Ok, what's the real deal with new grads?

learning&yearning · May 12, 2011

Well, even the unemployed "morons" were motivated enough to finish nursing school. So good luck, once you start.

whitleychick09 · May 12, 2011

I just finished LPN school and didn't have any job finding a job. I think a great deal depends on if there is a nursing shortage in the area where you're seeking employment and a lot of times it's a lot to do with who you know. :nurse:

Irishpsychintern · May 12, 2011

Hell hath no fury like a nurse called lazy.

nedlloyd · May 12, 2011

i think its hard to say.. i used to come on this website a lot while i was prepping for the nclex and i would complain to my husband that i would never find a job b/c so many on here couldnt find work. he would always get mad and tell me not to stress b/c it was only the people who couldnt find work that would come on here and vent.

I gradded in june 2009. i was 7 mo's pregnant at the time. didnt work at all, didnt take the nclex until september 2010, got my bls cert in mid october and then started applying. i applied to 4 positions and had 2 interviews. from the time i applied until my interviews was about 2 weeks, and then another 2 weeks until i got an offer (i took the first offer i got even though i would have preferred the other job). so for me it was not an issue at all. but there are a lot of girls on my floor who took 3, even 6+ months to get their job.

i really wish i didnt know about this website until after i was already working. coming on here reading all the "i cant find a job" rantings stressed me out! PS just wanted to say your post didnt offend me, you sounded just like my husband did:lol2:

Mukfay · May 12, 2011

I'll have to keep these sort of questions to myself in the future.

You don't have to keep them to yourself. I think you should ask all of your questions. It's just a good idea to be careful about how to phrase them. We're all brought up with differing standards for polite discourse. What one group, or even generation considers normal interaction might be considered the height of ill-bred behavior. In addition to that, certain groups of people are more loose with their use of language than others because it's the intent of the message that really matters. Unfortunately, when communication is in text, nuance cannot be conveyed.

So while some of the responses are aggressive. Please note that some are offering to help you by suggesting that there is a non-academic skill that would benefit you if you take the time to learn. But by no means should you stop asking the questions. That is why we all come together.

Regards,

Mukfay

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · May 12, 2011

Okay I will cave and tell you my job search story you can decide.

I started looking at job adds about a year before graduation, I had worked as a CNA2 in a ED and had been talking to my manager about possible open positions

My senior year I worked as a coach/lab assisstant in the nursing skills lab (score for the resume) for working with the 1st year students

My practicum was in an ED, I began looking at all internships in my area began applying about 3 months before graduation

1st interview was a month after graduation for an internship program, they interviewed 540 people and hired 40. I was not one of them.

I applied to everything I could find, I went and got ACLS and PALS certified, which did not help me, I interviewed at a LTC and the DON didn't like it that I had worked in the ED and had certifications because "you don't plan on sticking around for very long"

Interviewed at a women's prision, they had 100 interviews for 1 spot (great odds)

Interviewed at the state mental hospital 40 applicants for 1 spot (slightly better odds)

Again still applying to everything I could find, had my application in at every hospital within 1.5 hrs drive from my house, with automatic emails to tell me when new positions posted.

Started the process to get my liscense in the state next to mine

Began vollenteering as a rape advocate

Got hired to do flu shot clinics 3 months after graduation

Then an internship in the ED of a local hospital opened up, I applied online, I knew that wouldn't be enough I wanted to stand out so I put together a nice packet of my cover letter, resume, letters of reccomendation, an copies of my clinical evaluations

when to the hosital to see if I could speak to someone in HR, no such luck this hospital is part of a large 15+ hospital system, but did get the # for HR. Began calling q 3 days untill I spoke to the recruiter for the posted job, who said that my application had been forewarded to the manager, asked if there was anything else I could do, no

So I took the same packet to see if I could just meet the ED manager, no such luck and didn't get the job.

My own ED finally had positons open up, but then my manager was demoted and some changes were made to the upper management positions which ultimatley resulted in a new policy of no new grads in the ED, a 2 year experience minimium in critical care was now the requirment

5 months after graduation I got a job doing pedatric home health, plus the flu shots, plus I still was working as a CNA2 in the ED

Still ket applying as home health did not have many hours or was not safe for a new grad

Still applying to every hospital position even though the trend in my area is BSN required, so I start my RN-BSN program

I made a map of all the local nursing homes and I drove to them all and applied to them all

Finally in Januaray (8 months after graduation) I was offered a PRN position in a SNF in the next state, on the 1st day of orientation they offered full time.

I have now been there 5 months, and am half way through my BSN program and I still am applying for RN positions hopping to get something better.

