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Are you getting interviews? If you're not getting interviews, then there may be something with your resume and/or cover letter that isn't allowing you to stand out. Have someone review it for you or go to career services and ask them to provide suggestions. If you're getting interviews but no offers, you may need to brush up on your interview skills. Ask someone for help. Ask your former classmates for suggestions. Don't isolate yourself.

I'm an older male who switched to a nursing career for many of the same reasons you described. I started taking classes around the age of 40. I wish I had done more research into nursing, because I really have not been loving it. Sure, helping patients is rewarding, but it is extremely fast-paced, very demanding and often understaffed. Burn out is not uncommon. I find myself feeling stressed out, even when I'm not at work. Make sure you really believe you're going to like nursing before investing the time, energy and money. Plus, speaking of money, the money really isn't that great for nurses, especially for new grads. Expect to make $26-$29/hour. You can make a decent salary once you have several years of experience and/or you're willing to kill yourself by working lots of OT or PRN jobs. The problem with the ADN program at MCCC is that there is a 2 year waiting list. I believe if you do a concurrent BSN through NAU or ASU, you don't have to wait as long to get into a program. ASU offers a 12 month post-bacc program. If you have a bachelor's degree already, you might be able to get into this program, but the cost runs about $30,000 for in-state tuition and fees. In terms of reputation, your best bests are Grand Canyon and ASU. Doing the ADN/BSN would also be a good choice and be less expensive than GCU and ASU. Any other programs, I would probably bypass. Once I got my license, it took me about 4 months to find a job. I applied to hundreds of positions and went on 4 interviews before receiving 2 offers. If you are very persistent, I think you should be able to find something. It seems hospital hiring has been on the upswing the last few years, especially for BSNs. Good luck!

I am one of those new nurses, but prior to this I worked in business for 15+ years. I think part of the problem is that nursing is often seen as a submissive role. Nurses were originally "hand maidens" (for lack of a better term), and this mentality continues to exist. Many nurses have bought in to this mentality as well. We need stronger leadership as a profession. We need to collectively fight for better pay and better working conditions. Yesterday I worked a very long and hectic shift. Toward the end of my shift I was becoming very angry because I was working in such a stressful and overly demanding environment. I tried to hide it, but I'm sure it came across to my patients. To top it off, I work in a hospital that is well respected and considered one of the best in my state. I shudder to think how some of the "lower-ranked" hospitals operate.

I've been on my job for 5 months as well. I like nursing and working with the patients, but I hate my job. It is so stressful. The night before I go to work I start feeling anxious and can feel the stress building. I'm not sure I will be able to make it a year. I am depressed most of the time. Are there any areas of nursing that are less stressful than an acute care hospital setting? Feeling overwhelmed.

I'm in a similar situation as NurseB2014 and am feeling bad/depressed for putting myself and family through this career transition. I am going to try to stick it out for a year and then see if I can find another area of nursing to move into to. I am working days on a busy med/surg floor. I get so overwhelmed at times. It just seems impossible to accomplish everything that they are expecting of me. I look forward to my days off and usually am stressed out the night before I have to go into work.

I'm in a similar situation and am feeling bad/depressed for putting myself and family through this career transition. I am going to try to stick it out for a year and then see if I can find another area of nursing to move into to. I am working days on a busy med/surg floor. I get so overwhelmed at times. It just seems impossible to accomplish everything that they are expecting of me. I look forward to my days off and usually am stressed out the night before I have to go into work.

I feel the same way. I don't really look forward to going to work. The night before I am usually stressed out and unable to relax. My preceptor is a very experienced nurse, but I feel he sometimes gets frustrated with me. I can hear it in his voice. One time I confronted him about this, but he denied it. I had my second "check up" with my preceptor and nursing manager. He said that I do a good job charting but that I make too many mistakes and I forget things/don't have a good memory. I didn't really agree with him regarding the mistakes. I asked for examples, but he didn't name anything specific. Then, of course, later in the day I made a mistake and he gave me a big lecture, "See that's the type of mistakes you make," or something like that. I don't feel very supported sometimes. Today was my first day taking a full patient load. I was busy non-stop. I was still charting by the end of the shift. I was so frazzled, I wasn't prepared to give report and felt like a complete idiot. I get very confused on which doctor I am supposed to call. Nothing is very clear on who to call. Each patient might have a surgeon, a specialist, and a hospitalist. Add to that the different rules on who to call after hours. Plus, some of the doctors talk really fast and use a lot of medical jargon, and I'm thinking, "What did you just say?" I have a "brain" sheet I use to keep organized. I am still tweaking it, but it works pretty good. I think I need to do a better job of focusing on each task rather than getting overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done. I also spend a lot of time on assessments, but that usually puts me behind schedule. I want to be thorough and make sure I don't miss anything. I think a lot of nurses just BS their assessments. That's not the kind of nurse I want to be, but it's difficult to do things thoroughly when there are so many demands placed on us. There is always a phone ringing or call light going off. It's hard to focus. I'm tired. That's my disorganized rant for the night.

