I know this topic is getting a lot of ink these days, but here's my experience on the issue. I post this because I think that there are still an abundance of people struggling to get into nursing schools, and uninformed soon to be new grads.
I graduated in May 2010 from the BSN program in Colorado. I worked as a nurse intern ("ACP") at University hospital hoping to get a little experience before I graduated, as my program consistently provided me with poor clinical experiences (preceptors who didn't wan't to be there, let alone teach).
Simply put, there are very few jobs out there. I'm sure many of you have combed this site and seen the carnage, and it's pretty much the real deal. I know of people who have applied to literally 100 jobs with not one call back. I'm at about 50 over the past 4 months. I've pretty much stopped at this point, as it's become demoralizing. And just so I'm clear, I've applied to 12 different states, all over the map. The one thing that I have not done, (that may hold promise for some), is apply to nursing homes or SNF's. Even If I landed a job in this area, I didn't want to start off my career hating it. Oh yeah, I think it's possible to go Navy or Army, but I've been in the military before and...no thanks.
What's worse, is that I'm married to an RN (charge), my sister is an RN and many of my friends are RN's. I've worked every angle I can think of.
Yes, there are some new grads getting jobs, but it's clearly the exception at this point. The advice that I've seen posted in just about very forum is to call the nurse mangers on specific units, be proactive, go to the hospitals and hand out resumes. Whatever. I suppose that could be beneficial for some, but I have seen no results with this.
I guess I just wanted to put one person's story out there, as it may help those thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of eager students or potential students. Definitely not trying to make people bitter, but it's good to know the real deal.
As for me, I'm pretty much done, trying to get back into my pre-nursing school career. I consider myself very lucky in this regard, as I have something to fall back on (although it's definitely going to be a while).
Well, in CO, of my 5 recently graduated RN friends:
~3 months to get a job at a psych facility (CU, but he had all sorts of insider links, HATED the job, overworked, and left)
4 months to get a job at DG (Regis accelerated)
5 months to get a job at DG (CMC, top student in her class)
~14 months to get a part time job at LTC (CMC, all kinds of hookups, employed as a tech throughout school)
6 months and still looking (CMC, all kinds of hookups)
The head of the career center at my university told me how bad things were when I brought my resume in for review for a tech job. I've been trying to find a PRN or float tech job to improve my odds, but none to be had. I interviewed twice and didn't get the jobs... first time in 11 years I've interviewed for jobs and not gotten them. The CNA jobs around here are advertising for new grads to apply for them.
The career center director said, regarding new grad RN jobs, "yea you'll be able to get a hospital job if you are willing to go rural."
Me: "I'm OK being 2 hours from Denver. I'll work any shift and any floor."
Him: "That will help, but think more like 5 hours plus from Denver. REALLY rural."
Me: "As long as it is in the mountains..."
Him: "Think more about night shifts in the ranch and farm counties to the east."
Me: "So I should be thinking about Kansas? Why am I bothering with a 4.0 in the honors program again?"
In the state of Colorado, there are LITERALLY 23 BSN and 28 ADN classes graduating each year. This overproduction of NG RNs in Colorado created a glut YEARS BEFORE the economy crashed. Now it is just worse. How bad?
1.I know several people people who went to school in Nebraska because they couldn't get into one of the top 50% of the BSN program in CO. They all plan to try and move back to CO.
2. I worked my butt off to get into a program that is usually regarded in the top 3 or 4 in the state, I'll have 9 years of medical experience when I graduate, and I have our career center director telling me that I should probably look for employment in other states after I graduate!
The nursing programs continue to increase there enrollment while knowing that the new grads (obviously with some exceptions as mentioned) will have a hard time afterwards. This is wrong. I am just glad I don't have a student loan to pay back.
I'm so tempted to print this out and plaster it all over every nursing school campus in my state. They really do have no shame-if I see one more commercial for a school talking about this "nursing shortage" I'm going to scream!
As for those of you who say "everyone in my class got a job!!!" thats wonderful, but realize you are the exception and not the rule. And its a little patronizing to be told things like "make your resume stand out!" and "get good grades and certifications!" as if we haven't already tried this. It's all about location, location, location-and if you are in a bad location, it doesn't matter if you graduated magna cum laude and found the cure for cancer, unless you have that magical 3 years experience you are NOT getting hired.
