New graduate moving to colorado please help!

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Hello all!

I am looking for some help and guidance from those who know about the RN job market in Colorado! I am a soon to be graduate from New York University! I have high expectations and aspirations for my career. I have heard that the job market is not promise out in Colorado and I would like any advice / help / information about what the job market is like for newly graduated RNs. I have grown up in NY my whole life, and I am very much looking forward to this exciting change of scenery. My boyfriend will be going to graduate school, so we are planning on moving at the end of July/beginning of august. I have done very well in my nursing program and although the job market is not great in NYC, but I would undoubtedly be able to get a job here.....and I would be nervous if this is not the case in CO.

We would be living in the Golden area, but I would be willing to travel to Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and any other area which is an hour / hour and half away. Please let me know ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING you know about RN jobs here, along with any advise you have! I want to move very badly but I need to make smart decisions and make sure there is a job market out there for me, I give myself until the end of September to land a job because my loan repayments start in November. Thank you SO SO SO much!

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Specializes in Med/Surg and ANCC RN-BC.

If I were you, I would not come out here to find your first job. I would stay in NY and gain experience there. It is a TOUGH market out here. The nursing market is saturated with new grads due to all the nursing schools here. I graduated last march and it took me until august to find my first nursing job. I work at a denver area hospital on a med/surg floor. Although it's not my dream job, I had to take it, because there is nothing out here for new grads. All job descriptions require 1-2 years of nursing experience.

Have you started applying? Have you talked to any of the nurse recruiters at the hospitals? that may help.

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Hi Lizzie,

Wow, it really doesn't sound good out there. Thank you for your advice. My program ends next week, I graduate May 16th. I will be taking the NCLEX first week in July. I have just started looking, I will take you advice and begin to contact everyone and anyone I can. I agree, my dream job is the ICU, but I am not opposed to getting experience and settling for med-surg for a year. Other than being accepted to the few residency programs out there, med-surg really seems as the only logical option at this point. Thank you so much. :-/

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check out the Denver Post online and look at the help wanted ads. Look up the list of hospitals in the Golden area. I am not very computer savvy but I know there has to be a way to do that! Start contacting nurse recruiters now. I would venture to guess if you are willing to work nights you might have a better chance but I also know the job market here is very tight. Best of luck to you!

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Onetiredmomma-

I am doing that as we speak! Making an excel sheet and will call all nurse recruiters and hospitals I can between class tomorrow! I actually prefer nights so I guess that is a plus! Thank you so much for the advice!

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St Anthony Central is relocating to Lakewood, Co in June and I have heard many nurses don't want to have to make the move because of the increase in their commute. You might look into that...

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I would definitely apply to the University of Colorado Hospital Nurse Residency program if you wanted to get straight into an ICU position. Its a great program, but very competitive. I believe the application is due soon, and you would need to move your NCLEX date up if you wanted to be eligible for the program. The hospital is about a 45 minute drive from Golden.

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Thank you so much! I am actually mailing in my application tomorrow! I heard it is a great program but super competitive... and I am trying to get ICU shadowing experience in the next few months so I am eligible for the ICU, but it is so tough getting the ability to get hours in the ICU. So we shall see! Thanks for the info!

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I also suggest St. Anthony's Central. The new hospital is opening in June and is VERY close to Golden. I would not apply anywhere in Colorado Springs; the drive would be horrible and easily over an hour from Golden. If it snows you don't want anything to do with the I-25 drive to get there. Golden is a great town and centrally located. Good luck to you. Check the websites for Centura Health and Health One for openings; also Denver Health. Lutheran Hospital is also close to Golden but I know nothing about their hiring situation.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Home health.

I agree with Lizzie21, unless you have a job lined up i would stay where you can get some experience and keep applying here. my friend moved out here with her boyfriend last year. the only place she could get a job was at a adolescent rehab center, not even doing nursing tasks. she ended up having to move back to her home state to get a job because she was unable to find one here.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

I agree with the others. Unless you can get in with UCH's Nurse Residency program, the likelihood that you will find a hospital job as a new grad with no experience is very very slim. If you think you could get a job in NY, I would suggest doing that, having a long distance relationship with your boyfriend for the next 12-18 months, and then rejoin him once you have some experience under your belt. I definitely would not move out here before already having a firm job lined up; it's way too iffy for new grads.

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

Yea... think about financial. If it takes you 6-12 months to get a job at a nursing home (like it is for some of the luckier new grads in Denver), how will you all support yourselves if you are unemployed and your boyfriend is in grad school?

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