 4 years.
Specializes in Critical Care, Cardio-Vascular, RRT.
There are a lot of good options listed here so far. Working at a rural hospital to get your year is not a bad idea and you actually don't have to leave Cali to get it. Most parts of California are one to two hour drive from some rural areas and hospitals. It may be worth the sacrifice for a year and you still get to stay in Cali .
I live in North Indiana and my hospital would be throwing job offers at you! there are hospitals all over the country that are looking for nurses for all different types of units. I would definitely start looking out of state.
I worked for Sutter Center for Psychiatry for almost 9 years in Sacramento. Pay and benefits are good, but like you, I put in hundreds of applications in for other in-house positions. After speaking with one particular RN in the Endo dept at Sutter, they will not even consider your resume if you do not have your ACLS and PALs. Also, if you could attend their Clincal Nurse Residency Program, it would get you going. I believe Sutter is having a job fair here in Modesto this week. Don't give up! You definitely have awesome skills.
Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.
I know two hospitals in San Diego County that would hire you right now. There are also a couple of hospitals here that have a SNF attached to them where you could start out and transfer to acute care after 6 mos or a year. It's doable. Keep on keeping on!
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LVHI_RN
127 Posts
Sounds all too familiar... number one advice: MOVE!