No Houston CNA jobs?

[Mirai Kangofu]

I got my CNA license back in September, but I haven't been able to find a job to save my life. During the fall semester, they didn't want me because I couldn't work full time. Now, I'm out of school until I get into nursing school, so I started applying for fulltime jobs starting in October and updating regularly. I call in to check on status, and visit the nurse managers/human resources, but to no avail. I've applied to several nursing homes around the West University area, as well as St. Luke's and Memorial Hermann. A big catch-22 is the face that many places require at least 2 years experience, and I have about 6 months. They also really want prn, which is ironic because they wanted fulltime while I was in school. I'm so desperate that I'd take prn, but all I've gotten is "We'll call you if we're interested." Any suggestions? Thanks.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Don't forget hurricane Katrina. Over 200,000 victims ended up in Houston and many of these displaced people were hospital employees back in New Orleans, Biloxi, or wherever they lived before the disaster struck. I have heard that in Houston, the displaced people are receiving priority when being hired for assistive jobs such as CNAs because of the years of experience.

In addition, I watched CNN last night. Several New Orleans hospitals laid off thousands of employees because there are virtually not enough people in the city needing medical care. A flood of experienced, unemployed healthcare workers are probably going to relocate and I wouldn't be surprised if they selected Houston.

[Mirai Kangofu]

Yes, you're right. The influx of Katrina refugees has affected the job market. Also, the companies want to hire more nurses rather than aides or techs.