I stink so bad Mcallen, TX doesn't even want me.

Nurses General Nursing

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I want to work in the NICU, even though I've been an RN several years and my only experience is with adults (I never had the opportunity to work with babies.) Now, I'm to the point I'm willing to relocate to find the job I want. I heard that Mcallen, TX will take anyone, yet the recruiter just called and the more she talked to me the more disappointed she sounded. There were even periods of silence while she tried to think of a way to get off the phone without being rude. She said next week she would send me more information and maybe we could schedule a phone interview, but I know what that means.

That won't stop me from trying to get my foot in the door elsewhere, but for anyone who feels like a total reject just remember yours truly sitting over here, can't even get one of the worst hospitals in the country to give me a chance.:imbar

Has McAllen been named the "worst" hospital? I thought it was more that they spent more money for no better outcomes and were inefficient.

McAllen wouldn't really be an "adventure." I'm from there. I mean, I think of it as "home" even though I haven't lived there in a long time, but I can't really think of anything to particularly recommend it. It's HOT, humid, flat land that is polluted with pesticides and defoliants from farming. Or at least that's the way it was when I was there. Maybe they've got some better farming practices now but I don't know. Nobody ever talks about it. Just about every place has some kind of pollution, I guess, but I don't care to smell defoliant ever again.

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

It is not your job to please people. It is not your job to be liked.

It is your job to sell yourself. I think that Jolie is correct--the best place to go, since you are considering relocating, is a large, public hospital with a huge L2/L3 NICU.

Good luck. It can happen. I switched from adult to NICU and back.

It's doable. And I can also go back to NICU with a little practice and review.

NICU is a great specialty. Just can't do nights anymore =(.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
nursel56

I'm talking about home health. Two DOCS and one supervisor have respected me as a worker. The staffing coordinators talk to me like I'm dirt beneath their feet and I'm old enough to be their mother or probably grandmother. I'm fed up with it. I can't imagine how they talk to the clients, doctors, and others in the business community this way and manage to keep their jobs.

Oh, I'm sorry! :imbar I work for a much smaller agency now-- so I don't have to deal with the rude, clueless staffers anymore. Working in the home, I avoid MOST of the politics and supervisors with personality disorders. I was always the type that thought if the charge nurse coughed, it must have been something I did wrong, if you know what I mean. ;)

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Pediatrics.

I am sure you have not been rejected as much as I have!! I have applied to over 1000 positions since January and have basically been rejected by each one. I don't even think that most of these places even look at the applications. I feel that some of the places that I have applied to over the past year just shred my application or say they will file it for up to a year or whatever, just after seeing my name!!

I really hit ROCK BOTTOM today. I applied to a PICU position at UW Madison Childrens Hospital and had a phone interview today with the nurse recruiter there. I have never felt so rejected in my life!! She asked about my history and why I left these positions or what happened with these other positions. I was as truthful about all of it as I could be. The response I got from this woman was that they only hire nurses that have a SOLID work history and have held a position at the same facility for over a year. Only counting RN experience here!! So, needless to say, they too will not give me a chance because my work history sucks since I became an RN. Whatever happened to genuine caring people in the healthcare industry!

All I ever wanted to be was a NICU nurse. It is my passion, and the only reason I went into nursing in the first place. It is the love of my life. I wanted to go on to get my Masters and become an NNP. But, NO ONE will give me the time of day, take a chance, or anything. I have tried so hard, and am losing confidence that it will ever happen. And all anyone can ever say is "hang in there, it will happen", "its just the economy", "you're just going through a rough patch", and whatever else. I have applied to positions in NICU since my junior/senior year of nursing school (2006), and still have not been given a chance to show people that I am a GREAT nurse, I deserve to be given a chance, and I am everything they are looking for (if they'd look past all the other crap!).

Sorry, no words of encouragement here. I have had a really rough time since I became an RN!

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

I don't know where you currently live but I am from Texas and no amount of money in the world would get me to move to McAllen Texas. Your best chance of getting the job you want is in a big city with lots of hospitals. Where do you live? Have you done any education or obtained any certifications that would make you more marketable in your chosen area? Would you be willing to work in a less acute nursery first just to get your foot in the door?

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Specializes in acute rehab, med surg, LTC, peds, home c.
What has happened to employers . In the past nurses used to be able to readily move from one area of nursing to another , but now postings are always . X job , 1 - 2 years experience in it required . It appears we are all pidgeon holed by pur present experience !.

This is so true and so annoying. Everyone has to start somewhere and lately, nobody will give anyone a chance! I think it is so egotistical for them to think that nobody could possibly do this job without years of experience. Give me a break, a good nurse can learn anything, given the chance.

To the OP: Dont lose hope. Try some rural hospitals, they might be desperate enough to give you a chance and then you can take that experience and go anywhere. Keep trying.

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Specializes in LTC, med-surg..

I guess I didn't turn them off like I thought. They sent me the info to take a nurse battery test and after that to set up a web cam interview. Mcallen doesn't sound like a very hip place to be, the more I learn about it, though.

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

Well, it is good that they are interested and it will be good to get experience. But, McAllen is not the best place to live so you probably won't make it a permanent career choice. You will have to decide for yourself after you get down there. It is REALLY hot down there. It is right across the border from Mexico and it is fun to go across the border to shop. Don't drive your car across the border however. It is just not safe for your car. Do you speak Spanish? You will probably want to start learning Spanish because it is essentially the primary language in McAllen. Just go with an open mind and get all the experience you can. That is the major objective. Good Luck to you and let us know how it goes after you get there. Diane

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Specializes in LTC, med-surg..

If I get hired for the CCU, I want to just be down there long enough to get the experience I need to be more marketable farther up north then I'd be out of there. How far is Mcallen from the ocean?

I've heard the people there can be very nasty and show favoritism, but I'm pretty good at keeping a low profile and getting along with most anyone, even loud-mouthed bossy people. My motto is be quiet, polite and agreeable and you can get along just about anywhere.

I would be leaving my husband and two of my children to work this job. I would take two with me (a toddler and 11 yr. old). I hate to go to these lengths but it looks like this might be the only opportunity to get the experience I need. Of course, I'd keep in touch daily by phone and fly up to visit whenever possible...or am I not being reasonable? Should I just setlle for the same old tame environment I'm in?

Does that hospital have on-site childcare? What is the public school system like?

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I admire the fact that you are willing to go to any lengths to reach your goal of being a NICU nurse, but now that you mention you will be splitting up your family in order to get this experience, I don't think it's worth it. The economy will get better at some point and eventually a NICU opportunity will open up where you live. I'm not judging you by any means, as only you know what's best for you and your family, but I personally would not be able to justify leaving or uprooting my family just for job experience. Maybe I would for a job if I did not have one, but it sounds like you have a job, just not in the specialty you want to be in? Just my opinion, but I think being patient and sticking it out where you are, with your family, would be best in this situation. I wish you the best in whatever you choose to do, though!

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Something else to think about, being a border town, is Mcallen safe for you and your kids? I am from the Northeast so I know nothing about these areas other than what we hear on the news!

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Specializes in LTC, med-surg..

I'm worried about the safety. I'm starting to think it may not be worth it. I'm just so angry and frustrated because I recently learned one of my contemporaries (who got his nursing license after I did) went right from school to the ICU at a large hospital and now is a student in CRNA school. I'm working as an ADON in a nursing home. This is not where I want to be, I like action and excitement and get anything but that here. I'm feeling so much frustration and inner turmoil but you are probably right. Once a person has a family they come first.

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