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).
I, too, have to laugh every time I see another yahoo.com article screaming about how "in demand" nurses are. In these times, it's difficult for people to find any job at all. People from all walks of life, with all sorts of degrees or lack of degrees, are having a hard time. I think it's cruel for these articles to give people false hope, that becoming a nurse means a guaranteed job and fat paycheck.
But, I will say this. If I was a new grad unable to find a hospital job, I would absolutely look into working LTC, SNF, rehab facilities, and everything else. Every job can and will provide you with some valuable experience if you allow it to. My main focus would be to build up my resume, to prepare for the time when the job market (hopefully) improves. Besides, you may unexpectedly find a job that you love!
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
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..
I'm sorry you are having such a difficult time, but this sentence really stuck out at me.
In most professions, people have to pay their dues. In nursing, that might be working in a SNF. I think new nurses have been spoiled in the last few years with the idea that as soon as they graduate, they're going to land a job in an acute setting doing exactly what they wanted to do. That's not realistic. Sometimes you got to do a job you don't necessarily love, in order to gain the experience to move onto something else.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
From what I've seen in this area(Ohio) your post seems to be accurate. WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING with so many RNs in the family. Surely someone said -" stay away from nursing- no jobs, no job security, little respect, and mediocre working conditions".
If I didn't read here regularly, I would have no idea that job prospects are so dim for new grads. When I graduated, hospitals were throwing jobs at the new nurses - paying to fly them across country for interviews, paying $4000 sign-on bonuses, etc. I certainly wouldn't blame his/her family members for not discouraging him/her from getting into a job that pays well and historically has been recession-proof. As far as little respect and mediocre working conditions - I guess that just depends on where you work. I've always loved every place I've worked.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
And they graduate ~250 each year.
And the state graduates ~1800 a year.
And there are several hundred left over from the previous year.
An earlier post you wrote (post #27) said that the state graduates approx. 1000 new RNs a year. That's a lot different from the 1800 you're saying now.
To be fair, the University of Colorado Hospital and UC Denver are not affiliated, so they really don't have an obligation to hire all the new grads. But the fact that one hospital hires 10% of the state's new grads is, I think, pretty good.
:spbox: I totally wrote YAHOO today giving them my 2 cents about the "Nursing Hot Job" article they keep putting up. Hopefully it'll soon be brought to the public's attention how grim it is for us.
An earlier post you wrote (post #27) said that the state graduates approx. 1000 new RNs a year. That's a lot different from the 1800 you're saying now.
You have misinterpreted the statistic. ~1000 per year in the Denver area. The state is 1800 plus
sunshineintheforest
39 Posts
What is SNF?