Nurse With Speech Impediment

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

Graduated from my nursing program in March 2019 with my ADN. Currently I am searching for my first nursing job. Have applied to all community hospitals (really hoping to be in a community hospital before moving to anything big). Had one interview with a very small hospital (on average of 15 patients at any given time). I've been playing phone tag with another hospital. I do have a speech impediment that makes it difficult to understand me at times and I am worried that it will be difficult to find a job with my speech impediment. My questions are: will starting in a small hospital have an affect on my future job search? Also could my speech impediment cause my job hunt to a difficult one? Thank you so much!

Dear Worried,

Congrats on graduating and passing the NCLEX! You are determined to get so far, and you must stay determined during your job search.

So at this point in August, you are 5 months out. The magic window for a newly graduated nurse is 1 yr, so you still have time.

Is your speech impediment keeping you from being hired? Possibly. It'd be nice to assume it doesn't make a difference, but we can't know what's in the listener's mind. Is it because you have your ADN and not your BSN? Perhaps. Is it because there is not much demand for newly licensed nurses in your area? Could be. Is it all of the above? Don't know.

So assuming you've taken whatever steps necessary to improve your speech, you can't control others' reactions. Yes, it may take persistence to land a job, so focus your energies on that.

Starting in a small hospital is fine. You will gain your foundational skill sets whether you are in a small hospital or a large hospital. When you apply to a larger hospital down the road, they will be 100X more interested in a nurse with 1-2 yrs experience than with a nurse who has no experience.

Consider addressing the impediment early on in your interview to get it out in the open. Make it casual, acknowledge it, and segue to something positive such as "I've always been able to communicate well with patients and I've even been complimented on the connections I make with them".

Good luck! and to take your job search, interview skills and resume to the next level, read my book below. It's written for newly licensed nurses like yourself who are struggling to land a job.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth
Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!