Let me be clear: THERE IS NO NURSING SHORTAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so ****** OFF right now. There are literally thousands of new grads, like myself, who are struggling ALL OVER THE U.S. who can't find jobs for the life of them. This is absurd!!
I have applied to over 30 jobs and cannot get a single call back. I have spent numerous nights sobbing in my bed because I can't afford my loans starting in December and might have to consider filing bankruptcy.
And now, to hear that a Florida congressman wants to "import" foreign nursing to "combat the current nursing shortage" is more than I can take (http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_2536.html). Are you serious? Pleas tell me you're JOKING!!!
Why did I foolishly even consider becoming a nurse in the first place (besides it being my childhood dream)? What a waste of time.
I am from San Diego. I feel the exact same way. I have probably applied to 100 jobs and have not even gotten one phone call for an interview. I have very good grades, especially during my nursing course work. I was on the honor roll. But grades don't matter... experience does.
I have even applied to LVN and nursing assistant positions and have not even gotten a call back!!
I am so sorry. Get the extension on your student loan. Find whatever job you can right now until all this blows over. AND write that congressman and tell him like it is (in a diplomatic way). Over the years, I have learned to turn my anger into action and write my representatives on issues I am passionate about. We ALL need to do that, or they will do what they want. There is a website up where you can find your representatives in the House and Senate and email them. I think it's Congress.org. Or just type in Congress, and this site should come up. Good luck!
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:banghead:I am so very sorry to hear about your situation. I AGREE WITH YOU 150% I HAVE BEEN SAYING THE SAME THING FOR YEARS!!!! Keep your head up and know something will happen. I know that down here in SoFl (Dade,Broward and Palm Beach) every single hospital has closed at least one unit and are calling nurses off left and right. I left the hospital for many reasons. One reason was getting called off and having to use all my PL time (if I cared to get paid). I hadn't had a vacation in almost 2 years. If I continued that I would surely burn out and leave nursing completely.
I am very lucky I left the hospital a year ago and got a job running an infusion suite, but it took me about 3 months, and I have 18 years of nursing experience. Have you considered or tried MD office work?
Maybe there is a shortage of Nurses in like Idaho or Montana but not in the major metropolitan areas. We need to be treated as such.
I know this doesn't give you a job but I hope it gives you a little solace. I will be thinking good thoughts.
I really appreciate everyone's kind words! I am having a very hard time right now and I'm fighting to keep a positive attitude going, but it's fading fast.
You have my best wishes and prayers for a job soon. I have teachers in the family who are jobless because they do not have 3 years experience, but you just have to keep looking. Have you considered relocating? Texas has jobs, or so they say. DC, MD, PA too from the gossip. Good luck.
That's the issue that is really going on. Overall the country is experiencing a nursing shortage, but it is in specific geographical areas so that for many nurses the bill seems insane because in many areas the shortage is not visible at all.
When you look at national figures the numbers bear out that we need SOME nurses immediately but we need LOTS and LOTS of nurses within 5 years... far more than US nursing schools can provide.
Also, when hospitals look overseas for nurses they have more strict qualifiers for hiring, nurses from outside the USA must have experience in a clinical hospital setting and they must be BSN graduates. They are not looking for fresh grads overseas so I don't see how the entry level positions will be consumed by foreign nurses."
Response:
Two points, the BSN earned in some countries is more like an ADN since high school ends at grade 10. Second the job growth for RNs is going be in outpatient areas where in many countries there is not an active out patient departments.
The foreign nurses looking to come to the USA, have had no experience and worse they graduated years ago and haven't worked as a RN.
"Additionally, those with 5 years of clinical experience, MD/RNs and Nursing Master's degree holders are plentiful overseas whereas limited in the USA and these are valuable employees for US hospitals, this is why they qualify for a specific visa class that is not affected by retrogression."
Response :
If I was a MD why work as a RN? I don't get it....there is a predicted MD shortage suppose to be happening, shouldn't they be lobbying to come over as a MD? Also I have never been impressed with a MD who worked as a RN....they are not use to washing and feeding patients.
