So.............I graduated about a year ago from a nursing diploma program (in NJ).......and when I left school and passed the NCLEX, I had all this vigor and eagerness to get my Nursing career started. I basically was really excited to earn the title of RN and have the chance to help people and my community. Granted when I left school I think I had a good understanding that the general economy was in shambles and I knew it was not going to be easy to get a job. But I had no idea it was going to be this bad. Basically I have had no real leads to gaining employment in the nursing field for this past year and it starting to weigh on my resolve to continue searching for work in the field. Now from reading alot of posts from New(er) Grads on allnurses.com I know that I'm not alone it this. In fact there are a lot of New Grads out there with BSN that are saddled with way more debt than me that are not finding work out there. So in the end maybe I'm one of the luckier ones out there.
But here the thing, I can say I'm disappointed with the healthcare field in general for lack of employment....but.....I'm not Bitter (at least not yet anyways) toward it. BUT from talking to some of my former fellow classmates that are not employed or only have sporadic per diem jobs and reading some of the RN boards, bitterness toward nursing seems to be creeping in.
This concerns me a bit because eventually (I think) the economy will turn and there will be a demand for nurses at all levels. And in my mind we will probably need more nurses than ever considering how may elderly we have coming down the pipe.
I'm just thinking though if bitterness does set into alot of New(er) Graduates now that cause them throw their hand up with disgust and walk away from the field of nursing. Will this effect and/or finally create a real "Nursing Shortage" in the long(er) term? Or is the field so saturated that it won't make a difference? Personally I have no idea but I know alot of you guys out there have been in this game for a long time and I know this is not the first downturn in nursing. So I looking forward to seeing your guys perspective on this post.
Let me just lastly state that I two elderly parents that are needing more and more care as they age. So this is not just concerning me because I'm an unemployed RN. I'm also a child of of people that will most probably depend on RN as they reach there twilight years.
I've gotten over being bitter... there's nobody to be bitter at. I can't blame anybody for looking out for their self-interest. I'm just struggling now to figure out how to pay the bills and where to go in life now as I try to find an open door somewhere.
I commend you for you ability to look through/beyond bitterness. I'm not sure if everyone can/will do this. That's why I was concerned longer term with the profession and the availability of nursing man/woman power in the future.
I wish you much luck. And Yeah I get you "Survival" is the key word of the great recession.
I was precepting a nursing student yesterday. He was very energetic and eager. Told me he knew exactly where he will be working upon graduation (NICU) and was unwiling to do anything else.
I gently adviced to have plan B and C in place 'just in case'. He got offended and became snarky.
I live in TX and and seems like every new grad from this nation has moved or applied here. My town has a glutt for jobs now and the current nursing students from all 5 programs are completely clueless as to what is going on as far as shortage of jobs.
I cannot believe people don't do research and or talk to each other. sigh
Yes I heard in the south things are much better. Unfortunately I can go there because of family trust me I'd love to. And to be honest I don't understand why your student gave you an attitude. You gave him sound advice. I'll be honest there are only two areas where I just can't bring myself to go. That is obgyn and maternity. I don't know if it is because I'm a guy or not. But those areas are just not areas where I feel that I could make a go of it. Plus those particular areas of nursing are popular in my region of the country so I have not seen openings for them anyways.
As for people not doing there research. I say I should have done more research before choosing to enter School. I should have started as A CNA first and make in roads at a hospital first before heading into school. sa la vie.
the bitterness should be directed at the plethora of sub-par nursing schools popping up, charging a ton of money for a degree full of credits that won't transfer, and saturating the market.
I completely agree I see that even ITT Tech is offering a nursing degree program. The state boards of nursing are rubber stamping nursing programs to eliminate this so called nursing shortage but they have set the nursing career back!!!
I have tried to give future nursing students on this website advice, do not fall for these schools traps of no waiting lists in exchange for high tuitions and credits that cannot transfer, but they ignore me because they are desperate.... They do not even realize they will not be able to get employment once they graduate and will have those huge student loans to pay back.. I give up....
