Portland and New Grads

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Sorry if this is an oft-repeated question--I don't know how to see related threads until one is already posted.

At any rate, I am considering moving to Portland in January 2009 after I graduate with my BSN in Denver. Can anyone speak to the new grad situation there as far as working in the big hospitals? Do they take a lot of new grads, or do they require expereience for all but the least desirable shifts and departments?

I am interested in getting into the ICU as a new grad. While I'm curious to see how the GENERAL new grad RN market is in Portland, anyone who can speak to ICU new grad opportunities would be greatly appreciated (it seems fairly doable in Denver; I will have worked several months as an paid nurse extern on a step down unit at a large hospital, and done my academic practicum in an ICU...what kind of treatment might such a student get in PDX?).

Thank you for your help. Any specifics would be great, whether re: hospitals, departments, experience, pay, shifts, etc.

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Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.

You'll have to apply to the RN-Intern positions posted online at all the major hospitals. The trend is to hire the new grads who did their senior practicum on that unit, and even with that said it can be really competitive. Most of the people I know got those spots by working at the hospital and having done clinicals there. Oh, and also, it's who you know!

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Yes Portland is saturated. There are an expected 1500 grads this spring. I just got a job at an outpatient clinic and I am convinced it was due to my previous healthcare experience and the fact that the person interviewing me is a graduate from my school! Otherwise I'd try a recruiting company and post your resume on jobdango.com.

Good luck!

Missypoo

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Specializes in telemetry.

Jobs are out there. Apply to many, be patient and one will come back to you. Dont be too picky, you are looking for a foot in the door. I graduated three years ago and it took 2.5 months to hear back from anyone. I went to U of P and was told the hospital that I got a job at ONLY hires Prov scholars from my school. Soooo not true. There were many new grads that went to other schools. Out manager hired 33 new grads and only 2 went to U of P (neither of us prov scholars). None of us had clinical there. Keep an open mind and just apply. There are lots of people out there that will try to scare you away, but there is no need. You know how competitive it was to get into nursing school. People turning, backbiteing, spreading fear. Whatever. Someone tried to do that to me too in clinical, it was sooo obvious. Good luck to you....

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thank you very much kristiepdx. your comments have made me feel a lot better. my experience has been the same in denver, that a lot of application will get you a long way, but it's great to hear someone say the same thing about portland.

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I am graduating in just a few weeks and heading back to the Portland area from Rochester NY. It seems to be a vastly different hiring process. In Rochester, you can take your pick between hospitals and units. They also hire GNs here, which may explain why the only people in my class that don't already have jobs lined up are people like me who are moving away.

In the Portland area, there are definitely a lot more hoops to jump through and a lot more chasing rather than being chased. A few hospitals, like Legacy, have very specific time frames when their internships are even open (I applied to one in March for a pediatric position and it was posted online for less than 3 weeks and the next recruitment for that area is in October) I imagine with some experience you may have better fortunes. Every time I get a hold of the recruiter (or HR) at most hospitals when even just asking for information about when I should apply, most act like I am bothering them and, if I don't get a hold of someone directly, it is rare to get a follow up call (and I have contacted every hospital in the Portland area). It is a little disheartening, but it is a great place to live and work so I guess they can be as picky as they want to be.

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A friend and I both got jobs in the ICU as new grads at a major hospital, however we both were CNAs there prior to being hired. It is possible, may be harder since you are out of state though.

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I just got hired at a Providence hospital. I did not do a preceptorship in Portland my final quarter of nursing school -- and I did not get to do my preceptorship in the area I am now in. Still, I applied, and most importantly, I used every connection I could think of to come up with people who might know someone in the unit I was interested in. I found two, and it was specifically mentioned in my interview that they found that impressive. My associate's program was heavy on the clinicals, so I had some good background for starting nursing, though I had only a few weeks experience in my specialty area. There are jobs out there. Providence hires a lot of new grads, and puts them through a serious orientation period. And, I think it's a fantastic place to work. I do have friends who are quite happily employed at Legacy as well, though they did have to go through the formal internship program to get on there.

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Yes Portland is saturated. There are an expected 1500 grads this spring.

Not to be a butt-head about details...but I don't even see how it is possible that there will be 1500 new grads this spring....do you mean ANY general college graduates or just nursing grads?

....because last I checked there are only 7 nursing schools in the portland area all of which accept less than 100 students each year. Or is there some sort of huge influx of new grads from other states? I just don't get it...I'd be curious to know where that number comes from.

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Yeah, I've heard "saturated" and "impossible to get a job". Maybe it's just that my graduation was in March rather than June, but everyone I was close to in school who has passed the NCLEX is already employed. It may sound kind of selfish, but my own personal mantra was, "I don't need forty jobs, I just need that one." So, while I shared info with friends on finding jobs and job availability, I realized that it was up to me to get my one job. I'm not sure where the big number came from either.

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Specializes in LTC.
Yeah, I've heard "saturated" and "impossible to get a job". Maybe it's just that my graduation was in March rather than June, but everyone I was close to in school who has passed the NCLEX is already employed. It may sound kind of selfish, but my own personal mantra was, "I don't need forty jobs, I just need that one." So, while I shared info with friends on finding jobs and job availability, I realized that it was up to me to get my one job. I'm not sure where the big number came from either.

Hey Bridg! I got my LPN in Denver and moved to PDX about 6 months later. The one thing I am kicking myself about is that I could have applied at Denver Health as a new grad and had hospital experience when I moved out here.

Do yourself a HUGE favor...get hired on at Denver Health and put in your year of med/surg. It's county, it's "ghetto", the pay isn't great, but it also has a fabulous reputation as a teaching hospital. The experience and training you get there is invaluable (think of it as "boot camp for new grads"). That will hopefully give you a good edge in the Portland market. There are plenty of RN jobs here, from what I've seen, but as others say, it does seem to be more competitive than average as there are several ADN programs here.

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Yes Portland is saturated. There are an expected 1500 grads this spring. I just got a job at an outpatient clinic and I am convinced it was due to my previous healthcare experience and the fact that the person interviewing me is a graduate from my school! Otherwise I'd try a recruiting company and post your resume on jobdango.com.

Good luck!

Missypoo

I am just curious how you got to the figure of 1500 nursing students that will be graduating? That seems like it may be too high of a number.

OHSU, Linfield, UofP, PCC, Clackamas CC, Mt. Hood CC - Am I missing anyone? Do all of those schools actually add up to 1500?

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