"I know it is frustrating for US graduates, the only advice I have is to look outside your local area, use the resources here on Allnurses to communicate with nurses and hiring officials all across the nation to find a city where you can move to and practice nursing. Short of that, I agree that with the recession at it's current state there are not many options for a lot of out of work nurses."
You are not a nurse, how would you know how a new grad would feel?
"The projections that we are looking at show that if the recession eases off the economy as expected that within 2 years we should see nationwide hiring for nurses begin to reach late 1990s levels.
Response:
This have been the worst economic times since the depression. The economists can't make a determination. With Health care reform there is going to be the need for less nurses due to fact less services with be given.
Texas has jobs, or so they say. DC, MD, PA too from the gossip.
"So they say" and "from the gossip" pinpoint one of the issues -- the lack of hard data which clearly shows any area of the country that's hiring new grads in significant numbers.
The only hard data that I've seen comes out of California in which a July, 2009 report shows a statewide nursing vacancy rate of 5% and that nearly half of all graduates are and will continue to be unemployed.
I read the occasional "gossip" post on AN which says "we're hiring like crazy" but fail to list a state, city, or specific hospital.
Come on, folks -- if it's really not that bad out there then why don't we see any specifics?
Yes, the call for entry level positions is very low.r.
I don't know what state you are in, but if you are close to Canada you may want to consider working there for a short time.. some provinces allow US-licensed RNs to go work as LPNs without having to go through the examination process... also, while it isn't your plan it could be an option to get the experience under your belt to be more competitive in the job market.
WHAT!!!!????
I'm Canadian and have never heard of this. An RN educated in the US is an RN.
You are talking about an issue not related to this topic. The "US-licensed RNs" you are talking about were educated overseas and their education was found to be the equivalent of a diploma prepared Cdn. PN. They still had to pass CPNRE.
I am from San Diego. I feel the exact same way. I have probably applied to 100 jobs and have not even gotten one phone call for an interview. I have very good grades, especially during my nursing course work. I was on the honor roll. But grades don't matter... experience does.
I have even applied to LVN and nursing assistant positions and have not even gotten a call back!!
I am sorry to hear about yours and everyone else's difficulty in finding jobs. I am also stunned that you are not getting called back about nursing assistant positions. Where I live (NJ), the nursing homes are usually in dire need of nursing assistants.
"So they say" and "from the gossip" pinpoint one of the issues -- the lack of hard data which clearly shows any area of the country that's hiring new grads in significant numbers.
The only hard data that I've seen comes out of California in which a July, 2009 report shows a statewide nursing vacancy rate of 5% and that nearly half of all graduates are and will continue to be unemployed.
I read the occasional "gossip" post on AN which says "we're hiring like crazy" but fail to list a state, city, or specific hospital.
Come on, folks -- if it's really not that bad out there then why don't we see any specifics?
i live in south florida and we are really hiring.. we are chock full of travelers and agency nurses because we have no staff! and we just finished a new grad mentorship program that will be running again in november. the spots are competitive, there are only 25 i believe, but they are there. if you can stand the horrible ratios, somewhat lower than average pay, a very difficult client population and working in an undesirable area of town, come on down. we can't keep nurses very long at my facility. we are a heart center, a stroke center and a trauma center. great place to get experience, if you don't mind a few gray hairs along the way :)
i am very willing to share where i work--send a PM.
not the most exciting place in florida, but the hospital is very close to the water.
I feel the exact same way. I have probably applied to 100 jobs and have not even gotten one phone call for an interview. I have very good grades, especially during my nursing course work. I was on the honor roll. But grades don't matter... experience does. 
mlok
99 Posts
I am from San Diego.
I feel the exact same way. I have probably applied to 100 jobs and have not even gotten one phone call for an interview. I have very good grades, especially during my nursing course work. I was on the honor roll. But grades don't matter... experience does.
I have even applied to LVN and nursing assistant positions and have not even gotten a call back!!