I am planning on relocating back to the USA (Pennsylvania) in early 2011. I have been an RN for ten years and have lots of experience.
Most of that experience has been in the UK however as we moved here with my husband's job a year after I graduated from Nursing school in the States.
My Penna. nursing license is current, active and in good standing.
It has finally hit me that getting a job may be tough right now. I am hearing it is nearly impossible for new grads to find anything.
Is it any better for experienced RN's? I have a decade of experience behind me of acute medical assessement units and med /surg and 5 years as a charge nurse for my floor.
Ideally I would like to wait until the job market improves but my husband is losing his job here in the UK. The health system here is freezing Nurse wages, cutting hours and laying off and I just don't see a future here. My parents in the states are getting older now and I really want to get home. Desperately so. But if there are no jobs then there is no way.
Just thought I would test the water and see what you guys think? In other words, is the job market over there really that bad???
I have 20 years experience, and was the charge nurse of a dialysis unit until last summer. I had a bad day when I decided enough was enough, walked down the hall and spoke with the manager of the ICU and 15 minutes later had the verbal agreement of an interview. 7.30 the next morning HR called me and woke me up to arrange said interview. I had a new job within the week. I am inundated daily with emails and calls from companies offering me work. I think there is a genuine shortage of experienced Critical Care nurses. In fact, my ICU is desperate for nurses and is offering a large bonus to anyone that can bring in experienced staff. There is a definite canyon between new grads and experienced nurses. I don't think new grads are given enough of a chance, and hospitals are wasting the opportunity of getting a dedicated employee that they can train the way they want.
Not sure about conditions in the Lehigh Valley area as I live in SE PA but second what eriksoln says. While the hiring bonuses and other perks are long gone and there now seems to be an oversupply of nurses, it is still possible for experienced nurses to find employment rather easily as long as you are a BSN and can be flexible. That is not the case for new grads like myself who cannot get that critical 1 or 2 years of experience that along with the BSN, has become the new minimum criteria for hiring.
BTW, where in the UK were you? I spent 3 years working and living in England and loved it.
I am not a BSN. I graduated from a well respected 3 year diploma school in the Lehigh Valley. We had statistics, chemistry and everything there and had enough university credits to get our BSN fairly quickly.
I think the only thing I need now is some managment. Good, but still not a BSN I suppose. I think my part of PA still has high regard for diploma grads so fingers crossed. My degree in history isn't going to help much is it? LOL.
The North - far north like Cumberland or mostly north like Lincolnshire? Are you presently working for the NHS? Working in a US hospital may be a cakewalk for you then.
Seriously, best of luck on the job search. With your experience, you may find it a bit easier even with "only" diploma credentials (ironically, the pass rates for the NCLEX are highest for diploma nurses).
I, along with most of my ADN-RN classmates, have not had a great deal of success finding nursing jobs in the Phila area. The minimum credential for new grads now seems to be the BSN and some hospitals are even requiring their diploma and ADN nurses to get BSNs or risk dismissal. Not sure if this is also true in the LV area though.
And if it's any consolation, my BA in communcations and MBA are no help for me either. I'm bowing to the pressure though and will start an accelerated RN to BSN program next year.
Feel free to PM me if there's anything you think I can help with.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
My husband and I (both RNs with 4-5 years of experience) recently relocated to Colorado, which I've since heard is one of the hardest states to find jobs right now, and neither of us had any problems finding work. In fact, we both had multiple job offers. So I don't think a nurse with at least a few years of experience should have difficulty.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
what a bunch of BS these people are telling you, I have been pumping out applications and resume's
for months all across the United States. and yes I have a BSN and critical care experience also.
It is who you know and always will be.
When my husband and I moved across country, we didn't know anyone or have any contacts in the community. We got our jobs on our resumes alone. In fact, two of my job offers were through phone interviews, as we had not yet moved when I started putting out resumes.
I'm sorry you're having a difficult time, but I'm not making things up.
Most likely it is just me. or my lack of patience. Tired of hearing about all these great offers new grads are even getting and all I can land is a stupid (thank you for your interest in our great facility, although your qualifications were impressive, we have selected another candidate that more meets our snobish attitude. We do however encourage you to continue applying for other positions within our great facility.
I would rather eat glass than get another one of these phony generic letters.
Chuck, I have been working for the NHS for the last decade. It is tough. I wasn't kidding when I said we have 2 RN's to 30 patients in med-surg. We also take high dependency when ITU is full, palliative when the hospice is full and psych when the psych unit is full, and care of the elderly because there is a shortage of nursing homes .... which is all the time. I often work 16 hour days without a break. LOL. Lots of NHS trusts have been really mismanaged and are falling apart. Not good.
RNTim49, I am really sorry to hear about your experiences. I know lots of excellent new grads over here (I am a student nurse instructor on my ward) that cannot find jobs even with contacts and good references. I have been trying to help them. I hope at least one of them gets my job when I go but their is a hiring freeze and they are not replacing Nurses that are leaving.
Everyone is trying to go to Australia. I would go to Australia in a heartbeat if my entire family wasn't in Pennsylvania. The Nurses over here have no desire to go to the United States over Australia.
I guess I can always look for a job as a walmart greeter. Should be fun trying to support my family on that wage.
Zaphod, BSN, RN
181 Posts
The market is good for experienced nurses. I only have 2 years of experience and have had multiple offers for various specialties. You will do fine.