The number I heard, according to some regional nursing education professional organization, is that there are over 500 unemployed new grad RNs in the Denver area at the end of Q3 '10. This suggests that ~50% of new grads do not have jobs.
This is what is so wrong with America's higher education system. they really need to be more in tune with what employers want and producing students to meet those demands - instead they are more concerned about their own bottom lines and signing students up to get ahold of their federal student loan $$$. They could care less that they are creating a 'glut' and it is ultimately going to hurt the nursing profession more than help. They are also going to be hurting alot of students who have student loans to repay and no job prospects.
Graduating students (in any field) for which there isn't a demand for is counterproductive for everyone.
I also attended nsg school in CO, graduating in 2005. I saw the writing on the wall, so to speak, when it seemed like EVERYONE I knew was wanting to go to nsg school - alot of this was b/c of the mass layoffs in the high tech industry. When I moved to CO in 2001 there were literally hundreds of nsg jobs all over the place.
I'm so tempted to print this out and plaster it all over every nursing school campus in my state. They really do have no shame-if I see one more commercial for a school talking about this "nursing shortage" I'm going to scream!
As for those of you who say "everyone in my class got a job!!!" thats wonderful, but realize you are the exception and not the rule. And its a little patronizing to be told things like "make your resume stand out!" and "get good grades and certifications!" as if we haven't already tried this. It's all about location, location, location-and if you are in a bad location, it doesn't matter if you graduated magna cum laude and found the cure for cancer, unless you have that magical 3 years experience you are NOT getting hired.
I can understand why it may sound patronizing, and i can understand the frustration but im not moved by people who refuse to apply to any job in 'ltc' because they know they wouldn't like it as the OP stated and then write this dreary post to get future grads down. wouldn't it be fabulous if we could all walk into the specialities we want right away but just like any career you have to sometimes work your way 'up'/or vertically'. In the words of one hospital manager who mentored my friend when she asked if she should take a ltc position in her very, very tight job market. "if i look at a applicant with zero experience 6 months after graduation or one with 6 month of ltc experience....its a no-brainer to go with the one with experience." For some who refuse to do any type of ltc they eventually do find a job but for some as the timeline ticks away they become more unmarketable with each passing day. I feel for everyone , its a tough market and im sorry if i came across as patronizing but i also think people need to think outside of the box of their 'ideal' job was when they went to NS. They can still get there they just might have to take a step or two inbetween to reach their goal
My alma mater has actually suspended plans to expand their program because of the job market, i
I can understand why it may sound patronizing, and i can understand the frustration but im not moved by people who refuse to apply to any job in 'ltc' because they know they wouldn't like it as the OP stated and then write this dreary post to get future grads down. wouldn't it be fabulous if we could all walk into the specialities we want right away but just like any career you have to sometimes work your way 'up'/or vertically'. In the words of one hospital manager who mentored my friend when she asked if she should take a ltc position in her very, very tight job market. "if i look at a applicant with zero experience 6 months after graduation or one with 6 month of ltc experience....its a no-brainer to go with the one with experience." For some who refuse to do any type of ltc they eventually do find a job but for some as the timeline ticks away they become more unmarketable with each passing day. I feel for everyone , its a tough market and im sorry if i came across as patronizing but i also think people need to think outside of the box of their 'ideal' job was when they went to NS. They can still get there they just might have to take a step or two inbetween to reach their goal
My alma mater has actually suspended plans to expand their program because of the job market, i
I think the OP was trying to paint a realistic picture of what the market is like for those considering entering nursing school-NOT complaining about his personal inability to find a job.
