I never thought this would happen

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Specializes in Mental health, substance abuse, geriatrics, PCU.

I've always figured that a pandemic would occur at some point in my lifetime since most experts said we were "due" for one. However, I never thought I'd have a hard time getting fulltime hours in during the pandemic! I work at a level 1 trauma center with over 800 beds and with elective surgeries and ambulatory care not occurring those beds are empty. As a result management has reduced the number of staff we get for our census to the point that multiple people are called off every shift. My area hasn't been hit hard by the pandemic and hospitals are struggling not having enough patients to keep the lights on, it's a shame that I'm complaining about not being busier.

Now I'm looking for a second job to supplement my income to make up for being cut while also knowing there are places in our country that are being slammed mercilessly. Just frustrating all around. Is anyone else experiencing this?

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I usually work one day a week (per diem), but have been canceled for about eight of my past ten scheduled shifts. Fortunately, my income is "fun money", but the regular full-time staff at my hospital are also being canceled constantly.

Some days, we have no patients on our med/surg unit. Some days we have 2-4 total. Same with the psych unit, and ER is extremely slow too. We usually have something going on in ICU and Tele, but not as much as we used to. You are certainly not alone.

Looking for a nursing job right now seems like it would be difficult. Hospitals will either be slow and have no need, or too busy to deal with routine hiring processes, or so drained and depleted that they're chaotic and possibly dangerous for staff.

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Walking through my hospital at certain times feels strange too when normally busy corridors are empty. I am per diem and have been cancelled a few times too.

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Specializes in Cardiac & Vascular.

I went PRN 3/29. I have only worked 24 hrs in 3 weeks. One shift screening visitors and one shift on the medical floor. My floor closed and combined with cards for the time being. Our full time staff is constantly being called off as well. These are some pretty scary times. Hopefully, it'll get better soon. ❤

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For those of you maybe in CA, is it the same experience for you? Are there specific roles in which a "relatively inexperienced" RN could find work, besides in SNF? I applaud you all for the work you are doing in the middle of this crisis.

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1 hour ago, newnursek said:

For those of you maybe in CA, is it the same experience for you? Are there specific roles in which a "relatively inexperienced" RN could find work, besides in SNF? I applaud you all for the work you are doing in the middle of this crisis.

I’m in CA and census is very low, been called off multiple times. Have you thought about doing drive-through COVID-19 testing? I see a lot of ads for this; which could get you through the rough time. Also, they’d literally hire a dead dog they are so desperate for help. LOL. So I’m sure they will hire a new grad RN.

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3 hours ago, newnursek said:

For those of you maybe in CA, is it the same experience for you? Are there specific roles in which a "relatively inexperienced" RN could find work, besides in SNF? I applaud you all for the work you are doing in the middle of this crisis.

I answered above and I'm actually in Southern California. It was a saturated market before the pandemic and I know a lot of nurses starting to feel desperate about the lack of available work right now.

As someone with ten+ years of acute care experience, I think I would have an extremely difficult time finding work in my area right now. With no experience, or very little experience, I'm not even sure I'd bother looking. The odds may be stacked against you at the moment. Consider whether or not you can afford to be picky.

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