New Grads!!! There IS a way to SURVIVE!!

Nurses New Nurse

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I have started a thread based on an off shoot if solutions to help create a marketplace for new Grads. I was on a 12-year plan en route to my BSN....from failing ADN school at 19 due to a cyclothymia trait and test anxiety, Getting my LPN, making money, buying my first house, finding a BSN program to be blindsided by fracturing 2 vertebrae in my neck in 2007, then a near death experience in 2008. I survived sucky setbacks, indeed...However, the nursing school supported and allowed me through my hard work to achieve my goal of a BSN...However...

GPA 2.98-GREAT-but not enough for a competitive nurse residency program...if I wanted to get into the residency I would have to wait, stay at my current job as an RN and wait six months and reapply to the program...this hospital ended up having a hiring freeze.

LPN-GREAT!!! You won't run away like most new grads, but we can't hire you because you do not have acute care experience in the last 2 years AND you haven't touched an adult pt in five, oh and if you want to be considered for the job, we'll contact you in 2 years.

These are the above comments I have experienced when finding a job. Rejected 200 apps a week, then the reminders of loan repayment started rolling in, along with my anxiety...then I thought of the resources that I had started compiling during my last semester in nursing school in December 2011...and still from over a year, these programs and resources are in place:

1) Perkins Loan forgiveness: started well into my nursing school track...really should've chose Perkins over Sallie Mae. Still holding my breath for that loan forgiveness passage. I hope the new Congress will return to this bill and pass it, but I'm not holding my breath. Either way, contact you state BON if you have Perkins loans. They can be forgiven...I have a co worker who took advantage of the program...we are in PA, but I saw a lot of states who are participating.

2) HRSA: Committed to access of healthcare, they have loan repayment programs, scholarships, etc: http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/index.html

3) FinAid: Have various volunteer programs like City Year and Peace corps which can help pay off student loans...I will post the link below in the response

Please feel free to post additional programs that are out there. There are grant programs as well geared to Healthy People 2020 and can help towards further education...

These programs are competitive, but worth the try!!!

There is a light at the end of this tunnel...I was able to get a job after 8 months post graduation and licensure at a PICU at a local Children's hospital starting in February. I plan to apply to the HRSA loan repayment program. There is a light in the end of the tunnel...volunteer, work at a clinic...think outside of the box!!! You can do THIS!!! You may be eligible for these programs!! Good luck and keep surviving!!!

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Perkins Loans can be forgiven if you are a nurse but here's how it works... you have a six month grace period once you graduate before you have to begin making payments on your loan. Prior to this six month grace period ending you must submit your application for cancellation which must include a signature from your supervisor confirming that you are employed full time and your job description. Once this is submitted to your school, your loan is deferred for a year. At the end of the first year, you resubmit all of this paperwork, a percentage of your loan is canceled and then it is deferred for another year. After 5 years of full-time employment, your loan is canceled completely. If you are a new grad who is not employed, you don't qualify for this specific cancellation but could probably defer your loans for economic reasons/due to unemployment.

You don't really get to "choose" Perkins Loans over Sallie Mae though... Perkins Loans are federal loans, the federal government gives you the amount they determine you qualify for based on your FAFSA and your school's opinions. Basically your school receives a certain amount of federal loan money and they determine how it is dispersed. If you still have a balance on your account after you receive your financial aid package, you can't just apply for more Perkins Loan money... that's where private loans like Sallie Mae come in.

HRSA incentive programs only apply to nurses working in Health Professional Shortage Areas...

I did a program through International Service Learning immediately after graduating from Nursing School. It's still on my resume and people still comment on it nearly 6 years later. I was a newly licensed nurse at the time and the only nurse/nursing student on the trip... everyone else was pre-med or in pharmacy school. There are a lot of similar programs around but, as backwards as it seems, volunteering abroad is expensive. It cost me around $5,000 to volunteer in Africa four years ago... the majority of that was the flight.

Kel, I had an option in my FinAid packet to receive Perkins Loans..I had a choice at my institution, my comments in my post are regards to my own experiences.