As far as the rest of your post- How do you know we haven't applied for jobs outside of our "ideal"? Personally I have applied for everything from unit secretary to CNA to prison nurse to medical records reviewer-jobs I'm overqualified for and jobs I'm underqualified for, jobs I would have never in a million years thought I would be reduced to, jobs that pay well below what I consider a liveable wage, and still haven't gotten an interview. It's been going on 3 months now and I lost track of the number of applications I've filled out but it's in the hundreds. And I've gone into places in person, stalked hiring managers, had a professional redo my resume and cover letter. I could go on and on...So again, when you say things like "think outside the box", even if you don't mean to you are still being patronizing. And when people like that HR manager talk about those of us who haven't been able to find work 6 months after graduation as being "un-marketable", it is based on the stereotype that people who cannot find a job are lazy, defective, or simply not trying hard enough-and the reality is, for most of us, nothing could be further from the truth.
BTW-is your alma mater a for-profit college? Just curious. Good on them for scaling back their program-what I'm seeing with my school (a for profit) is the exact opposite. They just opened 2 new campuses, shortened the length of the program, lowered the passing grade from a 76 to a 70, and continue to advertise every 5 minutes during daytime TV
I think the OP was trying to paint a realistic picture of what the market is like for those considering entering nursing school-NOT complaining about his personal inability to find a job.
As far as the rest of your post- How do you know we haven't applied for jobs outside of our "ideal"? Personally I have applied for everything from unit secretary to CNA to prison nurse to medical records reviewer-jobs I'm overqualified for and jobs I'm underqualified for, jobs I would have never in a million years thought I would be reduced to, jobs that pay well below what I consider a liveable wage, and still haven't gotten an interview. It's been going on 3 months now and I lost track of the number of applications I've filled out but it's in the hundreds. And I've gone into places in person, stalked hiring managers, had a professional redo my resume and cover letter. I could go on and on...So again, when you say things like "think outside the box", even if you don't mean to you are still being patronizing. And when people like that HR manager talk about those of us who haven't been able to find work 6 months after graduation as being "un-marketable", it is based on the stereotype that people who cannot find a job are lazy, defective, or simply not trying hard enough-and the reality is, for most of us, nothing could be further from the truth.
BTW-is your alma mater a for-profit college? Just curious. Good on them for scaling back their program-what I'm seeing with my school (a for profit) is the exact opposite. They just opened 2 new campuses, shortened the length of the program, lowered the passing grade from a 76 to a 70, and continue to advertise every 5 minutes during daytime TV
As i said the ORg. Poster has limited her search. and that was what i was referring to.
This is what is so wrong with America's higher education system. they really need to be more in tune with what employers want and producing students to meet those demands - instead they are more concerned about their own bottom lines and signing students up to get ahold of their federal student loan $$$. They could care less that they are creating a 'glut' and it is ultimately going to hurt the nursing profession more than help. They are also going to be hurting alot of students who have student loans to repay and no job prospects.
Graduating students (in any field) for which there isn't a demand for is counterproductive for everyone.
I also attended nsg school in CO, graduating in 2005. I saw the writing on the wall, so to speak, when it seemed like EVERYONE I knew was wanting to go to nsg school - alot of this was b/c of the mass layoffs in the high tech industry. When I moved to CO in 2001 there were literally hundreds of nsg jobs all over the place.
Funny thing- when my little sis graduated (2004), they announced the place where every new grad was working as they handed out the diplomas. She was offered a job in the PICU at UCLA over spring break...
So how did we get here?
First off, the "for profit" colleges/universities cashed in on the nursing school craze. It seemed as though the for profits greatly increased their advertising budgets and subsequent enrollments. And can you blame them? People were practically beating down the doors trying to get into nursing schools, student loans in hand. Next, the media orgy surrounding "the nursing shortage" reached an all time high, and the two worked hand in hand. All of the sudden there was a market to exploit- the potential nursing student. Student loans were not too hard to come by, after all. There were even federal grants to advertise nursing as a more attractive profession. Public awareness regarding the nursing shortage was at an all time high thanks to campaigns by Johnson & Johnson and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (however well intentioned). And lastly, the economy tanked. Toss in a serious recession and a 10% unemployment rate and viola!- way too many new grads!
I question the morality of the situation as well, but in the end, it's capitalism, right? Supply and demand...
