I am graduating in two months. It took me seven years from the moment I decided to become a nurse to when I started my BSN program. I thought I did everything right. Graduating Summa Cum Laude. Volunteering at every opportunity. Years of job experience in healthcare. Networking. But, I am getting turned down for every job I apply to.
The best advice I could give anyone is not to pursue a career in nursing. I thought I was going to be an awesome nurse. I have the passion, the drive, the compassion, the dedication, the hard work--but that doesn't matter. If you don't have two years experience you can't even get your foot in the door. No one will take you.
I got one job interview but I flunked the "describe a situation where..." questions. The biggest employer in my area requires an electronic "talent" test and if you don't get the right algorithm your application doesn't even make it past HR, so it doesn't matter how hard you work. I regret the moment of "clarity" when I thought nursing was the right thing to do. Me, and thousands and thousands of other naive people who think they're actually going to make a difference in the world.
This is probably the lowest point in my life, and I've been through a lot. I thought I'd finally "made it". I thought I'd pulled myself up by my bootstraps. But I don't see any way out, now. I'm in debt and can't get a job, and neither can many, many other new graduates.
ok....I lurk here often....finally created profile because I had your scholarship. I didn't read what everyone else wrote....so pardon me if I repeat...
First off.....take a DEEP breath. I realize they got a little more rigid since I had mine....but there is STILL flexibility here. There are ways you can be taking NCLEX a month after you graduate. Many of my classmates had seats 30 days after graduation. I was lazy...I went on vacation first. I took NCLEX in July. THEN I started looking for jobs. Congrats for being proactive. I wasn't....and it hurt me SOME.
First, look for, and apply to residency programs....sometimes that is all you can get...tho I realize they aren't considered for the repayment last I checked. Next, look at university/teaching hospitals. I was hired at an out of state hospital, sight unseen, after an interview that I did over the phone, while in my pajamas. I actually had flown down, interviewed on other units and didn't get the job....went home, kept applying....and got hired over the phone. Next, part time work counts.....apply for pool or prn, and during interview, ask how many hours you can expect to work and how long before you can go full time. Lastly....DO NOT PANIC.
This scholarship is not meant to hang us....it is meant to help us. Initially they screwed up with the tax crap....it hurt....not sure if they worked the bugs out....but once graduated, it was NOT hard to honor my commitment. Look through your options, contact your liaison and find out if they qualify. Most are NOT listed on the website. I worked both not for profit and for profit. I changed jobs after 18 months (I think they told us that was a huge NO NO....but I did it with no issues other than getting my new employer to respond to their paperwork to confirm).
This is not as hard as it seems to be.......you graduated top of your class....that speaks for something....you will come out on top of this as well. do NOT panic.
Also - willingness to relocate is helpful. I moved from Canadian border area to Florida....but that was already an option in my head. Hopefully your significant other will support you to do whatever it takes to fulfill your commitment.
I was part of a FB page for recipients too......look for us. They were helpful.
For others - this "scholarship" is gov't scholarship plus stipend that requires us to work in high needs area for two years, with some rigid time frames for honoring that commitment. it is a generous help.....that seems poorly executed at times....as is most things government related. it isn't a loan....but there are consequences if we don't honor our commitment.
edited to add - this is a VERY prestigious scholarship....you obviously wowwed a large group of people who had many thousands of applications and very few awards....I know I applied when in it's first years....the first year they had less than 1k applicants or something....the year I applied, year two, they had 4K and only 300 or so awards. you have what it takes....remember that. Internships do NOT qualify towards commitment, but they don't last forever....and they will postpone your start date of your commitment if this is all you can get.
no harm in answering "I have yet to encounter that during my clinicals, so I would rely on my preceptor to help me apply my current knowledge and use it to handle the situation appropriately (or charge nurse, or unit manager, or coworkers)". If you have experience in clinicals, use that...even if it is only from an observation standpoint...and it is ok to say you would not do xyz based on observations and knowing the outcome wasn't appropriate....they don't expect you to know all this going into a new job....only that you know where to go to get help when you don't know the answer!!!!
HRSA recipient here too.....they were not helpful with approved sites....ends up both my sites were approved....I think they make it harder than it has to be. I am done and paid off two years ago.
What there is a shortage of? Hospitals willing to hire adequate staff. Many positions that are posted as open are done so with zero intent to actually fill them. Experienced staff in certain specialties. There are many specialties where getting someone with zero experience takes months, often nearly a year. When those positions need to be filled quickly, they aren't filled with new grads.
I have also heard that the problem is not a shortage of nurses, rather a shortage of nurses WILLING to continue working in hospitals due the poor working conditions. These nurses pursue OTHER opportunities and do not stay in direct patient care. Many do their time, gain experience and then move on. I have never worked at a hospital where they refuse to hire "warm bodies" with a pulse and a nursing license... js.
