SuburbanGypsy

Stuff like this always drove me up the wall. I did nothing with my life but study. I would get the question right, but because a lot of other students didn't study hard enough and got the question wrong, they would drop the question. I had several arguments with professors about why i should be penalized for getting something right, and having my grade % LOWERED as a result of the changes, vs someone who got it wrong, being REWARDED for being stupid, and having their grade % increased. My entire nursing education, not once did i EVER benefit from a question being withdrawn. Not once. I remember one teacher saying, that in the grand scheme of things, that it was such a small % that it wouldn't matter. Tell that to the some person who needed that % to not get thrown out of the program because they didn't make the cut.

Let the OP vent. I totally know where they are coming from. I was in a BSN program while also working FULL time in a non healthcare field while going to school, and it is a truly eye opening experience when you realize that the degree you fought so hard for and struggled to achieve, has done absolutely NOTHING for you. I know exactly how that feels. I know what it's like to want to provide a better life for myself and my family, and what it's like to have the door leading to that better life, slammed shut in your face repeatedly, via rejection after rejection. It was a sad day when nursing degrees officially became part of the for profit education SCAM that is going on in this country. People indebted to student loans for life. Degrees that don't earn you anything to help pay them off. Why bother?

How would one find out anyway? Or is the only way to find out to actually call the EEOC? That would suck. Seems that by doing that, you would be blacklisting yourself from everywhere. As far as i can tell, this is all moot anyway. I figure that's why they ask you for those written essay questions, and make you take that personality test. They can use either or to dismiss your candidacy. Either way i'll pass the info along. Not that he will do anything, but thanks anyway.

Are the hiring statistics of hospitals, public record? It would be interesting to know which facilities hire male nurses, and which don't. I recently had a friend of mine point out that one of the places he was applying to, had a recruiter who has "women's studies" listed on her education credentials. He did not get selected for an interview and wondered if it was because he was male. I told him there is no way to know, plus everyone makes it a point to throw out that equal opportunity employer disclaimer on applications anyway. (not that it means anything) But as far as the whole "women's studies" is concerned, i understand that it promotes a certain understanding of society and the woman's perspective. But to be honest, most of the girl i know who ever made that a focus of their studies, seemed to have a chip on their shoulder when it came to men. Not a huge chip mind you, but a chip nonetheless. I guess i'm just wondering if someone with that type of background in a high up position, can truly make an impartial decision when it comes to hiring a man, or would they immediately default to hiring a woman instead. Makes you think.

I am not a status seeker. I could work anywhere. The reason i went into nursing is because my entire life, i am predisposed to automatically help people. That's just who i am. A natural caregiver. Nursing just seemed like the most logical choice for what i feel is my calling. I'm just wondering why it has reached the point where people educate themselves to the point of extreme debt, and are in no better shape starting out. BUT It's very disheartening when you hear one thing in school, and the real world doesn't seem to reflect that. Why not give a more realistic view on what to expect. That's what's got me the most bitter. It the misrepresentations that i received in school. That nursing was a booming profession when in reality, it's not anymore.

I would jump at the opportunity if it became available. But the reason i mention it is i know someone who landed a job in "environmental services" for $20 an hour. His education stopped at high school. It is only mentioned emphasize the point that after blowing tens of thousands of dollars on this education. Where my skills would be used to care for people potentially saving their lives, i could have saved my money, applied for the cleanup crew years ago, and basically made close to the same starting rate for pushing a mop around. Doesn't seem right.

Some of the hospitals that are a 45 minute to hour commute from Philly are starting new grads at $21-23. A guy i know got a job with no experience for environmental services (cleaning the room out) for $20 an hour. Why did i bother? LOL. As for the people who think it is the resume, i already had the resume looked over by the career services offered at school, and other people i know who used to be recruiters before they were laid off. So i don't think it's that. I think it's a matter of the city not having enough jobs for new grads, along with the hiring freeze that happened a while ago, combined with all the major schools in the greater Philadelphia area that pump out ridiculous amounts of nurses. I guess i must accept the fact that i might never get a job in the field i want, and eventually progressing to a NP in the future. Seems like a total pipe dream now. As for the person who mentioned the presidential election cycle...i don't believe that things will change once the election is over. When i was in school, it was drilled into our heads that healthcare reform and the new president would dump a ton of money into healthcare, i.e. nursing...YIPEEEEEEE!!! Nothing like that has happened, and the country is in the toilet, and quite frankly, if i have to wait another year for things to turn around after the election, nursing will be officially the largest waste of time i have ever had in my life. Sorry if that comes across as bitter, but i am tired of wasting time.

