princesskarabu

hello all i need advice. i finished school 6 months ago and passed the boards 1 month ago. i have been applying for jobs up and down the east coast. i finally received a response from a nurse recruiter at a very prestigous hospital inviting me for an interview. i was soooo excited; i am still excited... but i have a problem. in the interview invite (which i received via email) i was told that, among other things, i would need to bring 2 letters of reference from current clinical instructors, since i am considered a new graduate. the problem is that the last time that i had a clinical instructor was 8 months ago and i've never received letters of reference from any of my clinical instructors. i'm not sure if it's the same for everyone, but the school that i attended hired clinical instructors who were not employed by the school that i attended. i was able to find business numbers for 2 of my previous clinical instructors (both work at different universities than the one that i attended) and i called and left messages only to remember that it is nearly the end of june and it is very possible that maybe they're not teaching now and even if they are, who's to say that they'll even remember me? my interview is next week and considering that i now know that it is not so easy to find a job and considering that i know that there are many a nurse who would love the opportunity to work at this facility, i don't want to reschedule or, even worse, show up unprepared without these letters. what can i do?

Thanks Everyone!! I really appreciate all of the advice and I am feeling the love...:loveya: I live in Philadelphia and there are a million and one hospitals here and in the surrounding areas, but there are also a million and one nursing schools so I know that the competition for the open jobs is going to be astronomical. But this is what I really want so I'm gonna follow through.

Thanks for the advice. I think that in the end, I may need to relocate. Where are you located?

Ok. So I've had my license now for almost three weeks. Since I got the happy news that i've passed the boards and am now an RN, I have been applying for jobs everywhere. To date, only staffing agencies have been contacting me only to tell me that I need at least 1 year of experience. How do I get that experience if no one will hire me since I don't have that 1 year of experience? I don't suppose that the time spent during clinicals counts as experience. Does it? Since I already had a great full-time job in a very prominent company, I didn't apply for a temporary license to work as a GN when I finished school. I'm thinking now that maybe that was a mistake and that maybe that's how a new nurse gets their foot in the door in the event that they do not already work at a facility as a tech or a cna. And if so, what do I do now that the opportunity has passed? Am I jumping the gun? Should I really be like ok it's only been 2 1/2 weeks, give it time? I've always had the impression that people would be beating down my door trying to hire me because there's such a demand for nurses. OK, I really didn't expect that to happen, but the silence from my phone not ringing is discouraging. Now I'm thinking that maybe I need a higher degree to make myself more marketable, so I started applying to different schools for their RN-BSN programs. I'm not looking for an answer really... I just needed to vent. But it would help to know if maybe there's someone else out there who's gone through the same thing and is now working as an RN. It would be very encouraging.

i always wanted a career in the medical field. initially i thought that i'd be a doctor. as time went on, i realized how much i did not like school and knew that i would not be able to endure all of the schooling required to become an md (ha ha). that's when nursing came into play. i figured that i'd still be in the medical field and wouldn't have to do so much time in school. the funny thing is, you know how they say that your taste buds change every 7 years? well, i think that's true for one's outlook of life and learning. i love school now, so much so that i just want to keep on going. i do not want to be a doctor anymore because i found that being a nurse, in my opinion, is so much more. had i not had such a dislike of school before, i would have never known. anywho, i finished school about 6 months ago. i recently passed the boards and got my license. no one has hired me yet despite my putting out thousands and thousands of applications... that's what it feels like anyway :chuckle i hope that changes soon because i am no where near where i want to be (crna) and i need that experience plus i'm just ready to jump in ya know?? to be continued..............

Hello Everyone in the Nursing World! I just recently passed the boards and got my license. I have never worked in a healthcare setting before but I would like to get out there. However, I don't know where to start. I'm looking for jobs, but it seems like everyone wants nurses with at least 1 year of experience. Should I apply for those jobs anyway or is it just a waste of time? Do I need to obtain malpractice insurance prior to applying or is that handled once I land a position? Would my chances of getting a job be better if I applied at nursing homes or agencies as opposed to applying at hospitals? Any advice?? It will be greatly appreciated. What do I do?? :confused:

Hi Everyone! I recently passed my boards and I have no idea of where to start. I'm looking for jobs now, but should I be looking into insurance first? Should I apply for jobs in a hospital or is a nursing home better to start with? Which shift is better for a new nurse? I've never worked in a healthcare setting before. Any advice? :confused: