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?
South Dakota is not the place to go. I live here, on the eastern side of the state, and it's highly competitive. You need a BSN to get anywhere here...
I was in a very similar situation as you, worked in home health and a SNF for over 3 years after graduation. I began to think I would never get acute are experience. On a whim, I applied to Alvarado Hospital in San Diego and got called for an interview right away. That's where I work now and although the hospital doesn't have the best reputation, it's much better than what I was doing and it's acute care! We are always hiring, visit alvaradohospital.com and apply. You just might get that acute care experience you need!
I was in the same position as new grad in San Diego looking for acute care. I was recruited out of state to Montana for a 2 year nurse residency program and now work on a busy med/surg/tele floor at Benefis Hospital in Great Falls. They paid 3600 for me to move and offer an additional 5000 bonus. Pay is 26.4/hr to start with eve and night diff. PLENTY of oppertunity to do OT and make good money. You just have to be a strong self starter and willing to get out in the floor with confidence. You can get up to 5-6 pts during day and up to 8 at night. After 6 months you can cross train and float to other floors. After a 1-2 years I will have med/surg, tele, onc, ortho and neuro exp 😃😃😃ðŸ‘ðŸ‘ðŸ‘
Try to apply to Shands Hospital, Gainesville, FL. It is a large teaching hospital that always hires new grads. At least you can get your 1 year of experience.
Sutter health is always in the news for exploiting nurses. I'd spend all that energy applying anywhere else. Sutter has even been rumored to hit nurses..
I don't know what part of california you are in but Oroville Hospital in Oroville, CA hires new grads and RN's without acute care experience even into their ICU. I don't know what specialty you want to work but they will definitely hire you especially if you go in person to talk with HR or the manager. The only thing is they wont hire you if you have to commute they like to hire people that live locally so they can call you for coverage if people call in sick. It pays well (over $40 per hour to start) and the cost of living is cheap. They currently have many openings on the website. Just a thought if you want to stay in California and are willing to do a year in a rural hospital to get your experience.
Wow!!!!Thank you so much for your support and responses. There is a lot to think about here. Right now I took a job at a really nice SNF that is pretty skilled, neat and and organized and the staff very sweet about 10 min. from my home. So for now I'm just enjoying the tranquility of the moment. Thank you
I'm sorry you're having a difficult time finding a job in a hospital. I also have had the same issues. You should definitely apply online to hospital but also try to go in person and fill out a application/drop of your resume. You may be told that you have to do it online but still try. Do some research regarding who the nurse managers are, who's in the nursing recruitment department and try to find their contact information. Also, having connections and someone that works at a hospital that can put a good work in for you would really help. I got my first hospital job this way. My former supervisor worked at this hospital and spoke to the director of nursing and was able to get me a job in her department (ER). So definitely try that. I wish you the best of luck in your job search!
BrandyJ, RN
1 Post
South Dakota is not the place to go. I live here, on the eastern side of the state, and it's highly competitive. You need a BSN to get anywhere here...