Icecandy

@ Kingpin, thanks for sharing your experience. It's a bit urgggghhhh because we spend like a whole day waiting to be interviewed just to be rejected. and not because we're unqualified.... but because of Nursing. Oh well. It's like engaging in a sick relationship, you remain loyal to a boyfriend/girlfriend who constantly cheats on you(thousands of Nursing applicants), just because you spend a long time together(4 hard labored years in Nursing school) and you believe it'll still work and s/he is your destiny. You compromise (volunteer jobs, attend trainings, study masters), you try to think positively but in the end, s/he still hurts you(making you expect and wait for a very long time). Like a martyr, you still believe. There are still other guys (non-nursing jobs) out there, and yet you stick with a person who hurts you a lot. After a long time of constantly being hurt and put down, you feel numb, cynical and bitter already. It's not applicable for all but that's how I feel about the Nursing system right now. @ Dreb16 Lol at the soulmate part. I thought '07 should be a lucky number but it just reminds that every year more students are graduating. haha. And yeah, we're getting older each year. If you're reviewing Ieltz, I'm studying Japanese right now. There's nothing to loose if I studied it, anyway. @ everyone who responded, again thanks! :)

thanks to those who took the time to reply. ^_^

Thanks Achie. I'm jobless right now. I tried applying again at call centers because I need to earn however..... Call centers won't hire me now because I give off a vibe that I'm just there to earn while waiting for hospitals to re-hire, which is actually true. Interviewers have this uncanny power of reading right through you. ouch. Yeah, it is quite realistic to garner 50k while working as an agent. The best of luck with your grand plan if ever you'll do it. I'll try and check out other non-nursing jobs for the mean time. And I'll try your suggestion of submitting hundreds of resume on different hospitals. You're so true about the looooonnngg wait. It really takes months and it's not an exaggeration especially when you don't have backers.

I may have made some wrong and hasty decisions :crying2: but my focus now is to look for solutions. I didn't practice Nursing ASAP when I graduated (which was back in 2007). I worked as a customer service representative while waiting for the results and eventually stayed there for 2 years. I only got to practice, last 2009 and it was a volunteer nursing job in the province. While volunteering, I knew that (sooner or later) I need to look for a paying job because I don't want to and can't depend on my parents financially forever. So I quit my volunteer job to focus on job hunting in Manila (one that pays). And besides I'm not so fond of going back and forth Makati and our province because I'm taking up my post graduate studies in Manila and the volunteer job was in the province. If possible, I prefer to stay in Makati permanently at this time. For consistency's sake. But then, all of my recent applications for hospitals, even in small clinics here in Makati, are in pending. It has been 4 depressing months. If I don't have any other options, maybe I'll volunteer again(this time in Manila already). Any tips for earning while volunteering? Are those online research jobs realistic while doing volunteer work? Has anyone tried them here? I want nothing else more now but to practice Nursing but if our profession is very elusive, I might go back to taking calls again. Which is not really my priority as of now. Because I intend to work as a nurse already. Sorry for the long rant. I would love to hear from others' experiences especially those who volunteered and managed to earn while volunteering. And any tips for surviving the long wait? Like being productive without having to spend too much... Thank you for reading. Hope to read your replies guys.

Let's also look at the gray side, not just dwell on the negative effect or conversely, think of MSN as an ultimately perfect decision. It is trouble, because it sets a higher standard for the newly graduates who do not have experience yet. And yes, inexperienced MSN student seem like a baby in a classroom consisting of nurse managers, clinical instructors and tenured nurses. But if we look at the good side, it boosts the confidence of the inexperienced MSN student, because she keeps on learning and augmenting new information to her knowledge base. Furthermore, she develops network and camaraderie with other passionate and hardworking nurses. It's something positive and productive to look forward to every Saturday. At moments like these, recent "oversupply batch" graduates are prone to become depressed and helpless because of the undeniable lack of nursing job opportunities in the country. It's something that's beyond their control. It's those trainings, education, seminars that somehow empowers them to continue. We all have our options, we can choose to pursue a post-graduate degree, training, seminar, etc or just ignore it. What's important is we did our best and not just give up without an effort. Just my opinion, too.

