Previous BS, ASN, BSN in progress, ACLS certified....can't find job

[Joana.Neves]

Hi everyone,

I am not usually an online/blog/forum person, but I am getting desperate and frustrated. I have a previous Bachelor of Science in Biology, I completed my Associate of Science in Nursing this past May with a 3.86 GPA, I have been working since September in long term/rehabilitative care, I just recently became ACLS certified, AND I have a 4.0 GPA in an RN-BSN program and only 4 classes left to complete it.

I am desperate to get a job in a hospital where I can be challenged, have benefited hours, not be assigned 15-20 patients, and not be so discouraged that I forget why I wanted to become a nurse to begin with. I understand that in Massachusetts and more and more in every other state in the United States that without a BSN, you're pretty much not going to be hired in a hospital, but I thought that with all my other qualifications (my previous Bachelors and the fact that I'm so close to a BSN etc.) that I would at the very least get interviews....but nothing.

As of now, I am miserable in my job. I get no tuition assistance or other benefits. I only get 24 guaranteed hours. I get assigned 15-20 patients, many of whom are tracheostomy patients which require a lot of time consuming respiratory care and treatments. And I am scheduled Christmas 3-11pm and will not get paid time and a half for it. I work mostly with LPNs, many of whom are bitter and resentful toward RNs and there is no teamwork at all.

Is there ANY way I can get a job in a hospital sooner than a year from now when I've completed my BSN?

[sbostonRN]

Just keep trying! How long have you been in your current position? We have similar backgrounds. I worked in rehab for two and a half years (SNF and LTAC) until I was offered an acute care hospital position, and even that is part-time. It sounds like you're doing everything you can to get the certifications and degrees that the hospitals are looking for. Now you just have to get as much experience and good references as you can. Experience is really key in nursing and the more you have, the more likely you will get a job in a hospital. Many of the area hospitals are undergoing a lot of big changes with mergers, so that could make it easier or harder to get into...only time will tell.