Nurses unemployed what is happening out there???

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Hi, I am a 15 year nurse and I am unemployed from a full time position. I cannot seem to find a job. I have experience, and I am certified is many areas, but no potential job. I have applied over and over for work. Gees, I am a nurse where did the shortage go? All they want to offer me is PRN and Per diem or Part time no benefits, means no insurance. Right now I have to accept jobs where ever I can even in LTC facilities with G tags or troubles and who do not care to orient you, high risk potential. I saw a sign at a major hospital recently it said only experience accepted, no new grads??? What is happening no new grads? Will this continue to spiral out of control? I've never ever in all my 15 years had this kind of trouble with employment? :twocents:

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As a brand new nursing student this concerns me as well. I have just been glancing at the job ads and I have seen "no student nurses" as well. Also reading on this message board about all the trouble new grads are having and now reading that seasoned experienced nurses are having trouble finding work. As a single mom working full time and now busting my butt to get the best grades possible, all this news is quite disheartening.

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Unfortunately in this economy, it is hitting every profession across the board.

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I have been out of school for almost a year and am still having trouble finding a job. I have had several interviews which all seem to go very well. It always ends up with the employer going with a nurse who has years of experience. I will be working for Mollen during the flu season. I have thought about going back to get my RN, is the job market any better for RNs?

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I can tell you from someone not previously in the medical field the economy is in a lot worst shape then they are letting on. There is no double dip because there was never any recovery. They tried to say things were getting better when they temporarily employed all the census workers but even then if you looked at total unemployment it was actually growing. Another dirty little secret on that unemployment number is that after you exhaust your unemployment you all no longer counted. Therefore the rate can go down but have fewer jobs in the market. I have been a bricklayer for 25 years and haven’t worked in the last two. Have I tried to find work **** yes so please don’t go there. There are fewer new homes being built now that there has been since they started keeping track in the 1960’s. I am not getting political here I think both sides are to blame (I.E. greed and corruption have no political affiliation) they should have bailed out home owners rather than the banks. Now the banks are borrowing money from the fed at basically 0% and investing it at 2% back in the fed. Why should they loan it to new home owners at a risk when the government lets them do this. If you have noticed bank profits are way up but lending to consumers is by a greater factor down. I sometimes second guess if switching into nursing is a good idea but what industry is doing well now? Certainly not the one I am in.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Adult Psych, Peds HH.
Hi, I am a 15 year nurse and I am unemployed from a full time position. I cannot seem to find a job. I have experience, and I am certified is many areas, but no potential job. I have applied over and over for work. Gees, I am a nurse where did the shortage go? All they want to offer me is PRN and Per diem or Part time no benefits, means no insurance. Right now I have to accept jobs where ever I can even in LTC facilities with G tags or troubles and who do not care to orient you, high risk potential. I saw a sign at a major hospital recently it said only experience accepted, no new grads??? What is happening no new grads? Will this continue to spiral out of control? I've never ever in all my 15 years had this kind of trouble with employment? :twocents:

What area of the country are you located in? I am very sorry to hear this.

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As a brand new nursing student this concerns me as well. I have just been glancing at the job ads and I have seen "no student nurses" as well. Also reading on this message board about all the trouble new grads are having and now reading that seasoned experienced nurses are having trouble finding work. As a single mom working full time and now busting my butt to get the best grades possible, all this news is quite disheartening.

Here is the bad thing I have not had a good job since Feb 2009. I to am doing Mollen Clinics and whatever I can obtain. I am a RN and I need full time with benefits. All they want to offer is part time no benefits. You want to here what some places are doing my last position hired me part time because they had no full time which is 32 hours. Yet wanted to schedule me 4 shifts a weekwhich is full time, and then when all the people on vacation came back cut me back to nothing???? However that did not work out. Now I am back out here paving the streets again.

Okay, here is a good laugh for you. I thought in my mind I take some classes using some of my unemployment money to gain a new certification. So I enrolled in a Pharmacy Technician Program completed/graduated it in May 2010. I haven't taken the national exam yet and at least I received 38 CEU to renew my license for RN. Okay, so i said to myself to myself if I can't find a nursing job full time I will get a Pharmacy Tech job. Guess what same old story they want experience and you need your CPhT before they will hire you, then you have towork 2000 hours to file with the state for registration. So I can spend a $126 to take the national exam which is 3 hours long and boo coos of math and hope to get a job, but guess what they don't pay well $11hr to $15 or 18hr is the most with years experience. What the heck???? The program was pretty intense with lots of math.

So it didn't do me one bit of good to go back to school like Obama said, because that doesn't solve unemployment does it!!!!

What a rat race!!!!!

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Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.
What area of the country are you located in? I am very sorry to hear this.

I am sooo sorry to hear this, but in this economy... nursing jobs are very tight in many cities. Can you tell us where you are? Are you able to do travel nursing? With your exp... should get a good package if your family life permits that. If not, you can cobra insurance for a crazy amount of $$ or look up for your licensed state... high risk insurance and insert your state. We found coverage for my daughter 19, with a recent head injury for $120 per month,,, which covered more than I had thought.

The insurance search takes a day or two of time, but it's out there if you hit the criteria for your state... this may give you some time in months to cover yourself and have time to look.

Call your state congressman and reach an overacheiving intern to help you as well. google this for contact # it's out there.... it took me a bit.. but not knowing where you are makes it more difficult to help. I called everyone and anyone, as my 19 yr old was too injured to be in college and couldn't be covered by traditional means... the obama plan kicks in OCT. can you hold out until then?

I don't know how else to help, but waiting for your reply.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.

May I be politely rude enough to ask if english is a second language? I mean no ill will at all, sometimes when we try to be brief it comes across differently? I only ask to help. If english is a second language, take classes to perfect your interviewing skills so others are not chosen before you. Again, this was tough to ask, might be grammar, so please understand where I'm coming from in an attempt to help. Your written words are a touch choppy.... make sense....

:sofahider

I'm just suggesting communication might be an issue here. sry. and sigh. I mean to help.

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Zookeeper your title suits you! No pun intended. Seriously, communication is not the issue.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

The economy is worse that they are letting on........Theyare not hiring experienced nurses as, in most cases cost more. They aren't hiring new grads because it really costs a lot to have double the nurses (orientee and preceptor) and educate the new grads to get them up and running. I find it ironic that in the time of the health car bill being signed into law.....hospitals stop offering benefitted positions. True, not in all areas of the country, but in a lot of the country.

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This is a sign of a bad economy! I lost my job with 1o years of nursing experience a month ago. For a month - no one would even call me for an interview (I applied everywhere, was even ready to get a job as an aide!). And finally -- in the past 2 days I've got 3 calls offering me RN jobs, and I am going to start orientation soon! It's in a home health (without home health experience, but with my nursing experience counted). Also, someone who I know, and she works for that company -- recommended me to them -- this is how I got the job. It is PRN, because they can't afford to pay benefits (I guess), but I am taking it in a heartbeat! The other 2 offers were from another home health, and from LTC - I turned LTC down, knowing how nurses are being exploited and badly treated in long term care facilities that offer skilled and rehab services, but still keep the nursing home nurse-to-patient ratio.

Hope you will get a job soon.

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