nursebenson

I wish I was so busy. I keep getting canceled at my little hospital. I'm sorry it sucks. At least you're needed.

Well, it wasn't intentional but I asked the Unit Secretary how it's looking for our PM shift. She said, "oh, it was a good day today, very relaxed. It should carry over to your shift." Not so much on PM shift though. Admits, discharges, transfers, high acuity decompensating confused patients Galore. Ha. I figured out at the end of the day that THAT was the joke.

ahhhh. loose lips sink careers.

How would the next job find out you crossed the picket line?

BearCare- I'm shy too, but I have a "work personality" where I'm more outgoing than I typically am because of having to meet strangers and care for them in a professional but intimate fashion. I have to gear myself up a little, I get butterflies still (4 years nursing, and yes, I'm unemployed too so that's a downer but Hey). Be yourself, you don't have to change but you do have to adapt to meet the needs of your patients, good communication and paying attention to the nonverbal signals and symptoms will help you be a safer health care provider.

Do what you want and what makes you happy. The economy sucks and eventually nursing jobs will be more plentiful, and you'll have more options and more desirable options. If your current "non-nursing" job is more enjoyable, then stay there and wait. Although, the other posters do raise valid points. Is there any way to do both jobs? Cake and eat it too? :) Good luck, I'm sure everything will work out if you do what makes you happy.

I have been unemployed since January 2009 (did have a per diem job Feb-June 2009, worked 12 shifts; did have another per diem job June-Sept 2009 worked 10 shifts; returned to school to finish BSN while job hunting the entire year Sept 2009-Sept 2010 with NO LUCK). I feel your pain. I hear you about feeling like crap about work and personal life, just realize IT'S NOT YOU!!! Hang in there, work "in-between" jobs like Starbucks, Borders, etc... and keep your RN license current by not letting it expire. You're not alone!

I wouldn't reveal why you left the previous job. I'd say something general about working closer to home, changed specialties, needed more hours... In this tough job economy, I feel like we don't have a lot of options and if you need the job, I'd avoid anything that would reduce your likelihood of getting that job.

Yep, I hear you and feel your pain. I too have been job hunting and have found a decided Lack of responses to online job apps. Even though I have 4 years RN experience, Nobody is calling back. I even returned to school to finish my BSN just to "pass the time." Ha. I feel very frustrated, like you sound, and disillusioned by nursing. I think it'll change eventually, with time. I hear that nursing job shortages is cyclical and jobs should eventually open up. In the meantime, I've applied to be a coffee barista or bookstore cashier and even there I've heard no reply back. Currently, I'm an effing whiz at reading romance novels, applying into the ether of the internet for RN jobs, and being a housewife. sigh-lol. Good luck to us all.

I hear different advice from different people. Some get calls from online job apps. Some walk in and speak directly to the floor manager and get an impromtu job interview and job offer. Others call HR. Personally, I'd do the online job apps. Wait a week. Call HR. Call the floor manager. And then show up in person, dressed professionally, resume and certs in hand. It can't hurt.

I went to the Sept Kaiser job fair in Berkeley area and it was just like itsthegreeneyes said. I came later in the day (night owl from working noc shift) and waited 4 hours before I got a 15 minute interview. Many others had been there longer than 4 hours. It was very disorganized, as nurses were constantly filtering in. Depending on your specialty, some nurses got in sooner, one nurse waited all day for a schedule interview with the OR manager but the manager had taken off already. No follow up calls. The head HR guy, when questioned by me, made an announcement that job offers would be made on the spot so stay around. Hah! I spoke with about 15-20 nurses there, passing the time, and not a one said they got a job offer. You could only speak with one manager for that specialty, you couldn't make multiple job inquiries. That seemed very limiting. Furthermore, why didn't they just have us all show up at one time, no further admits, and start by a show of hands interviewing us for an announced number of positions? In/Out. That would have been quicker and more honest. I scheduled myself to go to a job fair today in Santa Clara, decided that I'm better off calling and following up on the 50 job apps I've put in this last month (ADN RN with 4 yrs experience, just finished my BSN). In person and phone calls to known positions I've applied for seems to make more sense than a buffalo stampede of frustrated nurses to kiosks of tired, uninformative HR people and nurse recruiters. My 2 cents.

Chorkle, Cool username. :) I used to be a YMCA lifeguard and swim teacher. Then I was a WSI swim instructor at a local Olympic size indoor pool and Red Cross certified head lifeguard. Taught my fair share of polliwogs and Level 7s. lol Good times. It pays sh*t, 'bout 6.25 when I started, with all the certs and years of experience ended up earning 9.00 an hour. But it was FUN and not too stressful. Miss the younger years where I could put up with bad managers and annoying patrons. These days, we nurses have to be on our toes to make sure we're perfect 100% of the time. Although, the pay's better now as an RN, but it's gotten a Lot more complicated.

Destiny12, I feel your pain. I too am struggling to a) get a good RN job in a specialty I enjoy and b) balance the demands of nursing with personal life. I think that it's not you, it's what this profession is. I just finished my BSN (I'm an RN with 4 yrs experience with originally an ADN)... and one thing that really stuck out to me from the nursing history class is that we are Expected to Care, but aren't appreciated or compensated accordingly. Just meeting the expectations of the job isn't good enough, as that's considered baseline. Hang in there! I'm thinking I'll hold out another 6 months and if I don't find a good job, I'll maintain my RN license just in case but I'll go on to a more enjoyable part-time job in the meantime. Bookstore cashier, coffee barista, or swimming teacher are looking better and better for more fulfilling and less stressful work.

I too am experiencing this freezeout. I've applied to at least 150 jobs the last 18 months, with only 3 interviews, one which resulted in a Per Diem night shift job. (it's very per diem, worked 10 shifts in last 6 months of total employment history with them). I've since returned to school to finish BSN (RN now with 3 years experience). It really is terrible. I think I'm joining the military with my BSN soon. Guaranteed pay and bennys. Good luck! To us all.

Thanks for the advice. I'm trying to use it at my new job, I especially like the "don't act like you know it all, ask questions"!