Newer nurse and I cant find a job!!!

[cowgirlnik22]

I live near West Palm Beach, FL and I have been a nurse for two years now. I work for a nurse registry and just doing medical history assesments. I dont get any nursing skills right now. I really want to get a job where I can do these skill so I wont forget how to do them(thats what I studied for). How do I get a job when they all tell me that they want experienced nurses????

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Go to a university hospital. They will be more likely to hire you and train you. If you have really good references and maybe a connection to the hospital, you will get hired. What do you want to go into? Med/Surg? Telemetry? OR? OB?

[chloecatrn]

Have you tried a rehab setting? Long term care? Skilled nursing?

[diligent-trooper]

Long term care is the place you should be looking. You need to be able to provide proof you have the basic nursing skill sets. It is true the job description is not as set-in-stone, but a nurse manager can always site you lack the experience, even though in a few months you would have those skills.

[NuteRN]

If possible, try looking in other areas or other states. Some states are better than other when it comes to finding jobs.

[dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I]

There's still a severe nursing shortage in some places. Seems like the more desirable a place is to live, the more abundance of nurses.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

Go to a university hospital. They will be more likely to hire you and train you. If you have really good references and maybe a connection to the hospital, you will get hired. What do you want to go into? Med/Surg? Telemetry? OR? OB?

This is not necessarily true. I know plenty of of University hospitals, and they are often as picky or more so than community facilities.

Add in that there are few University hospitals in the local area.

Add in that the one hospital in BR that is becoming university affiliiated and quite a few of the community faciities in the OPs area are, quite blunty, some of the notoriously worst places to work (I know of very good traveler nurses that will forgo any assignments in the BR/WPB area because of conditions/ratios/etc.

Add in that work in Florida is seasonal (and this is the wrong season) and the recession has probably been substantially worse there, along with problems from the Guf spill. The OP is facing an uphill battle.

To the OP, moving to an area with a better economy might be optimal even though jobs scarce everywhere. I ( a native Floridian) moved for that reason, toward the beginning of the recession and do not regret it - but I have experience. Also, taking a position in the local facilities may be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire, given many of your local facilities. But also, remember that things should pick up in late Nov/Dec. for the season, local to you.

[himilayaneyes]

i used to work in boynton beach at a hospital called bethesda memorial hospital. they hire new rns into their cardiac telemetry program which is sort of like stepdown nursing. i don't work there anymore, but i can't complain about any of the staff. i now work in icu and i'm grateful for the experience. call the nurse recruiter duarte and ask about the next program. the director's name is al barrio. good luck to you.