LucyWill

Hi, hope your job search starts picking up. I applied to jobs all over the country after graduating in May and I have a compact license. The only places that offered me interviews were compact states. The non-compact states I applied to sent rejections pretty quickly. That could be coincidence or it could be a license issue, I don't know. Is it possible for you to get a license in a compact state and maintain your PA license? That would at least open up a wider geographical area for you to apply.

I'm from Colorado as well and the front range opportunities are truly dismal. I knew early that I would have to leave and I have been offered a job with a great new grad program in Texas. Good luck!

May I ask how old you were when you started medical school? I'm considering medical school or PA school. I was considering NP but now that the programs are 4 years I'm thinking if I'm going to spend four more years in school I might as well bite the bullet and go to medical school (yes I understand that there is residency time to consider as well). It's a really hard decision, I'm not married and don't have kids but I just wish I was four or five years younger.

It is very difficult to navigate the hospital hiring system without help. I'm still looking for my first RN position and the only thing that has helped has been to contact recruiters at the hospitals. Some are helpful and some are not, but if they are helpful they can often give you information about resumes, cover letters, events or classes where you may be able to meet hiring managers and positions that you are eligible for even if the job posting states "experience required". A recruiter I talked to asked me to send her my resume and she suggested changes based on what they like to see at that hospital system, so if you can find a friendly recruiter you can ask them to look at your resume.

Hi everyone, I currently reside in a state that has a very poor job market for new grads. I'm willing and able to relocate and was hoping to get some information from other people who moved for their first nursing job. Did you just apply online and receive interview requests or did you also try and contact the hiring managers via phone or email? During interviews how did you explain why you wanted to move to that area and why you wanted to work at their hospital? Do you base your answers off of the hospital's mission and values? I'm planning on applying in states that I have never stepped foot in. Any information about your experience relocating for a job would be greatly appreciated, thank you

I checked out old editions from the library and was able to make it through school with no problems. I did buy a good drug guide and a book for lab values and those were invaluable throughout school. Most of the information you need can be found online and I found a lot of online resources to be better than the textbooks. I spent around $100 on books for my entire 2 1/2 year program.

Just to add more anecdotal evidence, everyone in my class (about 15 people) has passed so far and we all got the "good pop-up"