I am beginning to think that I can not get a job...

[Wingnut09]

I am a new grad RN (of course). I am wondering, is there any way to compete with people who have experience?

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

I hate to tell you but these complaints are hardly "ridiculous...as virtually all of them have occurred during my career, most of them multiple times in my 16 years as a nurse (and additional time as a CNA)

If you review this BB long enough, you will actually see posts, where people expound on how those with small children should have priority to be off, because it "would hurt" their children to not have mommy there", about people who do not like dress codes, think that they deserve higher than average pay, want special conditions because of ADD (when their pt codes and dies, will the court take that into account?). I believe virtually all of these attitudes show up. And if not, you will surely see them at work.

You ask for reasons why new grads are not easily accepted. We have explained to you the costs involved, the fact that many job hop, or are just getting that 1-2 years before dumping and moving on.

You do not have to like the fact that many of us have experienced/dealt with these very real issues/attitudes...but that does not change the fact, that they are there, they are very real, and these issues can cost the hospital a great deal of money, or at minimum cause the unit manager/chg nurse/scheduling nurse more HAs and unneeded stress.

I also offer a constructive solution. Hospitals need to do a contracted residency. At my unit (not necessarily hospitalwide), while not a signed contract, one is expected when you are hired that you will stay on the unit for 3 years, and thus, "pay back" the amount of money that my facility has expending on training us. By the same token it has one of the MOST comprehensive orientation that I have ever seen for both experienced nurses and for new grads, and very , very low turnover. It is specialty unit the requires training in ACLS, Critical care, CVVHD, chemo, research protocols, oncology, etc. And the hospital foots the pay for a lot of education days as well as study time. And many of those teaching, are also working nurses who have written papers and contributed to nationally distributed books on their specialty.

Hospitals should be able to insure some pay back for sinking a lot front money on a nurse, and taking the risk of hiring someone without a proven track record. By the same token, there should be regs in place to prevent abuse of new grads in contract.

What are looking for: People who work hard, dress appropriately, have a medical/nonmedical work record that demonstrates reliability/good attitude, and good work references. But you also need to be patient.....there a lot of people (not just nurses) out of work d/t the recession. And while nursing is recession-resistant, it is not completey recession proof. I know plenty of people that were making 100K to 300K per year, that have been out of regular work for over a year. And a hospital engineer with over 35 years in a facility, that got the axe without any notice (along with his dept) because the facility outsourced some services. Through no fault of his own and was escorted of the premises by security, some of which were longterm friends.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

"Many hospitals get burned by sinking a lot of money into new grads just to get dumped after a year or two. Or the new nurse does not work out. "

How is this different than the returning nurse who has not practiced in years whose DH lost a job who plan on quitting as soon as DH gets a job? Is there a significant difference in money to train the new grad vs. an experienced nurse who has not been on the job in many years?

Read the BB. Many of them cannot get jobs, or are being ranked lower than new grads. There have been plenty of threads on that.

But they, in most cases, have actually some track record and have actually practiced nursing.

They are also generally aware that they do not broadcast such issues at work, or in interviews, or they know that they are probably not going get the job. Many of them also stay on part time. DH are not getting snapped up in the same pay grade that they left and much lost retirement funds are gone.

[Wingnut09]

I am not saying that the "ridiculous" demands do not occur, in fact, having had a career prior to this, I know that they occur in EVERY field of work (minus any bodily fluids issues which generally do not occur in an office setting). The cost of training and job hopping was a big complaint in my last field, where incidentally, I was employed for almost a decade. :twocents:I am just saying that I would not demand these types of things, nor would I hire these types of people.

Yes, I agree that a contracted residency is a positive thing. I wish there were more available! I think that they really do make great nurses. However, as a new grad I can not change hospital policy, I just want a job. My impression is that from an HR standpoint, it would be better to fix it globally, by providing contracted residencies, but as individual looking, I want to know what I can do to get a job at a facility that does not put my license at risk due to poor training. And yes, I am doing my best to be patient.

[Music in My Heart]

get this... one of my previous employers actually preferred new RN's without experience. They were easy to 'brainwash' into believing that their system was the only way, um or should i say 'sell them into the system'. this is a huge teaching institution with an awesome reputation for training nurses to know what to do in every situation. most experienced nurses couldn't or wouldn't hack it, but the new grads didn't know any better.

Get this...

