I Am ReadyRN

I agree, it is refreshing to hear a neutral response on here that is covid vaccine related. I'm vaccinated myself, but I've also been on both sides. Honestly all the negativity, bullying and judgmental comments on this topic I'm seeing on AllNurses is disheartening and sickening.

That's understandable, Upstate NY in general has a much lower cost of living than the NYC Metro area. It's crazy that it doesn't matter how much money one makes, if the cost of living is too high it can feel like you're just barely making it. It's also annoying that the pay hardly ever matches the cost of living in most places.

I'm sorry, $11,000-13,000 a month after tax? What would it be before tax then? ? Is this for an APRN role or staff RN role? Sorry for the questions, just that NYC doesn't pay anywhere close to that and the cost of living there is pretty darn high as well. SilverBells, what the others are saying is true. You don't know how other people are living. A lot of young people get help from their parents for the down payment and some parents even help with the monthly payments. And I think condos are great, perfect for a nurse on the go ?

I guiltily have to admit that Late-Charting Linda was me. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist and like to make sure I didn't miss any charting after my shift. And on the rough nights, sometimes I wouldn't be able to get to charting until my shift was over (I certainly didn't spend time sexting, gossiping and going on Tinder though ?)

You're missing one: Late-Charting Linda: that nurse who always stayed back to chart for at least 30 minutes to an hour after shift change. Negative Nancy thought she was doing it for the overtime, but then got quiet when she witnessed for herself Linda clocking out and then sitting down to chart. For every 5 minutes that Linda was charting, Vociferous Vicky would loudly inquire what the heck was Linda still doing there

I graduated with honors with a BSN way back in mid-2009. Finally landed the job last year. So that took me almost four years. Nobody wanted new grads and I was volunteering at a hospital which luckily turned into a non-nursing job (I so badly needed the cash) didn't have anything for me as an RN while everyone was asking me over and over again why I wasn't hired and questioning the validity of my degree and qualifications. Job fairs were a bust, long lines of newly minted RNs all applying to hospitals that weren't hiring new grads and I was practically hissed and spit at because I was out for so long. Long story short, terrible experience. Through that time, the years of student loans racked up so high to almost $20,000 of interest. Don't know if I would do it all over again if I had known how hard it actually was to get work. Probably would have went the OT route. I was told at the job fairs that they would hire me if I had it

I would say keep on applying and don't give up, even if getting a job seems impossible. I know all about that, I graduated with honors from a top, private, very expensive nursing school, passed boards on the first try, and looked for work as an RN for over a year while doing office work in a completely unrelated field to make ends meet while attempting to start paying off my huge debt and then volunteered at a hospital. I was fortunate enough to get a position at the hospital I was volunteering at doing secretarial work, and I networked like crazy trying to get a nursing position but to no avail. I had interviewed for so many residency programs there but I was told that I was out too long or that they wanted someone with more experience (yes, more experience for a residency program, what's the point in that!) All I heard were sad stories from them about how they would just LOVE to give me an RN position but they can't. At that point it had been over three years. I went to job fairs over the years and was practically spit on by the places I applied. I was told by some to take a refresher course (with no guarantee of getting a job) and some told me not to bother, it didn't matter at this point, my future as a nurse was over before it started. I wasn't sure whether to take the risk on a refresher course, it cost money that I really couldn't afford to waste, I still had over 75k of student loans at that point. But since it had been so long, I figured I should take a chance on it and applied. I had learned a lot from taking the course and soon after, I finally got an RN position at a different hospital I applied to. At that point, it had been about 4 years. So never give up, no matter how long it takes, I was told it would never happen, but there was a different plan for me. I wish you all the best, and I know all you nurses out there searching will be a wonderful addition to any team! The same determination we used to look for jobs will be put into us being hardworking and making sure our patients get quality care :) That's enough of my long story, take care all

I'm in the same boat here, though you could hardly call me "new." I've been looking since 2009 so if anyone thinks their situation is bad, there's always someone out there who has it worse. A tale of absurdity: I went to apply at Hospital X for their residency program, and the recruiter told me that while they're accepting new grads, their aim is to really fill those spots with experienced RN's for those positions. And I'm left wondering, since when are residency programs for experienced RNs?! We need those spots So needless to say, I wasn't chosen to interview. I always wonder wth is healthcare coming to and if I made the right choice by choosing nursing? My heart tells me yes but my $80,000 debt tells me no