Don't even bother moving here. Job market is absolutely positively terrible. You are basically asking to be unemployed for a year minumum unless you actually know someone who can give you a job. Unless you absolutely love Philadelphia and don't mind working as a bartender while your license and degree go to absolute waste, save yourself the trouble. Philly is ground zero for "It sucks to be a new grad"

Programs are specifically designed to make people crack. It used to be called hazing. They have moved away from this practice, but the essence of it remains in some schools. They want to lean on you in an effort to weed out the ones who can handle high pressure situations, and the ones who can't. Sometimes, it's from clinical instructors or the institution as a whole and means deliberately putting a target on someones head, and making it absolutely impossible for them. Especially if that person is in the opinion of the instructors/faculty, a future liability in some way shape or form. Sometimes you just get clinical instructors with issues that have an agenda to thin the herd because they like having that power. Perfect example would be in one clinical rotation i did, where the female instructor was obviously biased against men. I guess she didn't like the idea of male nurses. When it came to the guys, she came down so hard on them about absolutely everything. Made them do twice the work, talked down to, ridiculed, and belittled them, making scenes on the unit floor, in front of dozens of people, despite them knowing what they were doing. She made their lives a living hell. But when it came to the girls, it was all warm and fuzzy conversations, talking about the latest sales at Victoria's Secret, who their favorite contestant on the biggest loser was, or what new makeup foundation they were trying out, despite the girls having some of the exact same questions as the guys. Same exact thing but opposite gender happened in another clinical rotation, where a male instructor terrorized the females and basically made all the girls cry because they thought they were going to fail, while kicking back, talking about the fantasy football draft with the guys, and not leaning on them in any way shape or form. TOTALLY RIDICULOUS. In these situations, it's basically the word of the student against the word of the instructor, when the instructor writes them up and they have to basically defend themselves for doing nothing wrong. Words cannot express how sorry i am for anyone who gets caught up in a situation where an instructor has a grudge against a student, where extra pressure is applied to that student as a result. Legal recourse is very difficult. But overall. All wild west gun slinging rogue clinical instructors aside, I am of the opinion that good school programs want only the most competent candidates to graduate. It's better for the school and the graduates overall if they do this. Higher % of students pass their NCLEX the first time (school statistics being so damn important), less grad nurse medication errors that would kill people and reflect poorly on their program. Better statistics for them being so they can expand their program, i.e. get more grant money for cutting edge new types of interdisciplinary work groups/programs, and make more money for the school as a result of higher enrollment because they are soooooo good.

first off, i would like to thank everyone for their replies. both positive and negative. to the positive people who understand what i am going through, i thank you for your support. basically, everyone i know who got a job, had a connection. some were the last of those to be picked up from their nurse externship (while others from my class have never been picked up), some joined the military because they couldn't find a job in the real world, and some had an aunt or uncle, or friend of a friend, who was a nurse manager at some hospital or a human resources recruiter. the way it seems, is that if you want a job in philadelphia, you life will be delegated to you by those with some form of power. they told me in nursing school, that i would have some type of bargaining power in my job search because of my highly coveted bsn from an "esteemed" institution. there is no bargaining power. at all. you can't bargain if you don't ever get a callback, and the standardized rejection email... we have carefully reviewed and considered your experience, qualifications and achievements in relation to this position. however, at this time, you have not been selected because we have decided to pursue other candidates. again, we appreciate your interest and wish you the best of luck in your career search. thank you. is the only email you open up, all day every day. forget the bargaining power. just give me an interview. not to mention that some places are starting new grads at $22 an hour (if you get hired). did the greater philadelphia area somehow become florida with it's 2/3rds the cost of living of philadelphia? what happened to $25-30 an hour that was commonplace when i was in school? are pay-scales going backwards? so tired of this already. so tired.

