Nursing student in WA moving back home to Hawaii after graduation

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Aloha,

I'm in my first year of nursing school here in Washington State, and I will be graduating in summer of 2018. The plan is to move back home (to MAUI) after I graduate and pass the NCLEX. Do any of you guys have an idea how challenging it would be as a local girl to get a job as an RN as a new grad? Maui Memorial Medical Center is at the top of my list for employment, but I am also a single mom of two little ones (a 3 year old and 4 year old.) Having a job with (3) 12-hour shifts would be best for my schedule. Is it crazy or unrealistic to have moving back immediately after graduation my goal? Or should I force myself to stay here on the mainland an extra year for the experience? I am so homesick for Maui! Hope to hear from you guys on your thoughts!

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I would definitely try to get experience there before coming back. Prior to starting college, I was told getting a degree from the mainland would impress employers more than graduating from a Hawaii program. Fast forward to post-grad and I think it's more advantageous for those who went to school locally because they did clinicals in the local hospitals and had time to network with the managers and employers. But they'll more than likely hire an experienced nurse from the mainland over a local new grad (I've noticed they prefer that, unless you've done serious networking with the staff and say maybe precepted on that unit).

furthermore, the job market in WA is so much better for new grads. I actually just started at a hospital in the Seattle area (graduated from UH Manoa and worked as an aide at a hospital on Oahu). The wait to get an RN position is so long and many of the aides were graduated RNs who were waiting for a position to open up (up to 2 yrs for some of them).

ultimately, it matters on you too. You mentioned you have kids so that factors into your decision. Good luck in nursing school and whatever decision you make:)

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Thank you so much for your response! I am hoping to get in to our local externship program here so I can extra experience in the hospital too. Maybe staying an extra year after graduation if I can get a job at the hospital here would be a good idea. The good thing is I was born and raised on Maui and have a few friends who work at the hospital and at Kaiser; networking is huge in Hawaii and I feel like it really helps to know certain people more so than it does here on the mainland. Thanks again í ½í¸Ší ½í¸Š

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It us unfortunate that you went to school in America and didn't find a school on Maui or Oahu. I did the same thing many years ago, and part of nursing school is networking. You know as well as I that in Hawaii, it's not what you know, but who (probably same everywhere else). I left Hawaii and went to Oregon to get away from my evil ex-mother-in-law. Needed a break from all the drama, so I went and got my BSN degree there. I could have had any number of jobs in OR because I had met so many people, nurse mentoring programs and all that during school. When I came back there was nothing and I knew no one in the field. I eventually prevailed and did well, but it took sacrifice.

I don't think the employers care where you got your degree; one of the first questions they ask you is; if you passed your boards on the first try...

We get all the retired people moving over here. Then they get bored with 20 0r 30 years of nursing experience and go out and get a job, there are all the new grads from how many community colleges and universities on each island, not to mention the military spouse, who seem to be all nurses. Also; there are some nurses who are taking lower wages for jobs and doing things beyond their scope of practice.

All is not lost; there are many new grad programs that you can apply to. All nursing homes and skilled units pay union wage, so does home health (as far as I know when I worked home health).

If I were you I would come home and do the boards and then hit the pavement (so to speak). Some get lucky, many wait, but the successful ones never give up. Don't bother with clinics and the like, the MAs have taken it over and work under the docs license...doesn't matter anyway, they only pay peanuts.

The larger hospitals are still bringing in experienced nurses from America, England, Korea, and everywhere else. I just met 4 that are contracted for a year at Queens (2 of them don't like it over here, and I can guess our local nurses are being as nice as possible). How can our own learn when the corporations are willing to shell out all that money for experienced nurses to move, etc.. Anyone who works in a hospital over here knows it's true. Also, Obama lifted many visa restriction on nurse from PI because of our "NURSING SHOTAGE" that doesn't exist. Burnnnnnnnnnnnn; I levied against it and tried to get people involved. Our sidewalks are lined with jobless RNs, why bring in more!

It's not bleak, it's a challenge. Do well, grab every experience in clinical they will throw at you, and come back home. I want you to be prepared when you come back and use your family as a resource; you might be surprised at who they know.

Pomaika'i

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It us unfortunate that you went to school in America and didn't find a school on Maui or Oahu. I did the same thing many years ago, and part of nursing school is networking. You know as well as I that in Hawaii, it's not what you know, but who (probably same everywhere else). I left Hawaii and went to Oregon to get away from my evil ex-mother-in-law. Needed a break from all the drama, so I went and got my BSN degree there. I could have had any number of jobs in OR because I had met so many people, nurse mentoring programs and all that during school. When I came back there was nothing and I knew no one in the field. I eventually prevailed and did well, but it took sacrifice.

I don't think the employers care where you got your degree; one of the first questions they ask you is; if you passed your boards on the first try...

We get all the retired people moving over here. Then they get bored with 20 0r 30 years of nursing experience and go out and get a job, there are all the new grads from how many community colleges and universities on each island, not to mention the military spouse, who seem to be all nurses. Also; there are some nurses who are taking lower wages for jobs and doing things beyond their scope of practice.

All is not lost; there are many new grad programs that you can apply to. All nursing homes and skilled units pay union wage, so does home health (as far as I know when I worked home health).