I haven't read all the posts, but I wanted to mention a possibility for anyone interested. Clarian Health in Indianapolis is currently hiring nurses, including new grads. We have 3 major hospitals in Indy, including Methodist, IU, and Riley Children's Hospital. Might be worth looking into if you're willing to relocate. Competitive pay and good benefits. And we are Magnet. My suggestion is to go to Clarian Health and apply for positions listed. After a few days, follow up with a call to the recruiter and mention your application. Recruiter contact information is listed on the website.
Funny thing- when my little sis graduated (2004), they announced the place where every new grad was working as they handed out the diplomas. She was offered a job in the PICU at UCLA over spring break...
So how did we get here?
First off, the "for profit" colleges/universities cashed in on the nursing school craze. It seemed as though the for profits greatly increased their advertising budgets and subsequent enrollments. And can you blame them? People were practically beating down the doors trying to get into nursing schools, student loans in hand. Next, the media orgy surrounding "the nursing shortage" reached an all time high, and the two worked hand in hand. All of the sudden there was a market to exploit- the potential nursing student. Student loans were not too hard to come by, after all. There were even federal grants to advertise nursing as a more attractive profession. Public awareness regarding the nursing shortage was at an all time high thanks to campaigns by Johnson & Johnson and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (however well intentioned). And lastly, the economy tanked. Toss in a serious recession and a 10% unemployment rate and viola!- way too many new grads!
I question the morality of the situation as well, but in the end, it's capitalism, right? Supply and demand...
You are correct - I just think prenursing students should be warned that the 'demand' isn't what it used to be
It's terrible. And yet today one of the lead stories on yahoo.com is that nursing is one of the "hottest" careers in demand!!
I want to say that if you find yourself applying to work in a SNF and get hired, DO IT. It's not going to be that bad and you WILL learn many, many skills that you will bring to an acute care facility. Time management, wound care, good assessment skills, and just dealing with patients and their demands, needs, questions, etc., or dealing with them when they go south.
You can get into their charts and read their histories and learn. You will pass many meds you can study up on ... I've never worked in one, but I work on floors w/ elderly that GO to these places and careing for them will not be that much different.
You could supplement it w/ CNA work on an acute floor. I would not doubt that if you did that for one year, you'd be MUCH more marketable than a new grad w/ no experience of any kind. Believe me -- the skills you learn even as a CNA will make you more marketeable, not to mention more comfortable as a new grad learning the acute role.
SummitRN, BSN, RN
2 Articles; 1,567 Posts
Well, in CO, of my 5 recently graduated RN friends:
~3 months to get a job at a psych facility (CU, but he had all sorts of insider links, HATED the job, overworked, and left)
4 months to get a job at DG (Regis accelerated)
5 months to get a job at DG (CMC, top student in her class)
~14 months to get a part time job at LTC (CMC, all kinds of hookups, employed as a tech throughout school)
6 months and still looking (CMC, all kinds of hookups)
The head of the career center at my university told me how bad things were when I brought my resume in for review for a tech job. I've been trying to find a PRN or float tech job to improve my odds, but none to be had. I interviewed twice and didn't get the jobs... first time in 11 years I've interviewed for jobs and not gotten them. The CNA jobs around here are advertising for new grads to apply for them.
The career center director said, regarding new grad RN jobs, "yea you'll be able to get a hospital job if you are willing to go rural."
Me: "I'm OK being 2 hours from Denver. I'll work any shift and any floor."
Him: "That will help, but think more like 5 hours plus from Denver. REALLY rural."
Me: "As long as it is in the mountains..."
Him: "Think more about night shifts in the ranch and farm counties to the east."
Me: "So I should be thinking about Kansas? Why am I bothering with a 4.0 in the honors program again?"
In the state of Colorado, there are LITERALLY 23 BSN and 28 ADN classes graduating each year. This overproduction of NG RNs in Colorado created a glut YEARS BEFORE the economy crashed. Now it is just worse. How bad?
1.I know several people people who went to school in Nebraska because they couldn't get into one of the top 50% of the BSN program in CO. They all plan to try and move back to CO.
2. I worked my butt off to get into a program that is usually regarded in the top 3 or 4 in the state, I'll have 9 years of medical experience when I graduate, and I have our career center director telling me that I should probably look for employment in other states after I graduate!