I have my BSN, passed my NCLEX and haven't found a job in 2 years. Not through lack of effort mind you, but i live in Philadelphia, where the job market is basically nil for new grads. I applied to absolutely everywhere including Nurse Residency programs, and i get rejected all the time. There is absolutely no way i can move my family to another part of the country. I would like to have a career in nursing, but at this point, that dream seems all but impossible. I have to do my education credits and renew my license, but there is a part of me that is legitimately wondering, why bother. Someone said to me the other day, "a masters degree is the new BSN." I told them that to spend another dime on a useless degree was completely out of the question. Is a masters degree really an option is one still has no real experience other then clinicals? So at what point do you give up and move on to other things? I would think that the more time i spend out of school without a nursing job, the more i become unemployable, the longer i will go without a nursing job, till there is no chance for any opportunities. I really hate being negative, but after 2 years, i am tired. Tired of all the lies i heard in school, tired of never being given an opportunity, tired of spending money, and tired of wasting my time. Has anyone else ever gotten a job after a few years of being shot down? Has anyone else abandoned nursing altogether because of the job market? Is Grad school the only option?

The job market in Philly is a JOKE. Did that come out right? If not, let me say it again so there are no misconceptions. The job market in Philly is a...JOKE! Ok. Now that that's out of the way, let me just get on my soapbox and go off for a sec about this whole Philly school/job market experience. I almost feel as if school just flat out lied to me when preparing me, when they glorified it and made it seem like nursing jobs were a dime a dozen here. Interesting how when i signed up to go to school for nursing, it was nursing this and that YIPEEEEE!!!, nursing shortage so everyone needs nurses, scholarships this (school), signing bonuses that, basically throwing boatloads of money at nursing from all angles. Of course when i was in school, faculty definitely kept up the "Yippeeeee nursing!!!" attitude, but they took away the scholarships they lured us into school with (tuition reimbursement and contract with hospital), and signing bonuses went out the window, to the point where you are lucky to get a job at all, and you are lucky if HR treats you like a human being on the phone and aren't like..."Yawn...no, we're not hiring new grads, sorry...yawn" Heck, some of the HR people you have to deal with, "Yawn... you have to go to the website and look for new grad positions, they will be posted on there" (basically never) Ok. So I know there were major hiring freezes in a lot of the Philly area hospital systems. Fine. But PLEASE, don't blow me off on the phone like i am interrupting you watching American Idol. I am a human being. I have feelings. And even though your organization might be treating new grads like social pariahs, you need to learn how to have some compassion when dealing with people that have questions, who are getting a little stressed out because they don't know which way to turn in a jobless market, which is the exact opposite of everything we were told. If you don't like dealing with people as an HR representative, go find another job and give me yours cause i have 1000 times the compassion then some of these people, and believe me, if there is anyone who can empathize and show a little compassion with a grad nurse struggling after school on the phone, it's me. I must have applied to absolutely everything in the past months, and have not gotten ONE single callback. And it's not like i am some nursing dud either. I am one smart cookie. Got the grades, went to a "great school" (school recruiting spiel), and all that apparently really doesn't matter when they see "graduate nurse/no experience" on your application and are basically looking at online documents instead of people, trying to assess someones personality FROM those documents. The whole system is backwards IMO. Very frustrating when i think about how much money i blew to go to school, with the promises of a glorious nursing life after graduation. It's totally depressing when you are going around and you see one of your classmates working in a local convenience store or waiting tables at a local restaurant, and you just look at each other and know you are both in the same boat, and shrug your shoulders. If uprooting the family to move is not an option, life as a grad nurse in the Philly area just stinks. It's just going to get worse too, cause you KNOW that the schools aren't telling their students that it's tough. Schools are pumping out as many nursing students as they possibly can, and that's just going to make it MORE difficult. Believe me, it's a rude awakening when you graduate and don't have a job lined up and start to eventually think that this license and diploma i have on the wall, and the license i carry around in my wallet, are basically useless to a degree, because i have no experience. Such a shame cause there are SO many grad nurses who are worthwhile investments, and lets face it, that's what it comes down to. Why hire a new grad and blow $50-$70k training them and bringing them up to speed, when you can just coax a few retired nurses to come back to work, or hire people with experience, and save that training money instead. (while cutting down hours for the nurse externs who worked there during school, and never picking them up) I know one thing. I am definitely a worthwhile investment. I have passion for everything i do and i don't sign up to do things half assed. If i am doing something, i am doing it WELL. Otherwise, why bother doing it in the first place. I didn't go to school to become some second rate lazy chump nurse. (believe me, some of my classmates did) That's just not my style. I want to learn, become exceptionally proficient in my skills, and become exemplary in my chosen profession. If only this damn city would stop beating me up and finally give me a chance. Off soapbox.