If I were you I would come home and do the boards and then hit the pavement (so to speak). Some get lucky, many wait, but the successful ones never give up. Don't bother with clinics and the like, the MAs have taken it over and work under the docs license...doesn't matter anyway, they only pay peanuts.

The larger hospitals are still bringing in experienced nurses from America, England, Korea, and everywhere else. I just met 4 that are contracted for a year at Queens (2 of them don't like it over here, and I can guess our local nurses are being as nice as possible). How can our own learn when the corporations are willing to shell out all that money for experienced nurses to move, etc.. Anyone who works in a hospital over here knows it's true. Also, Obama lifted many visa restriction on nurse from PI because of our "NURSING SHOTAGE" that doesn't exist. Burnnnnnnnnnnnn; I levied against it and tried to get people involved. Our sidewalks are lined with jobless RNs, why bring in more!

It's not bleak, it's a challenge. Do well, grab every experience in clinical they will throw at you, and come back home. I want you to be prepared when you come back and use your family as a resource; you might be surprised at who they know.

Pomaika'i

Umm you do realize that Hawaii is part of the United States, right? We're not a foreign country.

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Hi there. Again, I wanted to thank you for your response with advice. I've put a lot of thought and research into staying in Washington for a few years to gain experience after graduation. Right now I'm in Eastern WA, but I am definitely considering working and living in the Seattle area post-graduation. Do you have any recommendations on getting hired at a hospital in Seattle? I'm familiar with the area, and have spent most of my time in the city, Queen Anne area specifically. I would love to live and work outside of the main city, like in Issaquah or Bellevue. What is it like for new grads in that area? Do you have any idea of a time frame in which I should really be putting myself out there? I won't be graduating until June of 2018, so I am almost two years out! I just want to get an idea of what I need to do and a little timeline in advance. Are you enjoying working there? Thanks so much! Any advice I appreciate greatly.

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Specializes in CVICU CCRN.

I went to nursing school in Eastern WA with several people who were from Maui. All chose to stay in the Seattle area to work after graduation due to the nursing climate in Hawaii right now.

New grad residencies are plentiful in Seattle - nearly every major hospital has one. Swedish has residencies at multiple sites, including Issaquah. The best thing to do is visit the website of the individual hospitals you're interested in - go to the HR page and check out the information on their residencies. I know several people who work for Swedish, Virginia Mason, UW, and hospitals in the South Sound like Good Sam and Tacoma General.

Depending on the specialty in which you're interested, there may be multiple cohorts of residents each year. Most people I know started applying to different programs just before graduation, but really that is determined by the application timeline for each individual hospital. All of the Seattle area hospitals have great HR/recruiting departments who are responsive to questions about their programs. They can guide you most accurately when it comes to application deadlines, whether to apply prior to graduation and licensure, etc.

Good luck to you.

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I appreciate you taking the time to write to me! Thank you... I will be doing my research. It's nice to know that there are quite a few options out there. I've been doing some reading on the residency programs in the area, and I have read a few times that BSN's are preferred. I will be graduating with my ADN, but plan on furthering to my BSN as soon as I can. I have two little ones and I'm a single parent, so I'll have a lot of juggling to do! My motivation is as high as possible because of making a better life for the kids. Thank you!

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Specializes in CVICU CCRN.
I appreciate you taking the time to write to me! Thank you... I will be doing my research. It's nice to know that there are quite a few options out there. I've been doing some reading on the residency programs in the area, and I have read a few times that BSN's are preferred. I will be graduating with my ADN, but plan on furthering to my BSN as soon as I can. I have two little ones and I'm a single parent, so I'll have a lot of juggling to do! My motivation is as high as possible because of making a better life for the kids. Thank you!

Hmm, with an ADN, the residency route and work in Seattle may be a little more difficult. While Seattle is definitely new grad friendly to an extent, in my experience BSNs are highly preferred if not required. It may be a good option for you to try to work somewhere in Eastern WA and complete your BSN online with the help of tuition reimbursement. I know that Providence in Spokane has a great program for this - including a partnership with the University of Great Falls to make the BSN very affordable.

The thing is, I work with many excellent ADN prepared nurses who moved to my current region because they couldn't get a hospital position in the Seattle area...they all came from long term care. This gave them great experience but still didn't help them get a foot in the door at the hospitals. Long term care can be a fulfilling area of practice, but if you are looking at an acute care specialty, you might have to get creative. Seattle has a pretty large number of ADN programs but a comparatively small number of BSN programs, and that can make competition stiff among new ADN grads. I would definitely reach out to the hospitals directly and see if they will hire new grads in to their residencies if the employee plans to complete their BSN in a set period of time.

Spokane, Tri-Cities, Moses Lake, Yakima, Walla Walla and other areas all still hire ADN prepared nurses as new grads. Hope that helps.

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My advice to you is to get experience while you are in school for your BSN then move after. Don't prolong it too much otherwise it'll be harder to leave. I have been in WA for 9 years now, and while I want to move back to HI, I am afraid to give up everything that I have built here: home, friendships, child's friendships. Not to mention that it's way cheaper here!

BTW, if you haven't already noticed, WA is such a wonderful place to be. Its beauty and diversity reminds me of home. Have fun and explore all that WA has to offer while you're here! =)

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