aubmom.rn

I am beyond frustrated with my hunt for a hospital job. I have been a nurse for almost 7 years: 4 years of med/surg experience, 1 year of home health and 1.5 years of outpatient radiology experience (which was multifaceted but bottom line, outpatient). I am working home health now, for the second time around because after being laid off from radiology (budget cuts) it was the only thing I could get. I have applied to countless jobs over the last 5 months and have not had a single call. NOT ONE. I have spoken to a couple managers, which ultimately ended in me being told the job had already been filled. Or I just never get a call back. I try calling the hospital nurse recruiter and I don't get a call back. I feel like I've been blacklisted! My acute care experience is "too old" and I don't have the faintest clue what I can do about it. Do re-entry programs even exist anymore??? Do I have to compete against the dozens of new grads for one new grad position come June? I don't even know how I find out about those... There are plenty of jobs on the job boards but I am being told I do not meet qualifications for practically everything. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to go into a new specialty area but it doesn't appear that anywhere is willing to train. I was reading the thread before posting and I see I am not alone. I guess I just want to know if there is any way to earn marketable experience for an acute care specialty position? Or am I going to be stuck working Home Health for the rest of my life. For what it's worth, I live/work in Northern CA. North San Francisco Bay Area.

i am an rn with a bsn and 5 years of acute medical/surgical, orthopedic and oncology experience. i have my chemo provider certification. i did home health for about 7 months. i currently work in a quasi-leadership role (i'm the only rn) at a radiology imaging center, primarily in mri, ct and nuclear medicine. i also work at a kaiser hospital on a med/surg/ortho/onc floor. i am tired of med/surg!!! i started in med surg upon recommendation from my professor at school to get a solid foundation in skills and time management. i figured i'd do a couple years until i got confident, and then venture off into something else. i never wanted to make a career of it. but then the economy tanked, and jobs got scarce and extremely competitive and i feel stuck. i always knew women's health is where my interest was, specifically in prenatal/postnatal care and labor & delivery. i have considered (since nursing school) the possibility of getting a master's in midwifery. i certainly tend more towards natural child birth practices, although i would be fine working in a hospital setting labor & delivery as well. i recently pursued my passion for lactation and got a lactation specialist level certification and would love to continue towards ibclc, although nothing lucrative has come of this certification. only that i now am a great resource for all my friends. how do i enter the world of women's health??? i have to continue working at this point in time. our finances will not allow me to quit work and go back to school for example. i have been told by the ob manager at kaiser hospital that i would only be considered for a training position, same as the new grads. the last time they offered this, there were over 800 applicants for three spots!!! and they don't intend to open any more until fall at the earliest. i have applied at various times to l&d and postpartum positions at my local hospitals (sonoma county) and have never even gotten an interview. any personal experience or advice would be greatly appreciated at this point. i feel like i'm in a career midlife crisis. i do like the job i have with radiology, but i'm so sick of med-surg and radiology is getting me no closer to women's health. help!! (sorry so long)

i am an rn with a bsn and 5 years of acute medical/surgical, orthopedic and oncology experience. i have my chemo provider certification. i did home health for about 7 months. i currently work in a quasi-leadership role (i'm the only rn) at a radiology imaging center, primarily in mri, ct and nuclear medicine. i also work at a kaiser hospital on a med/surg/ortho/onc floor. i am tired of med/surg!!! i started in med surg upon recommendation from my professor at school to get a solid foundation in skills and time management. i figured i'd do a couple years until i got confident, and then venture off into something else. i never wanted to make a career of it. but then the economy tanked, and jobs got scarce and extremely competitive and i feel stuck. i always knew women's health is where my interest was, specifically in prenatal/postnatal care and labor & delivery. i have considered (since nursing school) the possibility of getting a master's in midwifery. i certainly tend more towards natural child birth practices, although i would be fine working in a hospital setting labor & delivery as well. i recently pursued my passion for lactation and got a lactation specialist level certification and would love to continue towards ibclc, although nothing lucrative has come of this certification. only that i now am a great resource for all my friends. how do i enter the world of women's health??? i have to continue working at this point in time. our finances will not allow me to quit work and go back to school for example. i have been told by the ob manager at kaiser hospital that i would only be considered for a training position, same as the new grads. the last time they offered this, there were over 800 applicants for three spots!!! and they don't intend to open any more until fall at the earliest. i have applied at various times to l&d and postpartum positions at my local hospitals (northern california) and have never even gotten an interview. any personal experience or advice would be greatly appreciated at this point. i feel like i'm in a career midlife crisis. i do like the job i have with radiology, but i'm so sick of med-surg and radiology is getting me no closer to women's health. help!! (sorry so long)