New Grad RN Advice Please

[joanna73]

I have been searching all over the place....Canada wide, recruiter magazines, websites, personal contacts, etc....You name it, I am trying it. Quite clearly, the market is poor right across Canada. No surprise. I'm wo9ndering if anyone has any advice? I am willing to relocate, and I'm considering all of my options.

It seems as though it's almost easier to get hired in the US these days, which is sad. Because the majority of the postings I am seeing is NP, Clinical Nurse Specialist, 2-5 years experience, etc.....Doesn't ANYONE care to invest in new grads? After December (I'm taking a course in Crisis Prevention), if I don't have a job here, I think I will either move to the US, or go overseas to teach English. Because the loans have to be paid.

Does anyone have any ideas or advice? Thanks! Much appreciated. (And volunteering is out....I thought about that too, but if I know that I may be relocating, I can't commit to 6 months to a year somewhere. I also need to get paid :))

[pisceanbabe74, LPN, LVN]

hmmmm...how come i don't hear from you about Manitoba? Some of my friends got a job offer from Manitoba & Nova Scotia. And have learned that they also have good benefits.....just wondering.

>>>Just passed CRNE & my children just got here in Alberta. I'm also looking for RN position, trying to get one here in Alberta because I wish us to be stable here for a while before moving somewhere.

[Fiona59]

hmmmm...how come i don't hear from you about manitoba? some of my friends got a job offer from manitoba & nova scotia. and have learned that they also have good benefits.....just wondering.

have you ever been to manitoba? personally, i'd only move there if my husband's job required it. lots of smaller communities. many of these communities that have jobs are semi-isolated and not really suitable places for new grads to start their careers. do you have much knowledge about first nations health issues? nova scotia beautiful to look at. but one of the regular posters migrated there two years ago and is only just starting to work there. she's posted that there are fewer and fewer vacancies there.

>>>just passed crne & my children just got here in alberta. i'm also looking for rn position, trying to get one here in alberta because i wish us to be stable here for a while before moving somewhere.

alberta health services (the main employer) is just ending a hiring freeze. the government has promised to hire 70% of local new grads (their traditional rate of hire). in edmonton and calgary, "open to outside applicants" is just starting to appear on postings. usually this means that no one within the system wants to work on those units. then there are nurses in ltc/continuing care who will apply for those jobs to change scenery, patient ratio.

there are reasons people chose not to move to certain provinces.

[itsmejuli]

Also realize that the job situation for new grad RNs here in the US isn't much better than in Canada.

As for the NCLEX, you must pick a state to work in and apply to the BON to write the NCLEX.

I'm Canadian living in the US. I hope to return to Alberta eventually as an LPN or RN....whichever will get me a job.

[pisceanbabe74, LPN, LVN]

Thanks for the response Fiona. And NO, i'ved never been to Manitoba, that is why I'ved said i'm wondering though they have been posting jobs & offers on their website. I'ved heard and read about drugs & gangster in Manitoba but I believe that other provinces also deals with that same problem. Have you been and have worked in Manitoba? Would love to hear inputs so would have idea of nursing status in other provinces. Have read a thread here before from a nurse in Manitoba that they're enjoying their work & benefits. But of course, I agree with you that there's a reason why people chose not to move to certain provinces.

And yes, AHS is just starting to post hirings "open to public", not much "permanent full time position", most are "temporary positions. And its also not easy to get one eventhough you're already within the system.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Where in NS did your friends apply? I have looked on some of the websites and noticed only part time positions. I also spoke to a recruiter in NS and he said he had nurses coming from as far as Washington DC, that it was really hard there as well. NS is somewhere I would move to, and I will keep looking at that more closely.

At the moment, I am back to studying for the CRNE. Manitoba from what I could see was mainly offering part time and casual as well. If I'm moving to another Province, it isn't for part time work.

So I will continue to investigate. I think after I write the CRNE, I'm going to write the NCLEX. Because although the situation is not good in the US either, there are all kinds of postings for new grads. More so that what I have seen across Canada. I applied to NFLD last week, but I have not heard back yet.

This whole situation makes me very uncomfortable, because nursing is my second, and last career. I don't have time to be wasting searching for work for months on end. I've got loans to pay.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I appreciate it. After I write my exam, looking for a job will be my full time job :)

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

Have you been and have worked in Manitoba? Would love to hear inputs so would have idea of nursing status in other provinces.

