New Grads Doomed for years to come?

[MusicEMT]

so just read an article that two local hospitals down here in orange county just cut 144 jobs

http://economy.ocregister.com/2011/08/03/2-o-c-hospitals-cut-144-jobs/64555/

It seems like this economy is starting to effect healthcare, and is going to effect healthcare for a while.. (with all these cuts from the government.)

and right now schools are pumping out new grads more than ever. the market is flooded. as im going to become a new grad in a few years this prospect is very scary.

now my question is: Are new grads doomed for years to come? will new grads have to look at other countries for employment?

[MusicEMT]

Keep up the responses folks!!

[Sehille4774]

I am wondering how people on here feel about whether those nurses that were forced to do other things then the hospital for a few years after graduation are going to be able to get into the hospital.....

HC hiring has slowly but surely increased in eastern pa/philly. At the time I graduated, just about every hopsital/facility in my area was under a hiring freeze. It was really telling to me to see the nursing section in the newspaper classifieds disappear..Now I am actually seeing '6mon-1 yr experience preferred, new grads considered' at many hospitals rather then '1 year acute care experience required'

Might as well get a job in the mean time while you wait..6 months experience nearly ANYWHERE else puts you SO much further ahead of someone with no experience.

Their are spots out there...its just a matter of you finding that person that decides to take a chance on you.

AllNurses and word of mouth can not give you a real accurate gauge of the local hiring situation...though it is wonderful to be able talk to others going through the same thing as you. Much like the TV news...for every successful story of a new grad getting hired, you hear far more negative ones. People with jobs don't have as much time to blog hehe.

It has also been my experience that you have a better shot going into the interview with the attitude..'what can i do for you?'..versus 'what can you do for me?' We come out of school feeling very entitled..some of us ....but that is not the kind of nurse they want.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!

[wooh, BSN, RN]

I think nurses just got spoiled by the days of being able to walk in somewhere, show them your license, and start working immediately. Now we're like everyone else, we have to actually work at getting work. And we might not get our DREEEEAMMMM job without doing something we don't particularly like first. We might have to relocate or commute. But we're not alone. My sister just moved 10 hours away from home to get a job. My dad, who was probably between jobs due layoffs for about a third of my childhood is living 4 states away from his home because it's the only place he could get work.

Hiring goes in cycles. It will turn around. Eventually. Until then, take what you can, and put up with being treated like poo because the employers have the upper hand right now.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

As people have mentioned, it really depends where you are. I relocated to a small rural facility. We are looking to fill 5 RN positions, yet no one wants to move. So if you want to work, jobs are there, just not in the "ideal" spots. But the reality is, all the major cities are saturated. I needed to work and pay off my loans. The move was a no brainer for me.

[Nire83]

Totally doomed. I've been out 18 months and am still in an outpatient office setting doing NOTHING clinical. My office is affiliated with a hospital and when i tried to transfer to a floor i was told that they do not hire nurses to inpatient floors who have not had inpatient experince as a nurse. AWESOME. Talk about a dead end job from the start.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

There is a job open at my facility, because I just took the next year and a half off!

Also have had three night shift positions open on my floor alone for months.

Depends on where you are!

[jlpsu]

We are most definitely not in a depression. We haven't even double dipped into another recession...yet. That may be coming, but it's not here yet...and it's not as bad as it was in 2008. Things ARE getting better - although if you are one of the ones looking for work and can't find it, that's hardly comforting. I understand that. I live and breath this stuff as it is my husband's job to know the economy so I hear all of this over dinner, whether I want to or not!

That being said, times are tough in a lot of places...but it really depends on your location. And 3 years is a long time...one never knows how things will be in 3 years. Hopefully, better....

Good luck!

[whichone'spink, BSN, RN]

As long as we have people in Congress loyal to an outdated ideology instead of their country, we are never getting out of this mess.

[CharleeJo.RN]

I commuted for an hour and a half one way for my last job, then moved, and I will be commuting about 20 mins to this new job. I live in a rural setting too, so it's easier to get jobs here than in NYC or LA.

First job is usually LTC. But you know what, that's experience! At the facility I had worked at (I work OR and PACU now) we did rehab pt's too and pt's not long out of surgery. So I did have that type of experience, not just pushing meds.

If you can't find anything where you're at and that's been the long-running story, then seriously consider relocation. Aurora Healthcare in lower Michigan is hiring TONS of personnel, and I live in the Upper Peninsula and haven't gone longer than 2 months without a job. They're not in crazy supply, but you can find them.

[DarkBluePhoenix]

As many other people and posts have stated, that new grads are also being rather picky. A lot of specialities get picked on, like LTC. I don't know why LTC looks so frowned upon. It looks interesting to me!

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

As many other people and posts have stated, that new grads are also being rather picky. A lot of specialities get picked on, like LTC. I don't know why LTC looks so frowned upon. It looks interesting to me!

Most LTCs set up their nurses to fail. Nurses have too many patients, too many patients who need to be in acute care or geri-psych instead of LTC, too few resources, and too many corporations that care about nothing but the bottom line. New employees, even new grads, can expect very little orientation (I got 2-1/2 days).