I graduated in May 2009 and have not been able to secure a job yet. I have an ADN degree with a Bachelor's of Science in Marketing and a Master's in Traditional Oriental Medicine. I have ten years of experience diagnosing and treating patients as a licensed acupuncturist and have worked in several clinical environments with doctors and therapists in addition to alternative medicine practitioners. I am in my late thirties and have seen all of my colleagues from nursing school who are under 25 being hired without any patient care or life experience.
Is anyone else noticing this trend? I thought my diverse experience and age would be an asset. In school, we are always taught that nurses should be assertive, culturally competent and be able to apply critical thinking. These are skills that improve with age and practice. I believed spending 20+ years in customer service and medicine would give me an edge, but it seems to be a liability.
The other older graduates from my program were equally surprised to find that the local hospital where we attended clinicals seemed to prefer younger graduates.
I think this is very good advice. Anything you can do to avoid appearing "over educated" as many managers will see that as someone who may not be willing to perform as a staff nurse.
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I agree. Like the previous poster, my experience with this comes from outside of nursing, however it is reasonable to assume that you appear less teachable than a young grad. I'm a chef who has been teaching in a community college degree program for just over 17 years. When we have a 30-40ish adult come to us from a totally unrelated field, they are usually stellar students who are highly motivated and take direction well. OTOH, when someone in that same age group has had 20 years working in kitchens "since they were 5 by their grandmother's side" and sees the piece of paper as their ticket to chefdom, they are usually arrogant and have a sense of entitlement....not teachable. They want me to view them as an expert. (I don't)
Now, I am generalizing, so take that with a grain of salt, but I'd estimate this has been true consistently in my experiences- which have included maybe about 100 +/- adult students mixed into maybe 1000+/- traditional students.
My advice, is to not assume you are the expert. Your acupuncture experience is irrelevant to the tasks you will do in nursing, and do understand that alternative medicine can be viewed as an obstacle in your ability to deliver traditional medical care. (sorry, it's true) Take a humble -ready to pay your dues- attitude and you'll do great!! Good luck!!
It is not the age of the applicant it is the economy and available GN positions. Many hospitals have cut back on GN positions, but there are still lots of experienced nurse positions going around though. Many people have flooded nursing schools, many did career changes, so competition for the available GN slots is tough.
Try Nebraska. The markets have been flooded for the past 10 years advertising for nurses. Some areas there are absolutely no jobs at all. Let the poor students still in line for nursing school be aware.
i'm sure that an associate degree in nursing and being 55 is a major reason i am not getting selected for an interview. i will be certainly finishing bachelors and counting on things changing in the next few years. i see i narrow my availablity to work as a nurse in san diego in the near future and here "you need to move" frequently.
some facilities in san diego are getting 600 to 800 applicants for 30 to 40 positions. having a bsn and being in your twenties is what i am competing against. am i missing something if a plan to stay in san diego?
respectfully
i believe your assumption is correct, your age in this case is playing a serious role; i am not sure about the bsn over the asn though. i used to live in san diego and i know there are a number of universities in that area pumping out bsn level nurses....would the hospitals in the area pick a new bsn with very little experience over someone with an asn with lots of medical experience such as yourself? i dont think so, the difference between an asn and a bsn is....huge clinically....when it comes to working clinically an asns is more clincally ready than someone who has a bsn because bsn students focus more on theory than actually spending a lot of time in clinicals. asn nurses also know how to get their hands dirty (of coorifice this is generalization, but believe me, in my area...it is too obvious), i have run into many bsn nurses who think they should never give a bath because that is an aid's job and not theirs.
55 years old is getting a little too close to retirement age....that is more likely the case against you rather than the degree you hold.