Well everybody knows where 99% of the NICU-only thing comes from. It's "I don't want to have nothin to do with mouthy, smelly, obnoxious people over the age of one month". Can't blame 'em. But, you will have to deal with the parents of the little angels who will watch and critique your every move and that levels the playing field.
Well everybody knows where 99% of the NICU-only thing comes from. It's "I don't want to have nothin to do with mouthy, smelly, obnoxious people over the age of one month". Can't blame 'em. But, you will have to deal with the parents of the little angels who will watch and critique your every move and that levels the playing field.
So true I wish nursing students would just be honest on why they want to work NICU only.... As far as I am concerned you should not be in the nursing field if you just trying to avoid those aspects of nursing especially for a new graduate.
I completely agree I see that even ITT Tech is offering a nursing degree program. The state boards of nursing are rubber stamping nursing programs to eliminate this so called nursing shortage but they have set the nursing career back!!!
I have tried to give future nursing students on this website advice, do not fall for these schools traps of no waiting lists in exchange for high tuitions and credits that cannot transfer, but they ignore me because they are desperate.... They do not even realize they will not be able to get employment once they graduate and will have those huge student loans to pay back.. I give up....
I guess I am a graduate of one of those subpar nursing programs. I went to Medical Careers Institute (Richmond, Va) and earned my nursing degree. My tuition was higher but my hospital foot the bill for half of it through tuition assistance (they apparently didn't mind I was at a subpar program). I did not have the time to wait on endless waiting list so I did what I had to do, just like a lot of the other people making that choice. Just about everyone in my graduating class is now working as an RN, majority in hospitals, those that aren't in hospitals chose not to be. I immediately had a job once I graduated and it wasn't because of where I graduated (in fact I was chosen over someone that graduated from our hospitals nursing school) but because of the fact I got my foot in the door early on. I made sure to become a care partner (patient care tech) as soon as I got into nursing school. That's what new grads are going to have to do, take the undesirable job, grunt through it for a little while, and use it as a learning experience. Once something better opens up go for it. Not only do you now have experience but most places will choose their own current employees before they will look outside of the company. Its hard out there right now since there are so many nurses coming into the work force newly or returning because the economy hit them too. Its an awful feeling not having a job but it only gets worse when you become bitter and give up.
I live in Los Angeles and have been looking for months. I do notice that employers will even add to the job ads "no new grads please" this I see over and over. That tells me that the pool is rather large and they can pick and choose and have the advantage of being able to turn away any new grads period...sight unseen.... I work but in a unrelated field to at least bring home some money. It is truly sad...I dont see this getting any better here. I get plenty of call backs but my experience isn't lengthy enough to satisfy the jobs I get called for so I guess they dont consider 3 years long enough and also agency work here and there but nothing stable and consistent.
I myself haven't even started nursing school, but have to admit I'm still excited. OP, I'm sorry that you have had such a bad time. I would take the sage advice given. I found myself a reputable community college w/ a great lvn-rn bridge program that several have had success with before, but I digress! Sometimes we have to take a more, well scenic route than previously planned. We were told at our orientation that we most likely won't get our "dream job" right out of school/right away...due to the many reasons stated above. Some folks have had to take nursing home jobs, or something less desirable. Then when they go interview or talk to these hospitals, etc, they play up all the skills that they had to utilize while in the stepping stone job. If you want this badly enough, there is a way, but you have to find it. I wish you the very best as one day this could be myself or one of my fellow students down on their job luck. I agree that we need to do our research, so I advise others to do the same. Look at the want ads, ask around, network, and find out what's really going on in your area and find out what's in demand and the said requirements. Happy Holidays to you.
This was all inevitable once the Great Recession started. I said for years there was no nursing shortage, as proven by government figures there were 400,000 RNs out there with licenses who chose not to work in the conditions offered. Well, with the economic crunch they had to get back into it. But the average age of an RN is so high and the baby boom bulge is so big, that very soon there will be a REAL nursing shortage. The best authority on all this is Peter Buerhaus at Vanderbilt. So there will be jobs; don't give up. If we could get the economy moving again, it will happen very fast. And I hope that the hospitals and nursing homes will finally value us for what we can do, and not just treat us like a dime a dozen.