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
New grads living in part of the USA where jobs are difficult to acquire? Life isn't easy, sacrifices must be made. I was living in California and moved to Texas to go to nursing school to avoid the trap that y'all are in right now. What I have found in my travels is that there are jobs in acute care all over the country in little places called Texas, Louisiana, Alabama...

I will not volunteer to do something that I should get paid good money to do. I feel that this belittles the profession. If you didn't pick up my tone, I would move to a part of the country that is hiring new nurses. I praise you for your hard work, determination and drive. I wish you the best.

Yeah, Texas kinda !@#$ for me.

plumbtrician, I don't know if you read my post, but I do have a job...it took me time, but I got a job WITHOUT moving...If I needed to move, then I would've moved if it meant stepping in to the RN role...I am not against moving, however, not everyone is in a position to move. There are people who honestly are barely above water, a move can throw them into poverty, some people are disabled, where health wise a move would diminish the quality of life they hold on to so dearly. Again, this thread is to provide ways to pay down nurses investment in their education...if you can find a more cost effective option or program that can help new grads be able to flex their skills while contributing to the principle of their loans, then by all means post, otherwise, your post is more directed to other posts on AN...this thread is for our of the box options where the rest of the options won't throw anyone into further debt and give them much needed experience to help bulk up their career.

And btw, I volunteer, and am a proponent of volunteering...to serve others is a noble asset to have...the same assets we have as nurses. Volunteering landed me my first healthcare job 12 years ago...so it is just as effective, IMHO.

Sorry, I guess I just know too many new grads who whine about not being able to get a job out of school. That is where I was coming from. Sorry for getting off of topic.

I am a BIG proponent of volunteering! BUT...in the right setting and circumstance and if it lands you a job...you can't beat that.

not everyone is in a position to move. There are people who honestly are barely above water, a move can throw them into poverty, some people are disabled, where health wise a move would diminish the quality of life they hold on to so dearly.

Thank you for understanding!!! I wish more people could understand this. I wish there were more people who had eyesight that went further than the wall in front of them. When I say people I mean in general. You are a perfect example of what a nurse should represent!

Good for you plumbtrician! I applaud your honesty and your humility. It's good you took the initiative to travel outside your safety zone. I would love if this thread displayed all of our talents so that we could make peace with each other. If you think about it, we are competting against each other to take care of other people! This shows you what kind of people us nurses are. "I want to help" "No I want to help"

I personally hate mud slinging...

I wish there was a way to have new grads and want to be retires but can't afford to retire come up with a solution that is very beneficial to all of us. I dunno, something like having the experienced nurse as the official hospital nurse perceptor, whose job is to teach 10 externs and not have the insane other responsibilities on top of this, and have a great salary on top of this hopefully (it's the least that can be done, because this program could save the hospital money down the line from bad apple investments). Maybe the $ could come from the cuts that the hospitals received from decreased patient satisfaction ratings.

This could be a pilot program, maybe 4 to 8 patients per 10 externs. The other patients are the other staffs responsibility (they will be helped out because they will each have 2-4 less patients, and we have to figure out how to protect these nurses from getting the boot too!). At the end of the program, she/he could let go the whiny new grads who wear heels to clinical and replace them with the other ones waiting. Of course there will be a lot of competition..

maybe this might be a horrible idea because the unassertive students may be great nurses but not competitive..also a lot of room for abuse....Help me out here. This is a brainstorm.

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Sorry, I guess I just know too many new grads who whine about not being able to get a job out of school. That is where I was coming from. Sorry for getting off of topic.

I am a BIG proponent of volunteering! BUT...in the right setting and circumstance and if it lands you a job...you can't beat that.

plumbtrician, I have heard the stories too on AN...there have been people who say they can't find a job, but vent about the interviews and jobs they have passed up in the same breath as well.

No apologies needed :)...I am still appreciative of your contribution in the conversation!

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Thank you for understanding!!! I wish more people could understand this. I wish there were more people who had eyesight that went further than the wall in front of them. When I say people I mean in general. You are a perfect example of what a nurse should represent!

