MSN but can't get a Management position!!??

[mlalte]

Hello All Nurses!

I have found myself in a bit of a predicament and was wondering if any of you lovely people have some advice.

I have been an RN for 11 years and worked Telemetry, Pediatrics, ICU, Charge Nurse, back-up Nursing Supervisor, Case Management for an insurance company and now in ER.

I finished my BSN 2014 and MSN for nursing administration in 2016 (while I was working for insurance company). Initially, when I finished my degree I obtained a promotion to "Team Lead" - which is an assistant manager position. Unfortunately, this company went out of business, and I was forced to find another position (about 1 year ago). I interviewed for several Management and Director positions but was not chosen for the positions. Eventually, I accepted the ER position that I am currently in.

I have now started applying for Supervisor and Manager positions within my current Organization (which is fairly large and has multiple campuses in the region). I thought for sure that I was going to get the last position I applied for. Unfortunately, someone else was hired for the role.

I am not sure what I am doing wrong! I have the required experience and education for the positions that I am applying for. I am a member of the ANA and my states' Nursing Association.

Not only am I not using my degree, but I have my student loans on deferment due to having to take a very large paycut when I left the insurance company.

Any suggestions/advice?

[elkpark]

Sounds like, for whatever reason, your current employer doesn't want to move you into a higher level position. Are you job-hunting farther afield than just your current employer? Other employers? Best wishes!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Are you setting your sights a little too high? Are there some other positions you could apply for that would move you forward -- if only a little - towards your goal? Maybe there is a job "somewhere in-between" where you are now and where you want to be.

Also, what are you doing in your current job to get yourself noticed -- and to network within your institution? Are you involved in Shared Governance ... any division-wide or hospital-wide committees or task forces? Do you collect data for quality improvement projects? etc. Participating in those types of projects often gives staff nurses a chance to be seen by people doing the hiring in other departments. If you are not doing those types of things, you should.

Are you working any overtime? You need to get those student loans out of deferment. The longer you delay that, the more they will grow. Can you work some overtime (or better yet, work overtime on quality improvement projects) to earn some extra money?