Moving to Boston

[ineedachange1]

Hi Nursing Family!

I just received my BSN and I am excited! I was an LPN for 6 years and an ASN RN for 1 year before earning my BSN this month! Currently, I live in Houston, TX and I am ready to go! I am originally from NY and I would like to move to Boston, MA for the New Year 2021. I have LTC and sub acute - I do not have any hospital experience as an RN - YET. Does anyone have any suggestions and/or tips for me? Where can I apply to work? where do I live safely (I do not have family in Massachusetts)? I heard great things about nursing in Boston and I want to experience all the great opportunities Boston has to offer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[HopefulFutureOncNurse, BSN, RN]

On 12/12/2020 at 6:28 PM, OncologyCat said:

I believe there are new grad onc residency programs in Boston but it is extremely difficult to get into, especially when you go to school out of state (unless you went to a big named school out of state like UPenn or UMichigan). MGH and BWH have new grad program where you can float between services and hospital systems I believe. Dana-Farber has a new grad research nurse program that, from my understanding, only offers 2-3 positions/year. Beth Israel will post new grad positions as Clinical nurse I. The majority of new grad nurses hired to big named hospitals in Boston have to do a practicum there or work there as a nursing assistant before.

With COVID and hiring freezes I suggest apply to any jobs you see, whether regular med-surg tele or rehab; don’t limit yourself to oncology only. Spaulding is a popular choice for new grad since it’s still in the Mass General Brigham health system and you can transfer to big named hospitals in hat system like MGH or BWH more easily than as an external applicant. Once you have a year of experience under your belt, you’ll be much more appealing to hiring managers. Another option is to relocate; Boston is extremely competitive to get jobs. I used to be able to work in New Hampshire as a new grad RN in oncology and move down to Boston with 2.5 years of experience.

Thank you so much @OncologyCat! This is incredibly helpful and I'm very appreciative for your time, thoroughness, and thoughtfulness in your response.