I was disabled when I returned to school. A lot of people have to realize that education attracts people of ALL walks of life, and from a school of thought that knowledge is power...what I don't get is a portion of people get high and mighty or "tunnel vision" of what fits the "description" sometimes of a "college student"...I'm attempting to put things in perspective for many, I hope. Thanks!! :)

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Good for you plumbtrician! I applaud your honesty and your humility. It's good you took the initiative to travel outside your safety zone. I would love if this thread displayed all of our talents so that we could make peace with each other. If you think about it, we are competting against each other to take care of other people! This shows you what kind of people us nurses are. "I want to help" "No I want to help"

I personally hate mud slinging...

I wish there was a way to have new grads and want to be retires but can't afford to retire come up with a solution that is very beneficial to all of us. I dunno, something like having the experienced nurse as the official hospital nurse perceptor, whose job is to teach 10 externs and not have the insane other responsibilities on top of this, and have a great salary on top of this hopefully (it's the least that can be done, because this program could save the hospital money down the line from bad apple investments). Maybe the $ could come from the cuts that the hospitals received from decreased patient satisfaction ratings.

This could be a pilot program, maybe 4 to 8 patients per 10 externs. The other patients are the other staffs responsibility (they will be helped out because they will each have 2-4 less patients, and we have to figure out how to protect these nurses from getting the boot too!). At the end of the program, she/he could let go the whiny new grads who wear heels to clinical and replace them with the other ones waiting. Of course there will be a lot of competition..

maybe this might be a horrible idea because the unassertive students may be great nurses but not competitive..also a lot of room for abuse....Help me out here. This is a brainstorm.

I LOVE your idea though...the strength of nursing's past to pass the torch is a great idea...this can give opportunity for both sides of the spectrum to continue to provide the BEST of nursing...if this would come to fruition, it may shape unassertive nurses into nursing activists, lol... :) Great brainstorm!!!

Specializes in Pedi.
Good for you plumbtrician! I applaud your honesty and your humility. It's good you took the initiative to travel outside your safety zone. I would love if this thread displayed all of our talents so that we could make peace with each other. If you think about it, we are competting against each other to take care of other people! This shows you what kind of people us nurses are. "I want to help" "No I want to help"

I personally hate mud slinging...

I wish there was a way to have new grads and want to be retires but can't afford to retire come up with a solution that is very beneficial to all of us. I dunno, something like having the experienced nurse as the official hospital nurse perceptor, whose job is to teach 10 externs and not have the insane other responsibilities on top of this, and have a great salary on top of this hopefully (it's the least that can be done, because this program could save the hospital money down the line from bad apple investments). Maybe the $ could come from the cuts that the hospitals received from decreased patient satisfaction ratings.

This could be a pilot program, maybe 4 to 8 patients per 10 externs. The other patients are the other staffs responsibility (they will be helped out because they will each have 2-4 less patients, and we have to figure out how to protect these nurses from getting the boot too!). At the end of the program, she/he could let go the whiny new grads who wear heels to clinical and replace them with the other ones waiting. Of course there will be a lot of competition..

maybe this might be a horrible idea because the unassertive students may be great nurses but not competitive..also a lot of room for abuse....Help me out here. This is a brainstorm.

Not trying to burst your bubble, but a hospital would NEVER go for a program where they pay one nurse a high salary to teach 10 new grads and, together, the ELEVEN nurses (who are all being paid a nurse's salary) take care of 4-8 patients. That's less than one patient per nurse. Not financially sound in the hospital's eyes. Also, it wouldn't necessarily lighten the other nurses' load because they would just staff down. If you have a floor with 30 beds and 8 patients are being taken care of by a group of new grads, they'll staff the rest of the floor for 22 patients so every nurse will have a full assignment. In my experience, with multiple people precepting on the same shift... my load was always busier.

Also, how would the money come from the cuts the hospital receives from decreased patient satisfaction ratings? If the hospital loses money, they don't have that money anymore and it can't be used to pilot programs. I just think, until the economy turns around, hospitals aren't going to be jumping into new programs... especially not when they're not desperate for nurses. My old hospital couldn't have cared less that in the last year and a half, they lost FIFTEEN nurses... out of a staff of about 45. That's 1/3 of the staff. They haven't replaced even half of us and the ones that they did replace were replaced with new grads (cheaper). They did nothing to try to retain those of us who were considering leaving because they knew that, in this economy, for every nurse who left, 10 more were waiting for her job.