I wouldn't mind working night shifts; in fact, I'd prefer it once I was done with training. I guess it's because I've always been a night person. A night shift differential would be the extra icing on the cake

During this rough economic time, I'm told time and time again that nursing is cyclical, that in time, things will open up again and nursing will once again be as in demand as it was ten years ago. But everything happens in it's own time and this time I'm afraid, things might be different. Even if the economy improves in the future, I don't think nursing will ever be the way it was again, with all the millions of nurses out there currently looking for work and hospitals and other healthcare facilities cutting down on staff and pocketing profits. I'm hearing about positions for medication technicians and other assistants meant to push out the RN jobs for much cheaper pay. I don't believe that when things finally get better that they'll start hiring RN's again the way they used to. They got by while they cut down on staff during the rough times, why increase staff where they can make an even bigger profit when the money starts flowing again? I went into nursing because I want to make a difference as well as help people, but unfortunately, I'm not getting help when I need it most. It's always "You need experience" or "You've been out of school for too long" so now I've unwittingly become a victim of the economy. I'm not about to give up though; besides, I'm pretty much held hostage by almost $80,000 of student loan debt that interest has turned my BSN degree into. I don't regret going into nursing, though I wish I was more informed about things before I made some choices, things may have worked out differently. Another unfortunate thing is that I came out during the worst possible year for new nursing grads. At this point, I refuse to fade away into irrelevance; as I plan on taking a refresher course to spend even more money I don't have in order to prove my dedication to a field that seems to want nothing to do with me. Pardon me if any of this comes of as a rant, this is more of a vent. I would like to have opinions of what you think will happen when "recovery" time comes back around. Please keep your comments respectful and I would appreciate it if you did not flame; I already have enough to cry about.

I'll let you know when I finally get one. After waiting so many years for one though, I assume I'd stay at that first job as long as possible.

I appreciate all of the advice, the thing is, I am applying for less desirable jobs like nursing homes and like I had already mentioned, I am looking at other areas to work. So far, the nursing homes aren't calling but I'm still trying.

Hey everyone, I'm having a dilemma and I need some input. I finished nursing school with honors (BSN) and received my license from the summer of '09 and have been looking for RN work since then. Unfortunately, the same year I left nursing school, many hospitals in my area started shutting down and as you all know at the same time hospitals and other facilities started cracking down on the amount of new grads they were hiring and the competition has become stiff, unfortunately, a little too stiff for me as I am still looking for my first nursing job The other day, I went to a job fair and was told by some places that I've become "stale" and should consider looking into taking a refresher course since there was no way I'd be able to compete with the new grads coming out this year (and let's not forget last year ) I was preparing myself for that possibility although it's a shame I never even gotten the chance to use my nursing skills before I have to freshen up on them again The thing is, I've heard mixed feelings about getting a refresher course, some recruiters saying that they find them impressive and others saying that it didn't make a difference and wasn't worth the effort I've done my research and found an accredited refresher course and it seems pretty good (it has clinicals included with preceptor placement and everything). The course is over $2,000 and I want to make sure that if I go through this course, I will have a good chance at getting a job (or at least be competitive enough with the new grads coming out this year) since I will have to spend money I shouldn't even be spending for this course Has anyone done this or have an idea of what the best plan of action for me is? I am also willing to relocate at this point. TIA Signed, a very nervous old "new" nurse

To answer your question Manhattanite, I'm also from the NYC area and I graduated from nursing school over 2 years ago and it's been really hard finding a job. Every facility wants people with experience and it's also getting tough finding a volunteer position these days My sister and I have been thinking about starting up our own business during these hard times and interestingly enough, she had suggested to me of opening up a daycare center. Now that I'm thinking of it, and what you said about being a nurse is a plus for families because they feel more secure with leaving their children in the hands of a healthcare professional, the more I'm thinking it's a good idea. At least when I apply for jobs in the future, I can use this as experience working with children that can be transferred to a nursing job So have you started looking into this new venture yet and do you have any tips for us? :)

In this tough economy just be happy you got an RN job. I'd work for free for 6 months if I got to work as an RN and have it count towards the almighty experience that every place wants so desperately.