wendy30

I am also a new nurse and have looked into nurse residencies in my area. Many of the nurse residency programs I have come across only apply to BSN students who are not yet licensed. Although you may not make what you would working as an RN you do get paid.

Congrats on passing NCLEX. I'm also a recent grad and am having difficulty securing a job, so if you already work in a health care facility you definitely have an advantage. On average most of my friends that worked in health care facilities got hired as RN's in their facility about 3 months after passing NCLEX. If you don't hear back from HR go there in person and update your personnel file and submit your updated resume to the nurse recruiter. Good luck.

Thank you for your opinion. I agree whole heartedly and turned down an agency that was ready to place me on a home care assignment with a vent/trach patient before they even interviewed me and after I repeatedly told them I was a new grad. I started to kick myself for doing that but I knew it was the right decision. I just wanted some reassurance that I made the right choice. I worked too hard to earn my license to jeopardize it. It's just so frustrating when I desperately need work and everyone wants experience. How am I supposed to get experience? UGH!!!

But wouldn't HHC and private duty carry the same issues as far as no orientation and lack of experience?

I was always instructed by professors that as a new nurse you should always include your clinical experience. Your experiences should be broken down by semester starting with your most recent. As a new grad you should be using a CV or Curriculum Vitae and not a standard resume. A CV highlights your academic career and achievements and is used when applying for jobs in the sciences, which nursing is.

Do nurse staffing agencies usually hire/work with new graduates? Would anyone recommend using a nurse staffing agency as a new grad? I'm very leery of agencies but feel I don't have much of an option anymore. I've been applying to jobs everywhere since October and have only been on one interview. Everyone wants a BSN or experience. I'm getting very desperate and frustrated.

I'm in the exact same boat in NYC. What I find really frustrating is how no one will even meet you anymore, they just direct you to a website to fill out an application. Everyone either wants a BSN or one years experience. I've turned to agencies and they promise you the world and still don't deliver or want to give me home care assignments of vent/trach patients when I have no experience outside of clinical with these types of cases. However, I can take a mandatory vent/trach care course through them for a fee of $125. Really?!?!

I'm in a similar situation graduated 8 months ago got license 4 moths ago. Had one interview which I didn't get and haven't heard from anyone else yet. It's especially frustrating when I continue to hear of fellow graduates getting jobs.