I am in oregon and well over 30 . I applied for 14 to 15 jobs got intervied at 10 of them and took 3 as iwas trying to decide but then took a job witha major hosptial
I just turned 36 and have lots of LPN experience, which you would think would be a huge asset in finding a job...wrong. For me its a huge liability. I have a horrible resume with several short-stay jobs, which at the time I didn't think would hurt me, but now it is. I graduated in May 2008, found a job that didn't work out, now I'm looking again :-( My problem is slightly different....too many short jobs makes me look unreliable on paper so I can't score an interview. Age, I never thought about it. In my case I doubt it's an issue, but I can't say it doesn't happen.
I had a similar problem... too many positions in too few years. There were very sound reasons for each change but that's tough to communicate in the 20 seconds that they take to review your papers before deciding whether to consider you or not.
I ultimately went with a totally functional resume that doesn't mention employers at all ("details available upon request") and was hired with that resume, albeit at a position which required substantial lowering of my wishes and expectations. I am now getting experience and earning money.
...the difference between an ASN and a BSN is....HUGE clinically....when it comes to working clinically an ASNs is more clincally ready than someone who has a BSN because BSN students focus more on theory than actually spending a lot of time in clinicals.
Gross over-generalization. Our program had 20 hours more clinical than one of the local ADN programs and about 30 hours fewer than another.
And in anecdotal comparisons of my clinical experiences with those of two ADN nurses at work, mine was much broader.
I am a new grad too. I finished on August and took my boards on September. I cannot get interviews ,the machines answered me that they chose somebody with more qualifications, I was Medical assistant for 2 years before started Nursing. How they expect experience if we just finished school? and sorry I am 44
There are no jobs. It's not your age. Supply and demand. Lower wages. Worse working conditions. Let your papers know so people don't keep lining up for nursing school.
The only way to stop the abundant supply of nurses is to stop the lines for nursing school. The nursing schools aren't going to stop you. They will take your money.
I feel for those who have worked so hard to get where there at, but have now hit a roadblock. More then ever we need to put God first in everything. I bet most people are seeking employment and have not even asked the Lord to bless them. We need though to seek His will first. Put Him first in everything. Get back to His way of life. To love Him with all our might, heart, and soul. Get back to keeping His Torah. When we do these things then the blessings will come...maybe not in the way we expected though
I am 30 and graduated Nursing School in Aug '09. While I am only an LPN and do not have near the experience that you have, I find your point about age very interesting. I never thought of that before. I have not been able to land a job or even an interview since I graduated, while younger classmates of mine landed jobs immediately and at incredible pay ($18/hr). I live in West Central, FL, so I am not near a state border, but I have searched outside my county N,S,E and W. I would love to relocate, but I have a family and a husband with a secure job, so I cannot readily move. Age very well could play a factor as well as the horrible economy. Either way, I am very down about it too. Good luck to you
I have actually had age brought up at an interview when it is clearly taboo according to the law. Mostly, employers who are going to discriminate against applicants because of age, or any other criteria, are wise enough to keep their prejudices to themselves. But it seems some are quite content to flaunt the fact that they hold the cards. They don't expect job applicants to be in any position to bring a lawsuit.
cookderosa
155 Posts
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I agree. Like the previous poster, my experience with this comes from outside of nursing, however it is reasonable to assume that you appear less teachable than a young grad. I'm a chef who has been teaching in a community college degree program for just over 17 years. When we have a 30-40ish adult come to us from a totally unrelated field, they are usually stellar students who are highly motivated and take direction well. OTOH, when someone in that same age group has had 20 years working in kitchens "since they were 5 by their grandmother's side" and sees the piece of paper as their ticket to chefdom, they are usually arrogant and have a sense of entitlement....not teachable. They want me to view them as an expert. (I don't)
Now, I am generalizing, so take that with a grain of salt, but I'd estimate this has been true consistently in my experiences- which have included maybe about 100 +/- adult students mixed into maybe 1000+/- traditional students.
My advice, is to not assume you are the expert. Your acupuncture experience is irrelevant to the tasks you will do in nursing, and do understand that alternative medicine can be viewed as an obstacle in your ability to deliver traditional medical care. (sorry, it's true) Take a humble -ready to pay your dues- attitude and you'll do great!! Good luck!!