2BRNagain

At the tail-end of nursing school, a group of new-hires and I were in an orientation with our new floor supervisor. She had invited a couple of doctors with whom we would need to be familiar to come and greet us. A few minutes into the meeting, one of the doctors stepped into the room, and the supervisor stopped so he could introduce himself. "My name is Dodd," he said in a deep and pompous voice. "Rhymes with God." My classmate leaned over and whispered "Also rhymes with clod."

My favorite: fireballs of the Eucharist = fibroids in the uterus.

I'm looking for some honest feedback here - actually, I'm pretty much ready to throw in the towel. I'm an RN (AD) whose been out of the field for about 15 yrs. (raising kids, caring for my invalid father-in-law, assisting my husband in ministry). I never let my license lapse, so it's still valid, and I had about 8 yrs experience before I left nursing. With the hard times and a serious personal financial setback, I very much need to go back to work. I'm not naive - I know the field has changed dramatically in 15 yrs. (COWS used to be those large, 4-footed creatures that graze, chew the cud & give milk, right?) When I started looking for work, putting in my apps, I didn't even apply for nursing positions - just mostly allied health, phlebotomy, and the like. I asked a lot of questions, and the advice I got was to get into a reentry program. So I shopped out reentry programs, and found that most hospitals that have them are cutting back on those programs, re-evaluating the feasibility, and so on. I found a couple that you have to pay to get into - just like a college program - but had exorbitant fees (I'm unemployed, remember). I finally found one that I could somewhat afford, 85 miles from home, so I bit the bullet and enrolled. I was thinking, this will really give me a boost up and make me hireable. Wrong. I'm now nearly a year into my job search, finished with the reentry program, and still no prospects. Of the hundreds of applications I have made to hospitals all over the northern half of my state, I have had 4 interviews. And no viable results. Some of my apps get a polite, auto-generated email stating that the facility to which I have applied intends to keep looking for a more qualified applicant. Most of my apps get nothing. I've called and talked to a number of nurse recruiters, who all give me basically the same answer - keep applying, but we can't promise anything. I've done everything I know to do to make myself more hireable, and in fact, I am now enrolled in an RN-to-BSN program, since it appears that many facilities are looking for more alphabet soup behind your name. I've also reverted back to applying for non-nursing positions such as Tech, Nurse Aide, and even internships offered to new grads, since the main complaint I'm getting is that I don't have enough recent experience. But I'm still getting the reply "will continue to look for more qualified applicant." I feel like the person who wants to get credit but can't because she doesn't have any credit. And, I'm beginning to think this is a monumental waste of time. If I can't get hired because I don't have recent experience, and I can't get experience because I can't get hired, what's the point? Is this an exercise in futility? I recently had a discussion with a nurse recruiter who was almost willing to interview me until she discovered I lived about 2 hrs. away. I told her I was willing to relocate. Her advice to me was to go to HR at the nearest hospital and tell them I will volunteer until they can hire me. Huh? I have no problem with volunteerism at all - but I need a PAYING job. I understand about networking, and about making contacts. However, all I could think about was the liability issues, and who would I be making contact with while volunteering to push discharged patients out the door, or working in the gift shop? Is this even plausible? One recruiter I asked about this said that I was welcome to sign up to volunteer, but as far as getting hired, that wasn't something that happened often, and certainly couldn't be promised. I'm not looking for promises, just to be given a chance to prove myself. I don't know how else to get the needed experience. I just need some input - am I wasting my time? Recruiters are telling me that when the managers look at applications, they are going to hire the most experience. That pretty much leaves me out in the cold. And I don't believe for a second that there is a nurse shortage! I just don't want to spend the next 2 years getting a degree that is, for me, already worthless.

Regarding out of state positions, so far what I've found is that in order to apply for a license for a state other than your home state, you have to have had recent (last 5 yrs) experience. If anyone has any other info. please pass it along. Thanks!

I'm not a new grad, but I might as well be. I am an older RN who has about 8 yrs of experience in varied fields, but I've been out a while (children and aging parents took priority over career). I recently took a reentry program - on my dime - to make myself more hireable. Right off the bat I have 2 strikes against me, 1) my length of absence from the field, and 2) I'm only an AD, and increasingly finding more institutes require (or prefer) BSNs. Since the beginning of this year I've been actively applying for anything I thought I would be even remotely qualified to do (tech, unit sec., phlebotomist, cardiac monitor, admissions rep- which I did before becoming a nurse) in addition to RN positions. Most of my apps get kicked out within 24 hours. I'm willing to relocate, willing to work for less pay to start, willing to work PRN, whatever. I'm finding that it appears to be not a nurse shortage, but a job shortage, and employers have the luxury of picking only the "cream of the crop" - those with up-to-date experience, and lots of it - to fill the scant openings. Believe me, I can sympathize with all the new grads who feel like you're at the bottom of the heap. But I keep hearing "don't give up," so most every morning I try again. Today I'm going to try calling sitter agencies.

Thanks! Waiting is the hardest part. Keep yourself busy, and laugh a lot!

I took my state boards "back in the day" when it was all pencil & paper, 2 full days full of mind-numbing text anxiety, complete with MP's standing guard to make sure no one cheated. When I left after the second day of testing, I knew in my gut I had failed. It took about 4-6 weeks back then to get the results back by snail-mail, and rumor had it that if you got a small, business size envelope, it contained your new license. If you got a large manila envelope it contained instructions for re-taking the test in 6 months. I got the manila one. Passing score was 1600, mine was 1580. My son, then 3 y/o, was with me when I got the news, and tried valiantly to comfort me, but when my tears would not dry up in a reasonable amount of time, he got down off the bed and declared, "I'm going to play now. You're too grumpy." Of course, I went back and retook the exam, much more calmly and self-assured, partly because I knew what to expect, and partly because I figured the worst had already happened, so there wasn't much else to worry about. I did pass the second time, so for what it's worth to all you who are preparing to take it, try hard not to sweat it, and remind yourself it's only a test. You already have what it takes to be a good nurse.