What jobs have you applied for? Perhaps starting off in a SNF would give you a chance to gain experience. The terms of your scholarship sound punitive...but you accepted a great deal of money with eyes wide open. If the terms required you to contract with a certain employer or municipality, they must owe you some assistance with job placement. Are there any nursing internships you can access? Do not cave in under the pressure unless you don't truly have the stomach for our demanding profession. There must be some mechanism for requesting a forebearance on your repayment if you can demonstrate you have truly put great effort into obtaining a job-any job-not just one you want.
Right now you need to concentrate on passing your NCLEX. One step at a time. I graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center, Summa Cum Laude, passed my NCLEX right away, and it still took four months to find a job in a hospital. You'll find a job, but you have to change that negative attitude or nothing good will ever come your way.
So first off. Have you checked for tech positions in ERs or observation floors? I'm an EMT and was in nursing school prereqs before I changed majors. But I work in an ER as a tech. Since I've gotten on at that level it would've been very easy for me to gain an RN position after I graduated my BSN program if I would've stuck with that. Maybe bring your search down from RN to tech positions or home health aides. That way you get your foot in the door before you graduate. Once you graduate you could then talk about getting an RN position after you receive your license. That's the process I was going to go through.
If you are giving up that quickly than you are probably right...nursing is a mistake. You haven't even graduated yet which means you can't even work as a new grad nurse till you take your boards. It took me a little time (just shy of two months) after I took my boards to find a job and I ended up taking a job on a telemetry floor, night shift, just to get my foot in the door. Sure I was frustrated but I knew that nursing was what I was meant to do. I didn't give up, I took every interview I could until there was someone that would give me that chance. It's disheartening to hear you trying to discourage other potential nurses from becoming a nurse. We are needed so badly, and for you to not have even graduated yet and throwing in the towel just shows that no, you don't want it badly enough. If anyone is out there reading thisthat is thinking of becoming a nurse, please don't let this one person's experience scare you...we need new nurses desperately that will bring dedication, new ideas, and the strength to perform this job day in and day out. Tothe author I encourage you to not quit, keep trying and it Will happen, you just need to hang in there.
When I graduated in 2010, "no new grads" was on almost every job listing for nurses. It was very discouraging. I had one phone interview that when it was over the interviewer told me I presented extremely well, but they had already hired all the new grads they would be hiring a month ago.
It took me 6 months to get my first job and it was certainly less than ideal. A low paying job in a doctor's office. However, it has been straight up from there. Six years later I'm on my second year working in the ICU. I have a couple of years of charge experience in Med-Surg/Tele and I moonlight a pediatric home health job. Don't panic and don't overlook jobs that aren't exactly ideal.
ali9771
9 Posts
ok....I lurk here often....finally created profile because I had your scholarship. I didn't read what everyone else wrote....so pardon me if I repeat...
First off.....take a DEEP breath. I realize they got a little more rigid since I had mine....but there is STILL flexibility here. There are ways you can be taking NCLEX a month after you graduate. Many of my classmates had seats 30 days after graduation. I was lazy...I went on vacation first. I took NCLEX in July. THEN I started looking for jobs. Congrats for being proactive. I wasn't....and it hurt me SOME.
First, look for, and apply to residency programs....sometimes that is all you can get...tho I realize they aren't considered for the repayment last I checked. Next, look at university/teaching hospitals. I was hired at an out of state hospital, sight unseen, after an interview that I did over the phone, while in my pajamas. I actually had flown down, interviewed on other units and didn't get the job....went home, kept applying....and got hired over the phone. Next, part time work counts.....apply for pool or prn, and during interview, ask how many hours you can expect to work and how long before you can go full time. Lastly....DO NOT PANIC.
This scholarship is not meant to hang us....it is meant to help us. Initially they screwed up with the tax crap....it hurt....not sure if they worked the bugs out....but once graduated, it was NOT hard to honor my commitment. Look through your options, contact your liaison and find out if they qualify. Most are NOT listed on the website. I worked both not for profit and for profit. I changed jobs after 18 months (I think they told us that was a huge NO NO....but I did it with no issues other than getting my new employer to respond to their paperwork to confirm).
This is not as hard as it seems to be.......you graduated top of your class....that speaks for something....you will come out on top of this as well. do NOT panic.
Also - willingness to relocate is helpful. I moved from Canadian border area to Florida....but that was already an option in my head. Hopefully your significant other will support you to do whatever it takes to fulfill your commitment.
I was part of a FB page for recipients too......look for us. They were helpful.
For others - this "scholarship" is gov't scholarship plus stipend that requires us to work in high needs area for two years, with some rigid time frames for honoring that commitment. it is a generous help.....that seems poorly executed at times....as is most things government related. it isn't a loan....but there are consequences if we don't honor our commitment.
edited to add - this is a VERY prestigious scholarship....you obviously wowwed a large group of people who had many thousands of applications and very few awards....I know I applied when in it's first years....the first year they had less than 1k applicants or something....the year I applied, year two, they had 4K and only 300 or so awards. you have what it takes....remember that. Internships do NOT qualify towards commitment, but they don't last forever....and they will postpone your start date of your commitment if this is all you can get.