I Just Need To Vent A Bit... Or A Lot.

[PCnurse88]

Literally no one else in my life can empathize with me lately, and this is just something I need to get out of my system so I can go back to obsessively applying for jobs. My license expires for the first time at the end of this month and, as a May 2013 grad, I have yet to actually use it. So yay for paying for this license that so far has been collecting dust, because I'm so poor I can't afford a frame for it!

I'm so sick of everything related to nursing.

I am usually a very appreciative person and I am always so grateful when anyone helps me because I hate asking for help, but right now I don't want it. Stop sending me emails of Nursing Jobs throughout the state. Stop asking if I've applied to XYZ Hospital or if I ever considered home health or hey, have I ever heard of these New Grad programss? Stop telling me that you heard about this staffing agency or that you found out about your current job through CareerBuilder/ Monster. Yes I saw that open position, yes I have applied at every single hospital in this state numerous times, yes I've heard of and applied to all the new grad programs, no I can't work for a staffing agency because they want 18 years of experience, and yes my resume is on CareerBuilder and Monster and LinkedIn and Indeed and this sketchy healthcare page that may or may not be legit. Stop trying to help me because all you are doing is making me feel like you think I'm stupid.

But then I feel guilty for getting mad at people for trying to help. Like yes, I know you have my best interests in mind, I know you want me to get a job, I know you want to help. But you saying all these things to me somehow computes in my frustrated mind as you thinking that I'm just lounging on the couch watching Supernatural all day. I'm working 45 hours a week at a job that I dislike / on the verge of hate for next to no money that is a 45 minute drive, I'm spending every waking moment scouring the internet for jobs and nursing opportunities, and I'm doing "volunteer" work that makes me feel like a douchebag 8 hours a week. Yes I am trying extremely hard to get a job.

Part of me wants to be mad at the health care industry and experienced nurses but I'm smart enough to know that this anger would be misplaced and that it's neither of these things' fault. I AM angry with my college and my nursing professors for spreading the lie about the nursing shortage and reassuring me that I would get a job right out of school, but no one made me go to nursing school, and people shouldn't have to retire just for me to get a job. It's just - the whole process of applying to jobs is demeaning and frustrating, and who am I supposed to aim all of these negative feelings towards? There's no one to really blame, so it just festers.

I've also never felt this desperate before. I would do almost anything for a nursing job right now! I would travel any distance, move to any state, work on any floor during any shift, and I would do it for minimum wage. I just don't understand. I have CNA experience. I've been at my current job for 8 years (yay longevity and dedication etc etc) and I'm an assistant manager. I had great grades. I have volunteer stuff. I have wonderful references. I was an athlete and a member of Sigma Theta Tau, I did a preceptorship. I've written hundreds of cover letters tailored to each job and hospital. I've applied to jobs in several different states.

Ugh. Okay. Rant over. I feel better for having written this down. Back to the Job Search!

[RInursingstudent]

Haha, funny story. I got hired without even interviewing, just sent in my application for a school nurse and they called 2 months later saying they had already filled the position but needed a substitute school nurse. Went in, filled out the paperwork, met with the HR woman who explained how it worked (I would have to call a number to hear available sub jobs throughout the city, then "beep" in for the job I would take that day). When I asked about orientation / training she said "Kathy" would call me the next day, as she was out the day I went in. Kathy never called. I called HR multiple times, google-stalked Kathy and called her and found she had no idea who I was. Physically went down to HR to find that the woman who hired me had been fired (assuming for something unrelated but they obviously didn't tell me why she no longer worked there). When I asked what that meant for me, they took a look at my resume and told me that she never should have hired me because I was a new grad with no experience and that they had no positions available for new grads.

Omg! I'm sorry, that really stinks.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Does your state allow RNs to take the paramedic exam? Maybe you could become an RN-EMT.

I can sympathize with your job hunt problems. I graduated in 2008, just before the nursing job market collapsed. I lived in Boston, and no one wanted to hire a new grad with an AS. Most job ads stated "No new grads". Even nursing homes wanted 1 year of acute care experience. One-star nursing homes rejected me. I initially looked out of state for my first job, but between my husband's refusal to leave his elderly, ill father and my mother's cancer diagnosis 2 weeks after I graduated, moving wasn't an option.

After 8 months of searching, I found a job at a nursing home. It was 11p-7a 2 nights a week. Not exactly what I wanted, but I figured it was a start, and it was close enough to my call center job that I could keep my health insurance and 401(k). The nursing home sent me hoe after 45 minutes; apparently they couldn't afford 2 orientees at once, so the position was cancelled.

Two months later, I found a job in an ALF 250 miles away. I figured I would do my year and get a job elsewhere. When I hit the 1-year mark, I applied to a bunch of hospital jobs, and got no interviews. I ended up taking a job at a nightmare of a nursing home. After 6 weeks of Hell, I ended up in home health. Three years later, I'm still in home health, making less than a hospital LNA.

[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

Why would your license expire a year before you've had it? Did I read the correctly?

I got my RN license in January 2012. It had to be renewed in April, on my birthday, just 3 months and 1 day after I was initially licensed. If I had waited ONE MORE DAY to take my NCLEX, then I wouldn't have had to renew until the following year.

Totally a money driven policy. Extremely unfair to new grads who may not even have found a job in their first year! No new grad should have to renew their first license for a solid year after they get their license.

eta- Oh, and I got my CT RN license in August 2013, and have to renew it in April of this year. It's gonna be great when I finally get my CNM license, and have THREE licenses to renew every two years. I really wish APNs didn't have to carry a separate RN license (i know there are a few states that don't require that, but most do). There's no reason for that policy except for $$$$.