I hope what I'm about to do isn't a suicide mission.
I earned my BSN in 2007, was in greater Los Angeles Area from late '07 to early '08. Back then, there were still plenty of opportunities, at least that's what I was led to believe in. Then, the economy got worse and because I am not a us citizen, I had to leave the country before my visa expires.
Originally from SEAsia, had an opportunity to work in the Middle East, almost good paying non-nursing job, at least enough for to save money to finance my return to the us and work in a nursing field.
April 2010: took a vacation and went to New York. Same employment atmosphere, if not worse.
Septemeber 2010: 14-day holiday in the Middle East. I flew to Boston. Why? Research: Lots of Hospitals. Also, Lots of Nursing Schools. Nursing Shortage? All the DON and Recruitment Managers I spoke to said the shortage isn't there anymore. Well, at least I'm being entertained in ways I didn't expect. Most of whom were very accommodating.
October-November 2010: Eager to try my luck, took my official annual leave and extended one month more (November). went back to Boston. Fix documents for licensure in MA which consumed most of my time. Had only short period to go from one hospital/nursing home door to another and make phone calls daily. Even considering, moving to Vermont, Maine and NH or any nearby state. One HR director even advised me to check out Texas and Florida. But I haven't really done an in-depth research. Of course, I'd focus first in MA where I'm actually licensed and familiar with the places.
December 2010: back to the middle east and quit my job, dec 31st flying back to MA. talk about being uneconomical, i go to places where i don't know anyone, rent rooms from people I don not know. but I'm desperate to put my acts altogether. It's been 3 years since I graduated and still no real nursing experience. So is my move a good and sound decision with limited savings? maybe not. I have almost zero nursing experience and I will still need an employer willing to sponsor me for a work visa. If it's tough for american nurses, it will be alot tougher for me. But I will take the risk.
It was morning of November 30 when I tried to meet an HR director without an appoinment. I was desperate. That same day I'm flying back to the Middle East. Yet, I was still accommodated enthusiastically. I was honest and so was she. Conclusion: No promises but she will try to do something.
Plans upon return? Lahey Clinic, a teaching hospital just outside Boston, has this reentry program and specialty training programs for new rns and rns who have been away from the work force. I have been communicating with the Program Director and HR manager via email. I plan to attend these programs while continuing my search.
I myself haven't even started nursing school, but have to admit I'm still excited. OP, I'm sorry that you have had such a bad time. I would take the sage advice given. I found myself a reputable community college w/ a great lvn-rn bridge program that several have had success with before, but I digress! Sometimes we have to take a more, well scenic route than previously planned. We were told at our orientation that we most likely won't get our "dream job" right out of school/right away...due to the many reasons stated above. Some folks have had to take nursing home jobs, or something less desirable. Then when they go interview or talk to these hospitals, etc, they play up all the skills that they had to utilize while in the stepping stone job. If you want this badly enough, there is a way, but you have to find it. I wish you the very best as one day this could be myself or one of my fellow students down on their job luck. I agree that we need to do our research, so I advise others to do the same. Look at the want ads, ask around, network, and find out what's really going on in your area and find out what's in demand and the said requirements. Happy Holidays to you.
I just want to address the "dream job scenario." Honestly I'm an older graduate. Those "Dreams" per say really don't exist in my mind. I do generally have a plan for where I would like my career to start/progress. But that whole thing of knowing exactly where I going to go, went out the window after high school for me. I believe you used the word "scenic" for ones travels through a career and probably life in general. I put it as nothing is set in stone and you must be flexible in order to survive. And right now with my situation I have reached as much flexibility as my life's situation will allow me. Though I am trying to stretch the rubber band to the breaking point. We'll see how far I can take it.