I know a couple of nurse managers who prefer new grads because they're open-minded and willing to adapt to the existing environment rather than regularly popping off with, "Well, at _______ we did it this way and it worked so much better."

You see it as a negative, I see it as a positive.

[MedSurgeMess]

30 bucks is definitely not an unrealistic expectations,most places in my area start new grads on such amount.

Yes, that may be true for your area, but if you read my whole comment, $20/hr is about what everyone starts at around here. Only those with truckloads of experience, ie 20+ yrs, will make 30 ish an hour....but we also have an extremely low cost of living rate. Most places starting out higher wages have a higher cost of living.....

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

I think that I am merely rehashing this here but:

You get the, "I don't want to work holidays....no one in my family has to and they just won't understand"

the, "Shouldn't it be the nurse who has GROWN children/no children that works Christmas". (my Dad was military and deployed most holidays, in Vietname...your kids CAN deal with Mommy being working on the holiday).

the "I have small children, and can only work 7-3, during the week, and it has to be okay when I come in late every shift, and if one even sniffles, I will have to leave my shift shortstaffed (at least once every ten days), because my husband couldn't possibly handle a sick child". Surely that gives me priority.

"I couldn't possibly take care of that pt w/TB/MRSA/VRE/HIV/HepC, because well, my husband and I are starting to try to conceive, and I think it would be too dangerous....you know".

"I have ADHD/ADD and need to have fewer pts than everyone else, because I need more time to do things".

"I have to be able to answer my cell 24/7 because my boyfriend can't stand to not be in constant touch/my kids try to kill each other if they can't call at least 20 times per day. Don't you just love my new Trace Adkins ringtone?"

"Well, I really don't like to work the Sabbath because religion is really important to (implication - it can't possibly be as important to the rest of these heathens here). But hopefully I will be able to find a switch for my required weekends. (reality...will basically torture and harass incessently, every other staffer so that s/he will be off every Friday night/Sat/Sun)."

"I know that it costs a huge amount of money and causes a great deal of inconvenience to orient me....but as soon as I find a better job, I will book on outta here".

"I know that it costs even more to orient, educate an ICU nurse...but I only got into nursing to become a CRNA..and not soil my fingers with bedbaths. So I will be here for the 2 required years and then dump this job for CRNA school. Isn't that a great plan?."

"Well, I thought that I would be a CNA, but became an RN because I don't like bedpans/fetching water/feeding people/doing mouthcare. How many CNAs do you have per shift?"

"I can't work nights".

"What do you mean that I won't make $35/hr...in Florida...my first year out."

"What do you mean, that you do not negotiate new grad salaries? Isn't there a nursing shortage? I went to a very prestigious school/worked as a CNA for the last year/did clinicals in many different departments/graduated in the top tier of my class." (Clue....those mean very little against a proven track record)

"What do you mean that I cannot become a travel nurse, get a job in Hawaii right out of school? Isn't there a nursing shortage". I know that for most people you require at least a year (preferably 2-5)of experience but I went to a prestigous school/school with multiple clinical sites/worked as a CNA/graduated in the top tier of my class. Besides, I'm ready now. "(Clue: see above)

"I just want to work in my specialty (none of this M/S - I'm too good for that) for 1 solid year, then I will travel to Hawaii"

"What do you mean that I cannot wear my spongebob scrubs - you have a dress code of all whites? Isn't that old and boring?"

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While not every new grad exhibits these attitudes, enough of them do to make recruiters a bit jaded.

I could go on for hours.

Many hospitals get burned by sinking a lot of money into new grads just to get dumped after a year or two. Or the new nurse does not work out. If they leave after 1 or 2 years, it just is not cost effective. Now sometimes the hospital deserves it, by poor conditions. But I have worked some very prestigious facilities as a traveler and as staff, and 1-2 years at "X" hospital in certain hospitals w/good evals can take you far (I get recruited even in this economy by some great places where new grads can barely get seen). Hospitals in this economy cannot easily pay out the costs of orientation, especially when the staffer may book on them. They also cannot orient effectively more than a handful of new grads at a time.

(An idea would be a contracted residency for new nurses, like we do for MDs. We do not have MDs independent right out of school.)

Don't forget the, "I don't need to do bedside for too long, I'm going to be an ARNP right away. Because I am too good to be at bedside....."

And it is funny you mention travelers, we are hiring them right now....