Is my career over already???

Sour Lemon · Sep 5, 2019

20 minutes ago, mermer_rn said:
Hello all! I'm needing some career advice and hopefully some personal stories from all of you.
I am having an incredibly difficult time getting my foot back in the door. We are military family who just arrived back stateside after 4 years overseas where I was not able to work as nurse (there very literally were no nursing jobs) but did extensively volunteer, have great letters of recommendation and awards. I thought I did it right! But now I'm encountering the "paid experience" road block. I'm being told I need "uninterrupted PAID experience" "related PAID experience" "PAID experience with the last 2 years"....you get the idea.
Should I voluntarily do a refresher course? Should I try to go back to volunteering? Should I just be more persistent?
I have a 3 year old and do not think I could do nights full time (a suggestion by a recruiter) with no family help and a husband who's schedule is chaotic and who could be in another country for who knows how long at anytime. I could swing part time, but I'm thinking they'll want a full time commitment.
HELP!!!! I'm paying for CEUs, certs and license and no job prospect.

As an "old new grad" with restrictions on availability, a refresher course might not do much good. You probably need to be willing to start at the bottom of the barrel and claw your way out. It might be worth it to find a sitter until you are able to prove your value and cut back on your hours.

Good luck! Some markets are much tighter than others.

mermer_rn, BSN · Sep 5, 2019

2 minutes ago, Sour Lemon said:
As an "old new grad" with restrictions on availability, a refresher course might not do much good. You probably need to be willing to start at the bottom of the barrel and claw your way out. It might be worth it to find a sitter until you are able to prove your value and cut back on your hours.
Good luck! Some markets are much tighter than others.

Yes...I definitely feel like a crusty new grad ? even with a year of PAID experience. My biggest fear with doing nights at bottom of the barrel is ending up having to quit or be fired due to scheduling and sitter issues. I also feel like that would be a lot of unfair stress on a little one in the midst of a deployment. Whew....some tough decisions. Maybe I just need to hang up the crusty-new stethoscope.

~Shrek~ · Sep 5, 2019

are you looking at clinics and non-acute care jobs?

mermer_rn, BSN · Sep 5, 2019

15 minutes ago, ~Shrek~ said:
are you looking at clinics and non-acute care jobs?

I am! Most of the clinics are connected to the hospitals and want 2 years paid acute care experience, the smaller clinics don't hire RNs but rather LPNs and MAs. I have not tried nursing home setting yet, as that is personally not my ideal. I am an IBCLC with med surg and postpartum background, so I also feel it would come off a bit desperate. I guess beggars can't be choosers ?

56 minutes ago, Sour Lemon said:
As an "old new grad" with restrictions on availability, a refresher course might not do much good. You probably need to be willing to start at the bottom of the barrel and claw your way out. It might be worth it to find a sitter until you are able to prove your value and cut back on your hours.
Good luck! Some markets are much tighter than others.

Yes...I definitely feel like a crusty new grad ? even with a year of PAID experience. My biggest fear with doing nights at bottom of the barrel is ending up having to quit or be fired due to scheduling and sitter issues. I also feel like that would be a lot of unfair stress on a little one in the midst of a deployment. Whew....some tough decisions. Maybe I just need to hang up the crusty-new stethoscope.

**LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM** · Sep 5, 2019

If you're an IBCLC have you considered putting out a shingle and just doing that full time? It's pretty flexible in terms of hours and you can make just as much money as a floor nurse (if not more).

mermer_rn, BSN · Sep 5, 2019

I have thought about doing private practice (I have applied for a few lactation positions, but again, they do not count my volunteering as experience because it was through Red Cross not le leche) but that is a huge undertaking, both financially and time wise. It's not as easy as people may think, most people want you to be covered by insurance, especially in a market where most women have access to IBCLC for free from birth hospital, which requires approval an office outside of home, a biller and no guarantee of timely/full reimbursement. I just feel really stuck.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 5, 2019

One thing you may want to consider is places that don't run on 12-hour shifts, but instead on 8s. Nights may not be possible for you, but the evenings might. Not a lot of people want to work evenings, and employers may be more willing to take on an old new grad who does. And it may be easier to plan childcare around a 0700-1500 or a 1500-2300 schedule.

Also, since you are a military family, contact your local MWR office. They can hook you up with resources for childcare services available both on and off your local military installation. A lot of these providers can accommodate odd schedules and some even offer drop-in or 24/7 care. Nursing school and my first two years of my career wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for them.

Cricket183, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2019

I disagree with the previous poster who suggested a refresher course “might not do it” especially if the refresher course has a clinical portion with it.

I was out of nursing for just over 10 years due to medical disability. In order to practice again my state required a refresher course with a didactic and clinical component. This gave me contacts & references in the nursing community-not only my professors but I was able to do my clinical hours at the hospital I hoped to work at so I also had references and contacts with other staff nurses and management. I’m now employed by that hospital!

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Sep 8, 2019

Have you considered Home Health?

Many agencies have Maternal Newborn programs, with daytime, set your own hours availability. In Southeast PA, majority births occur to women covered by Medical Assistance programs since our state enlists all women without insurance to decrease infant mortality. All MA programs provide 2 RN postpartum visits along with home visits for high risk pregnancies.

Nurse-Family Partnership is a national, evidence-based community health program. Search feature on their website to check if program in your area.

Quote
As a Nurse-Family Partnership nurse, you will meet with first-time moms through their pregnancies and until their children are 2 years old, developing enduring relationships. Your support will help them take control of their lives, nurture healthy children and build strong families.

Hope your job search is successful.

MA2020 · Sep 8, 2019

Military spouse here also. Welcome back to the states! It is overwhelming right now as you adjust back to life here, but if you give yourself time you will find more options. We lived overseas for 4.5 years while I worked on my MSN and did not work, and then we PCS'd for a short 18 month duty station where again I didn't work. I was without any PAID work experience for 6 years, when I found a part-time job as a Psych Nurse in a large military hospital. They were much more understanding of my 6 year hiatus, and even the ICU was willing to hire me (I had 2 years experience ICU prior to OCONUS) but I did not want full-time with them as I had a 3 year old. I ended up hiring a nanny as that worked best for my family.

The civilian hospitals I interviewed at all told me to take a refresher course and that I would not get hired without it. Uh huh. Yes a refresher course may help, but to me I wasn't willing to pay out of pocket for it and felt it was redundant and unnecessary. I don't think you "have" to do anything unless you want to. I know many hospitals would kill for an IBCLC, or even a ped office.

Funny enough I'm sitting for the IBCLC exam in April, and starting a Psych NP program in January. Feel free to reach out, I fully know how hard the transition can be. But there are options and you can find them!

mermer_rn, BSN · Oct 22, 2019

Thank you all so much, update....you never know how things might work out. I had pretty much given up but attended a BLS course because I had already paid for it in advance. The woman who instructed the class was impressed with how I helped a nursing student (she was really nervous and we chatted quite a bit about nursing and that she shouldn't be discouraged or intimidated, etc). The instructor and I chit chatted during break really hit it off. The instructor was surprised I was having trouble finding a job and turned out to be a manager of a unit not currently hiring, but told me to list her as a reference and wrote me a really nice letter of rec. I got hired on a med surg unit (not super exciting) and began floating to postpartum....now I'm a flex employee for both med surg and postpartum as PRN IBCLC. Bottom line....always do your best, and be kind you never know who is watching.