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Having worked in HR in the past, you should always include your full work history. While it may not all apply specifically to the nursing profession, it shows that you can hold down a job, commitment to previous employers leading hospitals to beleive you will be commited to them as well and maintain employment for a long period of time, it shows that you are reliable, responsible, a team player etc.

icuRNmaggie Thats great! We would love for you to come join us! As far as I know St. Alexius will help with moving expenses. As far as your husband is concerned, jobs are a dime a dozen out here, our unemployment rate is less than 2%, literally every industry is hiring, so he should have no problem finding something up here! The housing market can be a little tricky at times with all the people moving to the area, but most people find something within a couple weeks of looking. Here is a link to a cost of living calculator so you can see the real numbers: http://www.coli.org/calculator/calculator.asp?guid={AA31D169-F7F6-4B2E-A48B-EAF8055ECE3E} On average apartments are about $800-$900 a month and most pay heat, water and garabage so you are only responsible for electric which is usually around $65-$70/mo. I know our HR dept has a ton of info on moving! Let me know if you have any other questions!

I have been reading alot of posts from new grads struggleing to find thier first job. Some have made statements like..."I dont care where I work or what kind of environment I just want a job!" That is scary...the location doesnt always matter but the environment certainly does! I graduated from nursing school expecting the job offers to come rolling in with the current nursing shortage. Like most of you I quickly learned that was not the case. I wanted women's health and I wasnt going to settle for less! In five months, I filled out over 50 applications...had 3 interviews and finally got 2 job offers (one PRN and one full time). The best offer came from a state completly off my radar...North Dakota. They offered me a position in the specialty I wanted, a very comprehensive orientation process and a competative wage for the region. I packed my bags and moved 2 weeks later. When I arrived I didnt know a soul, I signed a 1 year lease on an apartment I have never seen and looking back it was the BEST decision I ever made!! I have been at St. Alexius for almost 3 years now and I can honestly say I LOVE where I work. When I graduated I had an idea of the nurse I wanted to become and St. Alexius created that nurse in me! St. A's has an environment that fosters growth and learning. As corny as it sounds I feel like I am apart of somthing larger than myself and that I am really making a difference in peoples lives! St. Alexius hires new grads into all areas of specialty (with the exception of the ER), based on the current unit openings. For those of you looking for a great job...this is the place to go! Bismarck is a great place to live, it has a small town feel but with the growth from the oil boom we have a lot of big city ameneties and even more on the way! Single ladies out there, the ratio of men to women in the state of North Dakota is 1:70! I fell in love with a farmer and I will forever be in North Dakota, and frankly I couldn't imagine living anywhere else!

Good news! You dont have to have a ND license to apply! You have the have passed the NCLEX and hold a license in another state though. I think the housing market is finally catching up to the oil boom! It is not nearly as difficult to find housing as it was when I moved here 3 years ago. Id say about 2 weeks of searching. The average apartment is $800-$900/mo with a range anywhere from $600-$1500/mo! The best place to start is with the nurse recruiters, they can point you in the right direction and help you find good, affordable housing another out of state nurse roommate if needed! Hope to see you coming our way!

It really depends on where you are looking. Most hospitals require at least 1 year on Med/Surg. I know my facility, St. Alexius Medical Center (www.st.alexius.org) hires new grads in psych! We seem to be one of the few though :)

I work at St. Alexius Medical Center (www.st.alexius.org) in Bismarck, ND (www.bismarck.org) and we are currently looking for psych nurses! I love my job and the company I work for and would highly reccomend it as a place of employment! We have a 25 bed inpatient psych unit with 16 adult beds and 9 adolescent beds.

It seems like there is some variety across the country as to what the "best" first move is after graduating! I come from a new grad friendly hospital so we are very fortunate that no experience is required before entering into psych nursing. For those of you looking, it might be worth checking us out! I work at St. Alexius Medical Center (www.st.alexius.org) in Bismarck, ND (www.bismarck.org). We accept new grads in to all specialty areas including psych and are currently looking for psych nurses with and without experience! We have an inpaitent adult (16 bed) and adolscent (9 bed) unit and a outpatient partial hospialization program!

Im not sure where you are located but my facility is looking for Psych nurses! I work at St. Alexius Medical Center (www.st.alexius.org) in Bismarck, ND (www.bismarck.org). We have both an inpatient adolescent (9 beds) and adult (16 beds) psych unit and an outpaitent partial hospitalization program!

St. Alexius hires both BSN and ASN nurses into thier new grad positions, as a new grad you basically get to pick the department you want to work in with the execption of ER! I have worked at St. Alexius for over 2 years and they are definietly a teaching hospital! Working on mom/baby we had over 5 schools coming in to do clinicals and that was just nursing. There are RT, Pharm, MD and various others programs who use are facilitys for teaching purposes!

I know you posted awhile ago but I thought I would leave a comment just in case you are still looking. The job market for new grads is great in North Dakota! I work at St. Alexius in Bismarck and we hire new grads into all specialties except ER! Make sure when you are applying you are looking for and applying under the New Graduate nursing positions,that is how our hospitals posts them! Housing can be difficult to find but not impossible. The nurse recruiters can help you find housing. I came from out of state and found a great apartment!

The starting hourly wage for North Dakota is $22-$23/hr. I know St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck, ND starts their new grads at $22.79, before shift incentives. Depending on the shift you are working (days, evenings, nights, weekends) you can almost make double your hourly wage on overtime shifts. Working as a nurse at St. Alexius I was able to clear $55,000 last year with overtime and incentives. Hope this helps!