New Grad Murses having an easier time finding jobs?

[Age1]

I know the job market is tough out there, but how hard is it for able bodied male nurses to land a job? I graduated from nursing school in June and passed my nclex-rn last month. I only applied to a few local hospitals and already have had two job offers. I accepted one offer and will be starting the new grad program at the start of next month. My GPA is nothing to brag about and I do not have any additional certifications. I handed my application in person and just crossed my fingers. Maybe its just because I interviewed well, but I have a vague feeling that it may be due to the fact that I am male. In all regards, just wanted share my experience and wanted to see other murse input. Thanks

[Age1]

I have an ADN. Live in Los Angeles. A lot of my friends from my graduating class (june 2010) have already found jobs. It seeems like this last batch of grads overall have been finding jobs...

[Mr ButtWipe]

I have an ADN. Live in Los Angeles. A lot of my friends from my graduating class (june 2010) have already found jobs. It seeems like this last batch of grads overall have been finding jobs...

I think the job market is really dependent on region. I heard it was hard in california but you found a job pretty easily, congratulations.

I live in New Jersey, and I have sent out over 200 applications. I have a bachelors in psychology and a bachelors in nursing. I can't get one interview, but i'll keep at it since I don't plan on doing construction for the rest of my life with two degrees.

[epijunky]

Idk.

It seems like there's a trend for men to go into the ER or some CC setting right off the bat. It seems less common for girls to do that. Perhaps because less people want or can start off in one of those above mentioned settings it's easier for men to get the jobs.

Then again, men are 7% of the nurse population right (?) so maybe they need your Y chromosomes to fill their quota. Use it to your advantage.

Men are more 'useful' in the ER because they can be counted on the restrain out of control patients. Female nurses can be seen as a liability in many ERs because they might have to call for assistant when dealing with a violent patient, whereas a strong male nurse could handle the problem without having to call for help and have everyone drop what they are doing and come help, which of course is inconvenient to the staff.

[chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

In my case, being a guy has not been much of an advantage.

I'm a recent grad but have yet to get even an interview, despite being an EMT with 15 or so years of experience. Part of the problem is that I am an ADN-RN and most of the health care organizations in my area now require BSNs (my previous baccalaureate and masters degrees are no help). Another problem is lack of experience in nursing. What is surprisng to me is that I have not been even been able to get an interview with any of the LTC facilities. While the ADN is not an issue for them, lack of experience is. Many require a minimum of 3 years and those that don't demand at least one year of previous LTC work.

I will be returning to school in the summer to get my BSN but in the meantime, I'm thinking of revising my resume to remove my college degress and nursing credentials and starting to submit applications for tech jobs.

[BCRNA]

I have talked to several nurse managers about this, and most of them think men make better employees. They call in when they are sick, not when they want a day off. They get along better with others, women are less likely to give a man a hard time, where they would with other women. Of course this is just generallly speaking, there are many exceptions. But women tend to fight among themselves more and talk bad about each other. In small units where this is a problem, the nurse managers like bringing in men. I have worked in units staffed by all men, and have been the only man present in some. There is a huge difference between the two. I have never heard another man bad mouth a co-worker constantly or complain all night. My last nurse manager when I worked an ICU actually guided her night staffing on male to female ratios.

Men are not more likely to get a job if they say they want to be CRNA's or NP's, though. Those people don't tend to stay long becuase the do go on to higher education. By the time they are trained, they leave. So if this is your plan, don't admit to it during an interview. Let them think the unit you are applying for is your career goal.

[JimJones]

I think that we all fail to realize that, yes there is truth to certain stereotypes. In this particular case, I can say that if a hospital were to hire more male nurses, it would reduce the need to call other staff in emergency situations. Think about the presence and need for hospital security. In my experience, when security has been needed, it is to assist usually female nurses with a violent patient. If the unit was staffed by mostly male nurses, such a sitatution could probably have been handled by the male nurses themselves without need for additional personnel to intervene. I'm the only guy on my unit, and yes, I am often called when a combative patient needs to be restrained, or to stand in helping to restrain someone until security can get there and finish the task.

[GSOnurse]

If you can manage to work as a CNA during nursing school, I would reccomend it. Even if you are PRN or Relief. At least you would be in the system. Your chances are most likely higher at a location where you are already employed. I will be starting an accelerated nursing program in January 2011. My plan is to keep working at the hospital as much as I can through school.