I lived in Manitoba for 16 years, and worked as a nurse there for 8. When I was back there in December '09 they were still recruiting but I believe that is starting to drop off now. There are positions posted, many of them either casual, small-percentage part time or short-term temporary positions. The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority seems to have a fair number of positions posted now but many of them are requiring experience. Take a look for yourself: Winnipeg Regional Health Authority

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Thank you. I did have a look. But this is the whole problem with the Canadian nursing system right now. Everywhere is in need of nurses, but due to hiring freezes, they can't hire. The frustrating thing for all new grads right now is that all the time we spend looking for work translates into actually getting experience. After a year somewhere, you aren't considered a "new grad" as much. I wonder what will happen in the next couple of years, with all these new grads that could have been well trained, just starting out, due to short-sightedness by politicians who aren't putting money into training and funding?

Also, I wonder why it is that the US has always invested in new grads, when our own country refuses to? It makes no sense. Certainly, things are tight in the US as well right now. But at least new grads have even an opportunity to apply for jobs. I was on the New Grad Initiative site today (Ontatrio HFO) and there was 1 posting for a new grad RN. Also, many postings are now for RPN's, because they cost less money. If I wanted to be an RPN, I would have gone for the 2 year diploma, been out and working long ago, AND it would have cost half as much. I chose the RN for a reason.

So, for now, I guess all I can do is keep applying everywhere, study for my exam, and hope that by the end of this yearm things start to improve here. I'm also going to contact a hospital in Australia. They usually require 1 year experience, but you never know. It depends on how their need is. I have a friend who worked here for 1 year after school, was recruited and hired on the spot to Melbourne. That was almost 7 years ago. She has thought of returning home, but because of this recession (and the fact that the weather is awesome down under), she is not going to bother.

Canada really needs to wake up to the nursing situation, otherwise there will be fewer and fewer nurses here in particular. Even for the experienced nurses, offering casual or part time positions, as layoffs loom everywhere doesn't exactly cut it.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Woops. I read my post over again. Sorry for the typos. Yes, I can spell :)

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

I wouldn't say the US invests in new grads because if you have a read in the first year after licensure forum as well as other forums lots of new grads are struggling to find work

[Fiona59]

I think a big part of the problem is the need for new grad initiatives. Hear me out before you jump on me.

Under the new grad initiative (at least how it worked in my hospital), the new grad was paired with a working RN to be the mentor. Now, the hospital was paying for two nurses to look after one nurse's patient load. This continued for a full year. It just didn't make financial sense.

My unit hired two new grads into permanent lines and one new grad on the initiative (pre freeze days). The two who went into permanent part time lines have good skills and are still with us. The new gradhire left after six months because she decided nursing wasn't what she wanted to do!?

The biggest complaint I heard about was that the working nurses felt that they were teaching skills that should have been developed during nursing school.

I graduated at the turn of the century and these programmes didn't exist. We just found jobs and got on with it. We told our managers what we felt our weak areas were and the first few weeks on the floor we were given every foley, drain removal or whatever to do under supervision.

It just appears that nursing education should focus more on the hands on part of the job and prepare the new grads to be able to function as nurses.

Hospitals shouldn't have to "invest" time in getting new nurses an extended final practicuum.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

I agree with you. However, please keep in mind that I am not the typical picture of some of the new grads that are hired. I am willing to learn, I work hard, I don't complain, and I am realistic about nursing. I gave this much thought before I decided to return to school.

While I realize I have ALOT to learn about nursing, I am 36 years old, with a previous background in hotel management. I am graduating with honours, and I have been the recipient of 2 awards from the School of Nursing for my leadership skills and outstanding work in my clinicals. More importantly, I learn quickly, and I want to do well. It IS someone's life, after all.

Furthermore, I have the maturity, and the self awareness to handle the job. So while some new grads may not be prepared, I know I would fit in well somewhere. If it weren't for bed closures, I would have stayed at my last placement.

Also, all of the experienced nurses were new at one time. I would just hope for the opportunity. New grads can't become experienced when people are reluctant to hire. Not to mention, over the next 2 years, organizations are going to start getting desperate for nurses again.

And while the economic situation is bad in the US, there are more opportunities for Canadian nurses. I see postings all over for new grads in the US, and I don't see that here in Canada. Trust me, I have looked. Furthermore, I've invested too much in this to just give up. There must be a way, and I am determined to find it. This is the same picture as the '90's (actually worse, I think), but people still found nursing jobs.

[itsmejuli]

I see postings all over for new grads in the US, and I don't see that here in Canada. Trust me, I have looked.

Do all the American new grads that can't find a job a favour and post links to those new grad jobs you're referring to.

New grad RN positions are few and far between here in Florida. Long gone are the days when the hospitals were recruiting new grads right out of college. 99% of the job postings I've read recently all require at least one year of acute care experience. I'm sure the 1% that doesn't receives hundreds of applications.