Legacy Health Residency, Portland, OR

swaRN · Aug 17, 2010

swaRN, do you know for sure that they are posting the fall recruitment in two weeks? The website just says "fall" and I'm dying to know when exactly that means! I try calling but I always get a voicemail. I just emailed the recruitment person today to try and get an answer. If you have any info, I'd love to hear it!

Hey Christy,

99% sure they are I have talked to them many times, this is the info I know:

check the website end of august

app stays open for 30 days

available positions are unknown

From the way it sounds, they should be having another round of apps starting end of this month, but the apps stay open for a month, and the interviewing process takes at least another month.

swaRN · Aug 17, 2010

swaRN, do you know for sure that they are posting the fall recruitment in two weeks? The website just says "fall" and I'm dying to know when exactly that means! I try calling but I always get a voicemail. I just emailed the recruitment person today to try and get an answer. If you have any info, I'd love to hear it!

do your preceptorship in NICU, work in NICU as a CNA or volunteer, get to know people, join your local NICU nurses association and get involved, network, talk to people and have excellent letters of reference. if you know anyone who works at Legacy, have them do a referral for you. in this market, its not enough to WANT it, you have to prove to them that you are the best choice out of all those other people...that you will work harder, longer, be more enthusiastic, help others, and go the extra mile. thats what it takes. they don;t care about your issues, they want to know what you can do for them. Thats what i did and it paid off. good luck.

Thanks Rocks. Be sure and update us if you hear anything about the next round of residence.

KARRN · Aug 17, 2010

Hi everyone. I'm new here but I, too, am interested in the upcoming residency program. I was wondering if anyone has a saved copy of the reference sheet for our clinical instructors to complete. I will be seeing them tomorrow and would love to have them be able to fill that out.

To ORRocks... Congratulations on getting the job, that's wonderful :) And thank you for all of your advice... I'm doing everything in my power to make myself stand out and be noticed.

To all of those that plan on applying the next round, best of luck to all of you.

Rufaro · Aug 24, 2010

Hi ORRocksRN, Have you started your RN Residency yet? I imagine you gonna be so busy, but if you get a minute to breath, let us know how things are. Wishing you the best and congratulations again. :yeah:

ORRocksRN · Aug 24, 2010

Hi ORRocksRN, Have you started your RN Residency yet? I imagine you gonna be so busy, but if you get a minute to breath, let us know how things are. Wishing you the best and congratulations again.

we started orientation today. all i heard was that the next cohort would be smaller than ours. we have 62 people. the next is supposed to be only 25 or something and will start around January. they said they wanted to try and have 2 cohorts a year, so this won't be the last opportunity, unless the market tanks again...

it seems like a great program so far, and we actually got PAID for today!!!! that rocks!! :lol2:

nakweni · Aug 25, 2010

But I just walked in there, sat down with the OR manager and she hired me on the spot. I thought I was just going in to check out the hospital and never expected to have an interview.

Do you mean that you just dropped in unexpectedly and asked to speak with the manager? My husband has been encouraging me to just go over to the hospital to see if I can meet/talk with the manager, but I'm really reluctant b/c I don't want to annoy them by interrupting their day- and it would be just my luck that I'd arrive at some really awkward time. Did you contact them in advance? Or just stop by? When did you go? Under what premise?

I'm so psyched for you that you got 2 (!!!) job offers in PDX! I know you're prob super busy, but if you have any advice on this topic I would be most grateful!

Thanks!

ORRocksRN · Aug 26, 2010

Do you mean that you just dropped in unexpectedly and asked to speak with the manager? My husband has been encouraging me to just go over to the hospital to see if I can meet/talk with the manager, but I'm really reluctant b/c I don't want to annoy them by interrupting their day- and it would be just my luck that I'd arrive at some really awkward time. Did you contact them in advance? Or just stop by? When did you go? Under what premise?
I'm so psyched for you that you got 2 (!!!) job offers in PDX! I know you're prob super busy, but if you have any advice on this topic I would be most grateful!
Thanks!