As for your entry into nursing school. I wish you best of luck. Though I did notice you screen name is tiredstudentmom. Well get ready to change your screen name to exhaustedstudentmom. I Know some on these boards Pu Pu the some nursing programs as factories. But my program which was a diploma program had at least a 50% failure/dropout rate through every semester, even our last semester I would say that over half our total class didn't make it. And let me just state that I have bachelors degree in another field. In fact I finish cumlaude in my first round of schooling. And I would say personally the last two semester of nursing school where the hardest academic endeavors I have ever had thus far. So basically what I try to say it get ready for no sleep and a BP of 200/150 a lot of the time. lol.
This was all inevitable once the Great Recession started. I said for years there was no nursing shortage, as proven by government figures there were 400,000 RNs out there with licenses who chose not to work in the conditions offered. Well, with the economic crunch they had to get back into it. But the average age of an RN is so high and the baby boom bulge is so big, that very soon there will be a REAL nursing shortage. The best authority on all this is Peter Buerhaus at Vanderbilt. So there will be jobs; don't give up. If we could get the economy moving again, it will happen very fast. And I hope that the hospitals and nursing homes will finally value us for what we can do, and not just treat us like a dime a dozen.
While I made have made to much of the whoa as me aspect of the post. Sorry about that.
But this was the point I was trying to get across as my concern for the future of nursing. What happens when you put out a lot of nurses from school but there's no jobs (in the region that they were licensed) at the time when they leave? What happens when/if these Grads that can't find work and they become embittered by going through all that schooling (STRESS)and accumulating all that debt in order to earn their RN but are left with no prospects to work in the field they trained for? What happens when a New Grad starts taking the perspective that the whole "Nursing Shortage" thing was nothing more than The Boy who Cried Wolf and just decide to wash their hands of Nursing and move on to other pastures? Where does this leave the profession in the future? More over, More importantly will hard feeling created now leave our population in general vulnerable to sub-par health care because of a actual shortage of former nurse graduates willing to work in future? Personally I don't know. But as I stated in my original post, this is not the first time nursing has had a downturn. So I was looking for perspective/history/experience on the issue.
I guess I am a graduate of one of those subpar nursing programs. I went to Medical Careers Institute (Richmond, Va) and earned my nursing degree. My tuition was higher but my hospital foot the bill for half of it through tuition assistance (they apparently didn't mind I was at a subpar program). I did not have the time to wait on endless waiting list so I did what I had to do, just like a lot of the other people making that choice. Just about everyone in my graduating class is now working as an RN, majority in hospitals, those that aren't in hospitals chose not to be. I immediately had a job once I graduated and it wasn't because of where I graduated (in fact I was chosen over someone that graduated from our hospitals nursing school) but because of the fact I got my foot in the door early on. I made sure to become a care partner (patient care tech) as soon as I got into nursing school. That's what new grads are going to have to do, take the undesirable job, grunt through it for a little while, and use it as a learning experience. Once something better opens up go for it. Not only do you now have experience but most places will choose their own current employees before they will look outside of the company. Its hard out there right now since there are so many nurses coming into the work force newly or returning because the economy hit them too. Its an awful feeling not having a job but it only gets worse when you become bitter and give up.
i have a lot of friends who went to the super high tuition nursing programs that are sprouting up everywhere. they all passed nclex with flying colors- i would like to clarify i am not saying that people who went to these programs are under qualified, etc. we all do what we gotta do. i am saying that these programs are taking advantage of people by making them believe there is a nursing shortage, charging a ton of money, and pushing new grads out left and right. most of my friends who went to these schools did not have jobs for over a year after they passed the nclex, and the three who were working in a hospital lost their jobs upon passing nclex because they could not work a position lower than the degree they held, and there were no RN positions for them.
so, the bitterness is at the schools, advertising, etc who continually push the falsehood of a nursing shortage and a high demand for jobs, leave students with 60k debt, and then these students cannot even use the education as a foundation for furthering their careers, since the credits won't transfer.
however, i also believe that everyone should do research on these things before picking a career to pursue. unfortunately, not everyone will.
Trinitas2010RN
67 Posts
I commend you for you ability to look through/beyond bitterness. I'm not sure if everyone can/will do this. That's why I was concerned longer term with the profession and the availability of nursing man/woman power in the future.
I wish you much luck. And Yeah I get you "Survival" is the key word of the great recession.