My classmates have had about the same luck

One had worked for the same hospital system for 7 years, he stuck it out and after 10 months after graduation they finally hired him as a RN

One classmate had her hopsital system pay for her nursing school education, then when she graduated they were not interested in hirring her because she didn't get her BSN

Another one had worked for the same hosital system for 17 years as a lab tech and then an ER tech, they were not interested in hirring her because of not having a BSN and experience

Another classmate worked as a MA for 22 years, she happily has been hired back into the system after she had to leave to work in a SNF for 5 months to get some expereince before they hired her back as a RN

So I didn't sit on my hands waiting for a job to come to me, I went and looked for it, but it is the area that I am, I just got a phone call for a NICU position 3 states away

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 12, 2011

There are many factors behind the inability of some new grads to find employment.

In many regions across the U.S., there's absolutely no shortage of nurses. Actually, there's a surplus of too many nurses in some cities and states. Contrary to popular belief, nursing is certainly NOT recession-proof.

During recessions, patients avoid having elective surgeries because they are fearful of taking the time off work that is needed for full recovery, which results in low hospital census on the units that depend on postoperative cases (ortho, med/surg, PACU, SICU, acute rehab, etc.). When hospital census is low, less nurses are needed to keep the floor running.

More people are unemployed during these rough times and, as a result, have lost their health insurance. Uninsured people are definitely not inclined to seek healthcare unless it is an absolute emergency. In addition, medical bills incurred by uninsured patients tend to go unpaid, which means less money for healthcare facilities. The hospitals must absorb the losses.

Part-time nurses, PRN/per diem nurses, and semi-retired nurses accept full-time positions during recessions to keep their households afloat when a breadwinner spouse loses his/her job without notice. Plenty of retired nurses are reactivating their nursing licenses and returning to the nursing workforce due to the high costs of food and fuel, and the effects of depleted retirement funds. Since all of these experienced nurses are returning to the nursing employment market, this means less jobs available for all of the new graduate nurses that are being churned into local job markets every few months.

I must also mention that Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements are lower than ever. This has affected areas of nursing such as acute care, hospice, home health, long term care, rehab, clinics, doctors' offices, and so forth. These low reimbursement rates mean less money available to pay nursing staff.

While this phenomenon might not apply to the town, city, or state in which you live, it is certainly happening in many places across the U.S.

Mukfay · May 12, 2011

Also, there is some evidence that the current job situation has come about in part because of the return of retired nurses to the field. They've come back because spouses lost jobs or retirement savings have diminished.

However, this is actually great because their experience is then available to train us (the next generation of nurses). If the economy had remained on track, a great deal of this experience and knowledge would be lost.

Regards,

Mukfay

CNA2PA · May 12, 2011

If your going to invest your time and money and don't want to waste those straight A's and are expecting a guaranteed job become a doctor...the way your talking down to people and using words like moron and idiots you already sound like a few i know (:

CNA2PA · May 12, 2011

I also think you should get some health care experience under your belt. If you complete a nursing program and have experience in the field it will set you apart from other new grads that don't. Think of getting a nursing job a competition that starts in pre-reqs. Have to most things you can under your belt that would set you apart from the thousands of other grads and be 100% willing to take any job (i.e. Im a new RN grad and will only work in a hospital in the ED) Alot of new grads think like that and eventually give up and lower there standards to gain experience and find that they get results faster. Be humble and have a open heart and open mind, that to me is what being in health care is all about. Don't be a know it all student no one likes those. You may have all the A's in the world but they will not make people like you. Just remember this site isn't just for venting its also a network of highly intelligent, loving, caring people that can be your best resource and a great chin lifter after a hopeless hard day. Since your not in health care or even a nurse you really have no idea what it is like therefore shouldn't call these people names until YOU YOURSELF have been there . Be nice to AN and they will be nice to you (:

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · May 12, 2011

OP I think its primarily location. I didn't have a problem finding a job once I retrieved my license. I think its mainly the area some new grads live in.

evolvingrn, BSN, RN · May 12, 2011

Its hard to get an acute care job in my town, but there are still lots of LTC nursing jobs out there ........ My preception on the difficulty for our area is mainly because we have a lot of smaller towns and lots of nurses commute the hour in because we pay the best in the state.....That being said as a new grad i had a job offer within a month of graduating i have been there a year , love it and plan on staying ( i work in acute care). I also panicked reading post on here as i came up on graduation. I found that it was not nearly as I thought it would be but we just hired a new grad who graduated a year ago (she has been working in an lpn role) It seems like the ADN grads are having a slightly harder time finding work around here but they are finding work too in my experience. Good luck to you.