Need Experienced Nurses advice/thoughts...Im on the fence!

[nickynoodles]

I just spent the last 2 weeks filling out applications, financial aid forms, etc..with such excitement only to be completely discouraged after reading in many of the threads on here how very hard its become for New Grads with a Associates RN Degree to find a job in NY! It goes against all of the research that I did prior to deciding on pursuing Nursing as a career. I have read countless articles that Nursing is the 'golden ticket' career, that jobs are plentiful, that NY is the place to be, that they are practically tripping over themselves to recruit nurses - paying off loans, bonuses, etc.. I am SO bummed after learning the 'fine print', and that is, that it seems those things are true IF you have a Bachelors Degree in Nursing and IF you have nursing experience under your belt.

I was completely convinced up until the last couple days reading over posts that Nursing was the perfect fit for me but maybe this isnt the best thing for me to do and since I have to decide this week bc Im preparing to attend WCC Spring 09 to complete my pre-reqs, Ive decided to come on here and ask some questions of the experienced nurses that will help me decide if this is what i should do?

I am a single mother. Its just me and my child, there is no father in the picture or family really to babysit while Im working sooo I can only work when my child is in school. Ideally, I would like to be there to take her to school and be there when she gets home. I could never work weekends or holidays. Flexibility is top priority for me. I am also expecting (more like needing though) to make at least $60K to start. I would like to know if Im being reasonable or unreasonable.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[infermera1977]

I dont know if you are living within the five boroughs or out of the city but this is what I believe has happened everywhere not only new york. I graduated 6 yrs ago and hospitals were attacking us to apply for jobs at thier hospitals...so much that i had a job lined up 2 months prior to graduating and 4 months before i even took my boards....and it was in emergency nursing. Back then areas where you needed some experience in the past were hiring new graduates because they were so desperate they would take anyone. Fast forward 5 yrs , economy takes a downfall, hospitals need to cut back, older experienced nurses that were previously working agency per diem or part time where now taking full time positions because hospitals were cutting out agency/traveler positions becuase they dont have the cash to pay these more expensive nurses. So the need is still the same however more experienced nurses are filling the need because they need the full time work...also i know a few hospitals/ or parts of hospitals in the city that closed down due to financial issues so those nurses were out of jobs and found jobs elsewhere. I have a personal experience from this because I was a travel nurse (local nyc travel only) for three years and after may there were zero travel opportunities for nurses in the city (compared to over a 100 opportunities every day three years ago.I was forced to take a staff job. I have 6yrs er experience and 2 yrs icu experience and some random experience in recovery room, telemetry, pediatrics and found it difficult to find a job because hospitals were going on hiring freezes and you could only get in if you knew someone, thankfully i got a staff job and started three weeks ago...but this was after 5 consistent months of looking and im a bachelors prepared nurse. So it is a scary job market out there. However nurses will always be needed. And most nurses that are still at the bedside are older >45 and will be retiring and patients are living longer and getting sicker so there will be always a need.

That being said, unless you get a job as a school nurse, you will have a hard time finding a job right out of school that permits you to work only hours htat your child is in school and be off on weekends and holidays....those positions are hard to come by and definately will NOT happen as a new graduate....the types of areas that have those hours are school nurse ( in which case, you will not be making >60k a year....more like half that amount) or if you work in outpatient clinics and you need experience for that area and those outpt clinics are almost never hiring becuase the older nurses usually take those positions after yrs of nursing and will stay there until the day they die.

I hope this has helped you...i hate to discourage you but you should NOT be going into this profession because of job stability and the salary you will make and flexibiility of scheduling,....yes those are one of the perks of the profession but if you dont truly love what you do, you will burn out quickly. The profession is awesome, but a lot of the times you dont see the awesomeness of the career until YEARS down the road. You will be eaten alive if you simply go into this for the perks because there is a lotttt of poopoo you have to deal with .

[MassED, BSN, RN]

not living in NY, I can't say about the job prospects... depending on the age of your child and what kind of nursing school you'll be in, you might have hours that mimic your child's school hours. Then you can take your child to school and pick up. When I was in nursing school, I had my child in daycare during class time, but it was the clinical hours that I had to find reliable care - sometimes you had to be at the hospital at 6am. Hard to find that kind of childcare - but there are people out there - especially home daycares, which is what I always used.

Now, as for nursing, again depending on the age of your child, the hours - in most hospitals are 12 hour shifts - many hospitals have a weekend commitment and rotating holidays, so you probably aren't going to have much luck there. Of course there's always a doctor's office for a job.... outside of the hospital there are other options - home health, etc. Those might be easier for flexibility with your child. Good luck!