Yes, others like UP Manila, require at least 1 year hospital experience but other schools (like Concordia College) do not require it. Actually, I'm a part of that MSN-student-lacking-hospital-experience group. I used to work in a call center which has an educational assistance program. I grabbed that opportunity while working as an agent. I try to make up by: studying while working, studying at home, studying during vacant time... Because I don't have hospital experience. My classmates that time? Nurse managers, Clinical instructors, tenured staff nurses. I feel like an idiot as I don't have a story to tell about recent hospital bloopers etc. 1 year later..... I'm now a volunteer nurse, and already taking my advanced units in MSN. Studying MSN now is more meaningful as I can integrate theory with practice. I agree with messageinabox, having experience in a hospital setting first is almost always better and beneficial before taking up your masters. We're just making the most out of the current Nursing situation. Getting tenured hospital experience/work nowadays is challenging and exasperating. Most tertiary hospitals are on hiring freeze. And if we do get a nursing job, it's probably unpaid, and a few can survive that for too long because we also deserve to be compensated and we can't depend on our parents' money for the rest of our lives.

yes, Let me join the club. I'd also self mutilate; shop impulsively and smoke non-stop (borderline personality disorder), binge-eat then starve (bulimia nervosa), feel sick as a result of unfulfilled needs like not getting the job i want(psychosomatic disorder and conversion disorder), become attached and dependent (dependent personality disorder), bargain and become mad (depression) then join you in Alcoholics Anonymous. hehe. Well, yes, you're right, we should not envy those who got hired. They deserve it. No one can predict that we won't get a job in the "dream" tertiary hospitals, we can only do our best to increase our chances of succeeding.

To Kyckerz, that's sad.after weeks and weeks of waiting, and maybe expecting to become a part of the training, you'll get a response like that. urgggh. I'd feel the same way if I was in your shoes.What are your plans now? I can imagine the same scenario when I follow up my application in QC, so you're prolly not alone.I saw my classmate's training pics in SLMC QC, they're a large batch; filling up an entire classroom. They sure look like they're having fun. My classmate says training's stressful but fun. We can only imagine.

I'm in the same situation as you are. My uncle can refer me to a hospital in Laguna as a volunteer but it would be better if I can do volunteer work in Manila or Makati. Please help us, guys. Thanks a lot.

VixenRN, when I did hospital-hopping last April. One of the hospitals I inquired if they're hiring applicants, was San Juan De Dios (which was one of our affiliate hospitals back in college), HR said they stopped hiring but "tentatively" may resume accepting applicants this June. *crossing fingers* It's still a 50-50. But if I meet my Management professor in Masteral (who's one of the board of directors there), I'll confirm it with him. Then I'll keep you posted.

VixenRN, I don't know if I'll regret my job at Convergys or not. Because I got the money for my Masteral tuition fees, nursing books (I wanted to buy) and Nursing DVDs by working there. And of course, money for my extracuriccular activities (shopping, malling) .XD The one thing I'll regret prolly was the nursing experience I missed on the past 2 years. awwww. I went there (at St. Luke's ) personally. If you want to go there.... Ride a jeep going to Cubao. After that, ride another jeep going to E.Rodriguez then you can request for the driver to drop you at St. Luke's. I'm not sure if we can just send the application through LBC though. Let's confirm it with the rest of the peeps here. By the way, here's the list of requirements, if it helps you any. Resume (including mobile number, email, school and year graduated, experience and skills) , 2x2 picture, TOR, General weighted average, board rating, valid PRD card. Then we can pass it on Annex 2, 5th floor. (st. Luke's QC branch) When I passed it (which was about approximately 3 weeks ago), I have to squeeze in my brown envelope into the drop box, because the box for nursing applicants is already jampacked. Upto now, I haven't got a call yet. So I plan on going there this week just to follow up on my application. If they inform me that I'm for manpower pooling purposes, I'll just volunteer at a hospital in Laguna this June so that I'll be able to practice nursing skills, etc, while waiting for a chance to work there and for other hospitals to allow hiring. Hopefully it works. Because I'll go from a 18 k salary to a zero. Go, go, go nurses.

To kyckerz again, I'm sorry, I replied without reading your most recent post here. So, you were informed that your application is for manpower pooling? It must have been disappointing for you, as you waited so long for their call.

To kyckerz, honestly, I'm not attending classes in group dynamics lately (Very bad!) because of conflicts with my professor. Clue: I was supposedly a Psyche major, but switched to Medical-Surgical because of her. Anyway, let's not focus on that. I just sent my classmate a message on friendster about your inquiry. I assume he opens his account every now and then. *Crossed fingers. No calls from St. Luke's yet?

Hi VixenRN, I'm a June 2007 passer. For some reason, I enjoyed my work in Convergys, so I stayed there for almost 2 years. I saw this site and this drove me back to nursing. By the way, MMC is on freeze-hire. I just went there recently. Drop box located on the 9th floor is closed. Guard informed me, in a matter-of-fact way, that there are a lot of pending applicants. I submitted my resume at St. Luke's QC but haven't got a call yet. Maybe, we can submit, then follow up on our application.

Just to satisfy my curiousity, I went there yesterday and the drop box is closed. The guard situated on the 9th floor said that the pending applications are so plenty and bulky, MMC decided to freeze hire and to stop accepting applicants. He went on and said that there's a backer-system in MMC, so the relatives of the physicians or surgeons and Makati Med graduates are prioritized. Which already sounds like a broken record to me. I'm sorry, guys. Let's be realistic for now and plan on what we can achieve, and not dwell on what we cannot have. Go nurses!