The concern started when I was laid off from my CNA job half way through my last semester of LPN school. My employer discontinued weekend package when I needed it most. I was given unemployment to live off of while I searched for a new job. I graduated LPN school in December of 2008. I passed my boards in the beginning of February only to hear that my fellow students were having trouble finding a job as an LPN. The head of the nursing department at our school said it was the first time in years that new graduates hadn't been able to find jobs. During clinical for my first semester of RN school we listened quietly as nurses at the hospitals talked about hiring freezes, forced furlough days, and hours being cut. Nervously we checked the job board posted in the hospital cafeteria every time we walked past it. We were disappointed at the lack of jobs posted for internal applicants and no jobs posted for external applicants. Meanwhile, my LPN job search continued. I finally found a job at a nursing home in May while other students decided to stay at their CNA jobs.
Things seemed to be looking up in my last semester of RN. The board in the hospital cafeteria was posting more jobs. We were all becoming more optimistic. Then in October my hours were cut from full time to part time at the nursing home. Everyone's hours were cut at the nursing home. I was laid off due to low census the Monday before Thanksgiving. I wasn't too worried though. I was sure that I'd be able to get a job as an RN. I graduated in December of 2009. I passed boards in February. I started applying for hospital jobs immediately. As a month went by I started applying at doctors' offices and home health care. After another month went by I started applying for jobs in nursing homes and other LPN jobs. I have been applying for jobs all over Iowa. Being as I live in a state that belongs to the Nurse Licensure Compact I have now started applying for jobs in other states. We will see where that gets me.
Mercy Hospital in Des Moines says that they have never had so many applicants for one job, averaging 20 applications a job. Nurses from Des Moines are applying for jobs at hospitals up to 40 miles away. This doesn't bode well considering there are three big hospitals in Des Moines. The hiring freezes have taken their toll. With four nursing schools in the area and the hiring freezes starting over a year and a half ago many nurses have found themselves unemployed. As summer approaches another semester of nurses will be sent out into a tough job market. If you learn anything from this thread please learn that nursing is not recession proof, but the economy will eventually recover.
