Likelihood of a new grad getting an ER job?

valpo_rn01 · Mar 27, 2015

The answer to this question is highly dependent on your geographical location. It is generally easier to get new grad jobs in those settings in rural areas, harder in urban areas.

TheNGTKingRN · Mar 27, 2015

Depends on location.

In Houston, TX? Very likely.

caliotter3 · Mar 27, 2015

One of my classmates got a job offer in the ER where he did his senior preceptorship. At my school it was difficult to get the preceptorship in the ER; he managed to convince them to accommodate him, and he was offered a job upon graduation.

bigdreams01 · Mar 27, 2015

The school I plan on attending is Drexel University in center city Philadelphia. Clinicals take place in a HUGE list of hospitals around Philadelphia and they have a great co-op plan.

bigdreams01 · Mar 27, 2015

So Houston, TX accepts a large number of new grads into ER jobs? Should I get a Texas and Florida RN license even though I'm graduating from PA? I know that those two states are high in demand for all types of nurses.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Mar 27, 2015

So Houston, TX accepts a large number of new grads into ER jobs? Should I get a Texas and Florida RN license even though I'm graduating from PA? I know that those two states are high in demand for all types of nurses.

That seems like jumping the gun. I wouldn't pay to get my license endorsed in another state unless I had a firm offer.

And I would say that the single best way to get a job as a new grad on a desirable floor is to work on that floor as a tech first.

bigdreams01 · Mar 27, 2015

That seems like jumping the gun. I wouldn't pay to get my license endorsed in another state unless I had a firm offer.
And I would say that the single best way to get a job as a new grad on a desirable floor is to work on that floor as a tech first.

you're right- but does co-op experience give me credibility when applying for an ER job? Drexel offers a 5 year BSN program with a year or so focusing on co-ops in different nursing floors including ICU. Not sure about co-op in the ER though. I doubt that's an option.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2015

FL has a high demand????? for nurses. It depends on the speciality, time of year, type of facility and job.

Plenty of nursing home jobs, seasonal hospital jobs and part time jobs, perhaps.

New grad jobs in a hospital, fulltime, year round.... Not so much, that I have seen.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Mar 27, 2015

What is a co-op?

Nonyvole, BSN, RN · Mar 28, 2015

What is a co-op?

From looking at Drexel's website, paid internships in and around Philadelphia.

OP, there's no one hard and fast answer as to if a new grad will be hired into an ER. It depends on the facility, their needs, and their abilities to absorb a new nurse who will need quite a bit of training to be able to hold their own during a crazy shift.

Or, one major ER where I live hires new grads all the time. Another one - same acuity level, similar size - flat out refuses to hire them. A third is hit-or-miss. My facility gets quite a few applications from new grads, but will only hire them to one shift, so it's easier to just say no, you need to have a minimum of one year in an ER someplace. But my ER has two nurses on at a time, three with the overlapping shift...can you blame us for not wanting to throw a new grad nurse into the deep end?

As for what your co-op can offer you...again, look at the job postings for the ERs where you'd like to work. An ICU co-op will give you a small step up, in that you'd know a bit more about critical cases, but it still wouldn't prepare you for the full ER experience.

bigdreams01 · Mar 28, 2015

Cooperative education program- Drexel will put you in hospitals around the USA for 6 consecutive months a year to gain experience in the nursing field. Co-ops start in sophomore year and ends junior year. Co-op nursing students get paid roughly $16,000 for 6 months. They work in contemporary public health networks, acute & chronic illness nursing, and an elective specialty nursing field of the student's choosing.

Consequently, it will take 5 years for me to graduate w/ a BSN and I'm assuming the in class schedule is more intense as a result of the co-op work experience.

I heard that people that utilize the co-op plan have a 99.4% employment rate.. 38% of co-op students end up being employed by their co-op employer upon graduation. However, I'm not sure if it will help me specifically get an ER nursing job or even be a credible thing on my job resume after graduating.