bostongrad07

day shift- up to 4 pts. night shift- 5 or 6 we never have a nursing assistant on nights unless we had a nurse call out and/or it's very busy. On dayshift we usually have one tech to the whole floor, so basically, we do all the nursing assistant stuff. Usually, it's alright though, I mean, I'm a nurse, I can take vital signs and wash people up. I don't have a problem with it! =)

Hey all -- I graduated in May 07, and just hit my 6 month mark of being a nurse. I never gained the freshman 15 of college, but, I feel like over the past two months, I've started gaining the nursing 15!! I don't even necessarily feel like my diet has changed.. but apparently it has! I guess I'm looking for some reassurance that I'm not the only one having this problem?! :uhoh21:

mgh burn unit uses travelers. so does shriners boston..

if you don't mind floating you should apply to nemc they are hiring a ton of new grads lately..

Congrats on graduating!! A few hospitals will pay your nursing loans if you sign on a for a certain amount of time with them (IE: Lahey clinic does this). You also get a "discount" on any Perkins Loans you get once you can show proof of having a nursing job (its like a couple hundred off or something and then the next year you get even more off and so on..) There are a lot of scholarships for nursing too.. But, on the other hand, it is college, and pretty much everyone ends up w/ school loans in the end! But, financial aid counselors @ colleges are usually really great in helping you budget and figure out the payment situation.

I have to agree that you should go for it! Everyone i know who got a job right out of nursing school, got a job on a floor they worked on. And everyone else (like me) who wanted to do something different had a hard time finding a job!! If you know what kind of floor you think you want to work on, i'd say definitely try and work there as a CNA (and you can make sure it's what you really want!) If have ur ADN, try and work at a hospital that you know doesn't require BSN new grads, that way you won't have to worry about working there and finding out after graduation they dont hire new grads without BSNs! And if you can't get the floor you really want, try and get another floor that intrests you in the same hospital.. that way you have a foot in the door, and hopefully HR will be more willing to interview you or nurses or your nurse manager on the floor you work on will put in a good word and pass your resume along to the floor you want to work as an RN on. good luck!

Ya, I'd like no know where the nursing shortage is too!! All the big hospitals in boston have new grad programs.. (MGH, Brigham, BI, Children's, BMC, etc..) It just varies by hospital and even varies by floor what the program is like. Like how many weeks, whether you take classes along with floor time, etc.. Instead of waiting for hospitals to post jobs specific to new grads, I would recommend applying to any job on the job sites that you qualify for (ie: med/surg, cardiac, etc.) and ones that you only kinda qualify for (ie: says 2 yrs experience for med/surg, apply anyways!) that's what I ended up doing @ mgh and how I got a job there! If you had a lot of clinicals or work experience with cardiac patients, apply to cardiac.. or if you had oncology, apply to oncology. I also think a good cover letter is REALLY important.

ahh i totally understand, i feel like i know every listing on craigslist right now and the worst part is, i've been to boston like 5 times in the past week to meet with realtors and when I call them i'll be like, so i wanna see these places you have on ur website/craigslist and they are like "well, we dont really have any of those available.. buuuut we do have this one bedroom in a BASEMENT!!" uhm, no thanks! lol or they have something that's really nice but $300 dollars more than I told them I wanted to spend..

Hi all - I graduated from a Boston college this past may and I'm starting a new grad job on Oct 1st. I was wondering if anyone out there is looking for a roommate in Boston or know of anyone who is? I've spent the last month looking for a place in Beacon Hill, Cambridge, and South Shore and have found some really nice places, but they are all on the higher end of how much I want to spend on rent. rent's outta control!

Hi - I just want you all to know I understand your frustration... I started applying for jobs last January and I graduated from a Boston school this past may. It was the most frustrating time ever. And if I heard "I can't believe you're having a hard time finding a job, there's a nursing shortage" I could have screamed!! (when people said that I felt like they said it like I was doing something wrong). I applied to all Boston hospitals TONS of times and I applied to hospitals all around Mass, and nothing for MONTHS!! I ended up interviewing in other states, and just didn't like anywhere else as much as Boston. The last two weeks of August I finally got interviews in Boston, and when i got one, i got three at the same time. I even got to interview for one of my dream jobs and got hired and start on the 1st. I truly believe being determined and staying on top of things will pay off. All I can say is apply for everything, I use to have BI, MGH, Children's, etc email me every day whenever new jobs were posted and if i even semi qualified I applied. And it worked! I know NEMC is hiring for some pedi float positions (and new grads are being interviewied/hired) and Franciscan's Children's was hiring as well if you're interested in pedi. BI interviewed a lot of new grads around July, I'm not sure if they still are but I think they list them as CN I on the job site. MGH is still hiring new grads as well, just not as many as they hire for Dec/July. I know A LOT of people in the same boat as you, and the nurse recruiters i have interviewed with know how hard of a time new grads are having. I think there's a shortage in Boston for EXPERIENCED nurses, not new grads unfortunately. When i interviewed outside of Massachusetts HR called me back within a day (sometimes within the same hour) after I submitted my application but, they just weren't the same as Boston.

I took my boards about two weeks ago... and I have been hoping now that I've passed I may hear something.. I know a lot of other people in the same boat as me here in the northeast.. so who knows..

anyone else having a hard time finding a job?! I've been applying for months with only two call backs (first one I really didn't like, and the second I just got a letter today saying they chose someone else). I've given up on finding the "perfect" first nurse job, and I'll settle for any job that I think I can last for a year. I find that places call me, I return their calls, and they never call again. And I call and go there, and still nothing. It's really frustrating. I've applied to every state around me, but I think I've missed the new grad programs for july/aug. Would it hurt me to wait till December?

have you looked into public health nursing? it seems like a completely different branch of nursing.. def. different than hospital nursing. you get to be with people on their own terms, like on the streets helping homeless..

ya i agree with you janine. everyone i know who has a job is working on the floor where they were a nursing assistant or they are moving out of mass.

thanks! i applied to hartford, and im suppose to hear from them within the week... also, has anyone been to ct children's medical center? I'm wondering what type of patients are on the "8th floor"??