1st of all, I wouldn't go to just one hospital, i would go to ALL of them. including clinics, urgent cares, dr offices...no one is just going to hand you a job where YOU want to work, not unless you are one amazingly lucky person. also consider this: if you are afraid of inturrupting a nurse managers day, then how are you ever going to call a surgeon in the middle of the night to ask about an order he wrote? you have to do things like that all the time as a nurse. this isn't about being polite. its about showing your initiative and your "balls" so to speak. nurses need to have balls. if they are a decent manager they will respect that you have guts to just walk in there, and are showing some interest in working there.

you worked hard for this, now is the time to be brave and show that you will do what it takes to get a job and more importatly, DO the job once hired, in this market. things worth having are never easy. do you think they really want to hire someone without the guts to ask a simple question of the nurse? if you can;t do that, the doctors are going to eat you alive. they know that. get brave, talk to people, communicate well, be mature and confident, keep bothering them, and good luck!!

ttt-n · Aug 26, 2010

Hey lookinrn~
Thanks. I know God has a plan for me, and it will be better than MY plan! I am gonna keep my chin up and I am happy that there are RN's/new grads getting jobs! My day will come. I am sure of it!

Lookinrn is right! I'm rooting you on. I have another year of nursing school then off to the job hunt i'll be. Hopefully that will be in Portland, OR! Good luck.

ttt-n · Aug 26, 2010

we started orientation today. all i heard was that the next cohort would be smaller than ours. we have 62 people. the next is supposed to be only 25 or something and will start around January. they said they wanted to try and have 2 cohorts a year, so this won't be the last opportunity, unless the market tanks again...
it seems like a great program so far, and we actually got PAID for today!!!! that rocks!!

Congrats on your mission to getting your job!

opossum · Sep 20, 2010

1st of all, I wouldn't go to just one hospital, i would go to ALL of them. including clinics, urgent cares, dr offices...no one is just going to hand you a job where YOU want to work, not unless you are one amazingly lucky person. also consider this: if you are afraid of inturrupting a nurse managers day, then how are you ever going to call a surgeon in the middle of the night to ask about an order he wrote? you have to do things like that all the time as a nurse. this isn't about being polite. its about showing your initiative and your "balls" so to speak. nurses need to have balls. if they are a decent manager they will respect that you have guts to just walk in there, and are showing some interest in working there.
you worked hard for this, now is the time to be brave and show that you will do what it takes to get a job and more importatly, DO the job once hired, in this market. things worth having are never easy. do you think they really want to hire someone without the guts to ask a simple question of the nurse? if you can;t do that, the doctors are going to eat you alive. they know that. get brave, talk to people, communicate well, be mature and confident, keep bothering them, and good luck!!

You are so right about that...we need to advocate for ourselves as we would for our patients. And that means doing things that are uncomfortable, like directly approaching nurse managers for a position. I do have one question, though - when you say you walked right in and "sat down" with the OR manager...how exactly did you do that? What did you literally do? I realize it's sort of a dumb question, but I think it can inspire those of us who would rather stab themselves in the face than cold-call a nurse manager. :barf01:

BTW, congrats on the position!

ORRocksRN · Sep 21, 2010

OK, well, this is how it went down: I had an interview out of state so I was looking and applying for anything and everything else in the area. I had my GPS set for "nearby hospitals" so as I drove, it picked up anyplace I could apply for a job, and I stopped and did just that, many times along the way. I didn't get that job I interviewed for, but in the end, I was glad. Online, I spotted a great job in a great location and applied for it. On my way driving back home, I stopped in. I asked someone who the head of my dept was and could she introduce me?. She said "follow me." I followed her and she walked me right into the managers office. She was delighted I was there, even late in the day on a Friday, and I ended up having an hour long interview right then and there, a tour of the hospital and by the end of the hour, a job offer. It helped that there was an opening and that I happened to be the first one to appear in person, but they didn't want to hire a new grad. I just happened to impress her enough that she was willing to give me a shot, and i was saving the hospital money because they were paying me half what an agency nurse was making. You never know where an opportunity might arise....and it doesn't hurt to ask. Being in the right place at the right time, being flexible about location and pay, and not being too picky about your first job is key. After you get some experience, ANY experience, you will no longer be in the forbidden new grad category. Rural areas are still hiring new grads, get out of the metro area if you can and try a small town. You can live anywhere for a year, live apart from your husband/wife, take your kids, do whatever you have to do to get your experience. They are looking for people who are willing to make sacrifices for them. Being ordinary isn't going to cut it in this market. Be open to some new adventures!! good luck!

opossum · Sep 21, 2010

Thanks, ORRocksRN! I like your moxie!

I'm not keen on the idea of moving, but I will certainly do what I have to do. I just applied to a job in The Dalles (I'm in PDX), so who knows...I've also been checking out Hood River, Corvallis, Albany and Burns (!!). Interestingly, there really are not that many jobs for new grads even out there. I do believe Albany had something, which I should apply for - but I do hear everyone saying that there are plenty of jobs out in rural areas but I'm not seeing any lately. Just the same thing - 1-2 year experience, etc. But as your story indicates - you never know!