Specializes in geriatrics.

I relocated 2000 miles for my first RN job 2.5 years ago. Ideal? Hardly. But sometimes the sacrifice needs to happen, if you hope to get ahead. Worth it? Absolutely. Times have been tough for new grads for years, and new grads 20 years ago experienced similar hardships. Many of us do empathize with you, new grad, because we've been there too. And having one nurse precept 10 new grads would never work. At most, you have one experienced nurse precepting two new grads. Precepting is a huge job.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology, Epic CT.

:)

Don't worry new grads, we will survive this tough economy and get a job that we strived for!

Just remember, your first job might not be your ideal job at first (or may it will turn out to be!) and you may have to extend yourself quite a bit (such as relocating like joanna73 did), but do the legwork and it will be rewarding, nonetheless.

I know I am going to do everything I can before I graduate to do just that. That's why I am optimistic about my outcome.

Ok let me give this a try...

"Not trying to burst your bubble, but a hospital would NEVER go for a program where they pay one nurse a high salary to teach 10 new grads and, together, the ELEVEN nurses (who are all being paid a nurse's salary) take care of 4-8 patients. That's less than one patient per nurse. Not financially sound in the hospital's eyes".

Correct! But...the nurse preceptor would be saving money that would have normally of been lost on that new grad who flies the coop after a year. I never said anything about a good salary for the new grads. Sorry to be a scumbbag new grads, but we have to get experience somehow....I mean it's only 4-8 patients between 11.

Less than one patient per nurse...Exactly...when I was in clinical you saw who was serious...on the first week of clinicals all students wanted to work...next few weeks they had no problem giving their responsibilities to the non lazy students. Weed them out!!! At the end you will have the best of the pack.

"Also, it wouldn't necessarily lighten the other nurses' load because they would just staff down. If you have a floor with 30 beds and 8 patients are being taken care of by a group of new grads, they'll staff the rest of the floor for 22 patients so every nurse will have a full assignment. In my experience, with multiple people precepting on the same shift... my load was always busier."

Why take only 4-8 patients?? We can't step on the existing nurses feet. So there needs to be some kind of protection but how? Let's brainstorm this!

"Also, how would the money come from the cuts the hospital receives from decreased patient satisfaction ratings? If the hospital loses money, they don't have that money anymore and it can't be used to pilot programs".

It will be federal funded. They took the money away with the purpose to punish hospitals (ridiculous of course) and reward the best hospitals (the rewarded was a very small % btw in NY, so where did that money go?). If we come up with a reasonable plan, hopefully with everyones help here, it could be presented to a nurse's organization for review.

"I just think, until the economy turns around, hospitals aren't going to be jumping into new programs... especially not when they're not desperate for nurses."

There has to be some. We just have to look. And I'm pretty sure they'd like to gain back that extra few million that was lost from the patient satisfaction scores.

"My old hospital couldn't have cared less that in the last year and a half, they lost FIFTEEN nurses... out of a staff of about 45. That's 1/3 of the staff. They haven't replaced even half of us and the ones that they did replace were replaced with new grads (cheaper). They did nothing to try to retain those of us who were considering leaving because they knew that, in this economy, for every nurse who left, 10 more were waiting for her job."

This is the crappy reality of it all. I want us to figure out a way to prevent this. I personally want to learn from experienced nurses, their knowledge is so much and I do not want them replaced. They are unreplaceable. This is why I want us to all stop mud slinging, and when we all realize that we need each other maybe it will stop. (ie...new nurses pay into s.s. and not live off of public benefits, experienced nurses share life long knowledge) Maybe the preceptors could get a commision off of having a really well trained crew....

I truly thank you KelRN215! It's not bursting my bubble at all. This is our drawing table. Anyone please share ideas and concerns...(cept the mudslinging)

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