If you are not getting call backs in response to your resume/cover letter, it may mean you need to revamp them. I had this problem when I first started looking. I had no healthcare experience and was told by a recruiter to leave the clinical rotation experience off my resume "because everyone has that." After a month or two of no call backs in response to my resume, I met with the career services dept at my university, and they told me to add in all of my clinical experience in detail because the recruiters she works with wanted to see it. Once I did that, I started getting calls for interviews. Many hospitals use automated systems that scan your resume/application for keywords. If you do not have those keywords in your resume, you will be skipped over. Look over the job descriptions of positions your are interested in and make sure keywords from the job description are incorporated into your resume and cover letter. There are a lot of great resources out there. Start with your career services dept. and have someone there critically review your resume and cover letter. You may have spelling or grammar errors you might have missed. Join groups on Facebook and LinkedIn. Do as much networking as possible. I searched LinkedIn for managers and recruiters at the hospitals where I wanted to work, contacted them, and got a couple interviews that way. If you get an interview but are not selected, call back the recruiter or hiring manager and ask for feedback. They can give you valuable information on your interviewing skills and areas for improvement. Thank them for their time and ask them if they know of any other positions where you might be a good fit. This is how I got my first job. I turned a rejection into an interview opportunity and ultimately into a new job at the hospital, unit and shift I really wanted! While you are sending out resumes, be sure you are thinking about questions you might be asked during an interview and practice responding in front of a mirror. Most questions are behavioral based ... for example, tell me a time when... Questions will focus on teamwork, patient safety, problem resolution, and decision making. Here are some resources I found helpful: - New Grad Nurses Support Group on Facebook (Do a search to find it. Be sure to check out the "files" section which has lots sample resumes, cover letters and interview questions.) - Great article on formatting your resume for the automated screening programs used by hospital HR departments: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=730422127024009&set=gm.267728256750591&type=1&theater Good luck!

I get 8 weeks on a med/surg unit. After that I will go through a med/surg academy (not sure off all the details). I start on Monday!

I start my first job on Monday. I am feeling anxious/nervous/excited/scared, but I am trying to stay positive. I think what we are feeling is pretty common. HouTx, I'm going to print off your advice and tape it to the mirror!

If you have at least one year of experience, I think you should be OK. I am a new grad BSN and it took me 4 months to find a job.

HouTx, thanks for you're reply. I am in a similar situation as icarr757. I am a second career nurse in my early 40s. I start me first RN job in a couple weeks and am feeling anxious because I have not touched a patient in 7 months and passed the NCLEX 5+ months ago. I feel like all my knowledge has been draining out of my head over the last few months as I have been looking for work. I am fortunate to have found a job in a med/surg unit that is close to home. It is a teaching hospital and Magnet facility, so I am anticipating I will receive good orientation/training. I keep telling myself that once I start I want to stay positive, confident (yet humble), and absorb as many learning opportunities as possible. I also expect to have tough days and setbacks, but I must remind myself to push through these so I can continue to learn and improve. I don't know if it will help, but I am reviewing my NCLEX study materials. If anything it keeps my mind busy and makes me feel like I am doing something to prepare.

Thank you to everyone for your feedback! Fortunately, I just got another job offer this morning for a hospital med/surg unit. It's a day shift, close to my home and in a large magnet facility. I couldn't be happier!

I have a BSN with no prior experience. I have been looking for a job for 4 months. I had an interview at a skilled nursing facility and was offered the job on the spot contingent on passing background check. They are short staffed and desperately need to hire some RNs. I did not get a good vibe during the interview. I was not impressed with the manager. I passed the background check and they want to know if I will accept the position. I told them I would like a tour of the facility first. I basically need to give them an answer ASAP but I am hoping an interview I had on Friday turns into a job offer. I'm not sure how to handle this. Someone told me to accept the job but push out the start date. I don't think that is possible in this situation and I don't want to string these people along because they really need to hire someone. Any suggestions on how to handle this?

Starting salaries for new grads in the Phoenix area are $26-$30/hr. I find it hard to believe they pay that much in Tucson for a new grad ... maybe $28.