RisingfromthefireRN

Feeling abandoned is a great description of what I'm currently feeling. I'm happy it all worked out for you. I have also applied for a residency has a behavioral health RN working in psych. It seems to be no sure fire way to guarantee job placement. I am looking for jobs where narcotics are passed so it won't be such a huge issue. It is just difficult because I am a new grad. I guess I have to just keep looking and hoping.

I have reached out to my RAMP case manager to explain what I have experienced thus far. I did request a list of RAMP friendly employers, but I haven't received the list yet. I really wanted to shed light on the difficulties I am personally facing being a new grad with no experience and how that really narrows my job search to my case manager. Unfortunately she didn't seem empathetic. That's fine. I don't want to focus on the negative. I would like to focus on a plan of navigating the narc restriction since that seems to be one of the biggest issues so far. Thank you for reply post!

Hello everyone, I graduated May 2025 with a ADN, took and passed the NCLEX a month later. Once I didn't receive my license number I panicked. After semi harassing the NJBON I found out in Sept. 2025 that I was recommended to RAMP because of a few things that I had on my background that are over 14 years old. Totally understandable. During the 90 day eval, my hair test came back positive for opioids which I was surprised about. I totally forgot got about I took pills from a hold prescription my husband had a month before I took the hair test for a bike accident I had that I didn't think it was serious enough to receive treatment. This landed me with a 5 years contract with RAMP with a narcotic restriction. Not to mention that the NJBON gave me a consent order for unpaid fines. In all of this the alternative I faced was not receiving a license at all and that option was far more devastating. Once I received my license May 2026 I was genuinely excited! Unfortunately, the real difficult part begins. Finding a RN job!! So, this is what I'm faced with. 1. New grad, I am only able to apply to positions that no experience is required or a RN residency. 2. Monitoring program with 6 month Narc restriction. 3. Consent order stating that I'm on probation until my fines are paid and I am not able to work in a clients home. I've been on 3 interviews. 1. Davita, I did mention the monitoring program and narc restriction. The admin wasn't familiar with RAMP but seemed supportive. He did mention that another candidate was coming in for a second interview. Long story short the other candidate got the job. 2. SNF position at a Rehab/LTC facility. I mentioned to the DON about RAMP which she was familiar with, but the narc restriction seemed to pose an issue. The DON stated that HR would contact me and she wished me luck. I never got a call back. 3. Another SNF position Rehab/LTC facility. This time I didn't mention anything about monitoring etc. I received an email from HR to begin onboarding. This was my opportunity to present that I would like to move forward, I am in a monitoring program, compliant and able to practice. I also have a narc restriction and would the position be able to accommodate the temporary restriction. 10 mins later reply email from HR thanking me for the transparency but they will need to rescind the offer. I will be honest it is difficult to remain optimistic. Also, the task of applying for positions is daunting. I honestly always have the thought in the back of my mind. "Maybe, becoming a RN is not possible for me.” I have jumped through so many hoops to get my license. Now I have many more to jump through. Some days I am up for the challenge, but some days I feel like this is impossible. I choose to try to remain positive someone will want to give me a chance. I hope. Sharing all of this is very therapeutic for me. I would like to share more as I navigate this journey. I am also looking for advice. I've read quite a few threads on this same topic, but everyone's story is a little different. If anyone else is going through something similar or has been through something similar please share. I would love to hear from you. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my story and I look forward to hearing from everyone.