Rejected from OR nurse residency

[Reaz]

Hi there!

so I work on a surgical/tele floor and I have been working here for 3 months. I hate it and I really want to move into the OR. I applied for an OR nurse residency program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (VERY well-known hospital) in Chicago. I thought for sure I would at least get an interview and possibly the job since I am still a new grad and have 3 months of floor experience. I checked my application status today and it said that they are not considering me for the position. I was absolutely devastated and shocked, and now I am just really sad because the thought of getting this position has been what's getting me through the job I am at. Now that that's out of the question, I cannot fathom the thought of staying there longer than 6 months.

Do you think they rejected me because it looks bad that I want to leave my current job after 3 months? I cannot understand what else it could be. I ended up calling the nurse manager of the OR directly and leaving a message to see if there's anyway I can talk to her about it. There is no place in the city right now offering positions to new grads in the OR, so this is my only shot. I am so let down and it is making me want to switch to PRN status at my current job because I that is how much I dislike it.

Any advice or thoughts on this would be appreciated. Also, any advice on how to get into the OR with no OR experience?

Thanks!

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

Great advice from other posters. A few random thoughts I had while reading:

-Yes it probably looks bad that you are jumping ship as a new grad after 3 months. Also as a new grad there is nothing that stands out for you in a positive way to make you think you would be almost guaranteed an interview. The thing that does stand out about you is that you are looking for a new job as a new grad after being in one place for already 3 months. I would highly suggest trying to stick it out as much as you can to help boost your resume.

-OR is a very specialized specialty and my experience has been that they are very particular about who they hire so that they don't waste so much money on turnover. I would also suggest seeing if you can shadow in an OR position first before you jump into this specialty without (presumably) having no experience with it - you may find out its not what you expected and wanted at all.

-I would suggest having someone professional review your CV and Resume. If you aren't even getting to the interview phase, this is often part of where the issue is. Perhaps you can word your CV someway to help decrease the negative association of looking for a new job after 3 months.

-As Hoosier said, nurse managers are extremely busy. Sometimes it is a struggle to even get a timely reply as a staff nurse from your nurse manager if it isn't an urgent issue, so I wouldn't automatically assume they are "slacking around" like you stated.

Good luck to you! Keep applying, improving your skill, and toughing it out until the next opportunity comes along.

[Reaz, BSN]

30 minutes ago, JadedCPN said:

Great advice from other posters. A few random thoughts I had while reading:

-Yes it probably looks bad that you are jumping ship as a new grad after 3 months. Also as a new grad there is nothing that stands out for you in a positive way to make you think you would be almost guaranteed an interview. The thing that does stand out about you is that you are looking for a new job as a new grad after being in one place for already 3 months. I would highly suggest trying to stick it out as much as you can to help boost your resume.

-OR is a very specialized specialty and my experience has been that they are very particular about who they hire so that they don't waste so much money on turnover. I would also suggest seeing if you can shadow in an OR position first before you jump into this specialty without (presumably) having no experience with it - you may find out its not what you expected and wanted at all.

-I would suggest having someone professional review your CV and Resume. If you aren't even getting to the interview phase, this is often part of where the issue is. Perhaps you can word your CV someway to help decrease the negative association of looking for a new job after 3 months.

-As Hoosier said, nurse managers are extremely busy. Sometimes it is a struggle to even get a timely reply as a staff nurse from your nurse manager if it isn't an urgent issue, so I wouldn't automatically assume they are "slacking around" like you stated.

Good luck to you! Keep applying, improving your skill, and toughing it out until the next opportunity comes along.

Now that a couple of you have shared how busy the nurse managers are, I totally understand that part. However, their HR is notorious for being unprofessional. I was offered a position over 2 months after having the interview, in which I had already accepted the position I’m in now. I was also mistaken for the wrong candidate two times by an HR rep for a different position. That definitely left a sour taste in my mouth. But thanks for the responses. Great advice!! I will do my best to stick it out so I can make myself more marketable. If anything, I’m gonna try and transfer after 6 months within my own hospital system because I believe I have the best chances that way. I did shadow in the OR and I loved it and honestly cannot imagine staying in nursing to do anything else, so I definitely know it’s what I want to do!

[Seeing Myself Out]

Have a phone interview tomorrow. Really anxious.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

19 hours ago, Reaz said:

However, their HR is notorious for being unprofessional.

You've said that this facility is great to work for. If their HR is like this, I'd bet not, because HR is generally an indicator of the total package. Generally...

[Gentleman_nurse, MSN]

OP, you are reading too much into this. Rejection stinks! No doubt about it. I'm sure if selected you would have done well. But it's supply and demand. More applications than spaces. Why they chose who they chose? Maybe some were former OR techs or NA's. Maybe some were internal employees. Maybe people had references known to the selection folks. Maybe some did nursing clinicals at the hosting hospital. I was nothing personal.

[Reaz, BSN]

1 hour ago, Gentleman_nurse said:

OP, you are reading too much into this. Rejection stinks! No doubt about it. I'm sure if selected you would have done well. But it's supply and demand. More applications than spaces. Why they chose who they chose? Maybe some were former OR techs or NA's. Maybe some were internal employees. Maybe people had references known to the selection folks. Maybe some did nursing clinicals at the hosting hospital. I was nothing personal.

I understand that it’s not personal. Im just surprised. That’s all.

[Gentleman_nurse, MSN]

It's a kick in the gut. Vent as much as you need to.

[Fmrtbmjd82, BSN, RN]

On 7/19/2019 at 8:10 AM, Reaz said:

I understand that it’s not personal. Im just surprised. That’s all.

It does suck when you get that rejection email. I’m not in your area as I am a new grad in Houston. I agree with the other posting of having someone review your resume. I have no idea how I got offered a OR clinical nurse residency without experience but i think it has to do with my interview. The OR director told me she was impressed with my answers at the interview. So suggestions:

1. Have someone review and critique your resume

2. Get academic references from your nursing school instructors

3. Practice interview questions. Most of the questions I had in my interview where scenario based and behavioral like think of a time you had to deal with a difficult person / client.

Another thing if you truly are unhappy where you are at consider transferring or applying to the hospital you want to work in for another position.

[YoYosama, BSN]

I am about to grad from a BSN program in two weeks. I did landed a job on a Tele unit but later turned it down for the OR. I switched because I cannot stand bedside nursing. I have been doing it as a CNA for 3 years and I know how nasty it is. I was told that the OR doesn't want floor nurses because of the "remolding". The OR is a completely different field comparing to other specialties of nursing. I am not sure if the this a thing or not but I heard of it from multiple sources. I am so excited for the OR! I know for sure I will not leave the OR. I love it in nursing school and I even did a job shadow in the OR outside of my clinical hours just to see if I like it.

[Xance]

19 minutes ago, YoYosama said:

I am about to grad from a BSN program in two weeks. I did landed a job on a Tele unit but later turned it down for the OR. I switched because I cannot stand bedside nursing. I have been doing it as a CNA for 3 years and I know how nasty it is. I was told that the OR doesn't want floor nurses because of the "remolding". The OR is a completely different field comparing to other specialties of nursing. I am not sure if the this a thing or not but I heard of it from multiple sources. I am so excited for the OR! I know for sure I will not leave the OR. I love it in nursing school and I even did a job shadow in the OR outside of my clinical hours just to see if I like it.

I also do not like bedside nursing so it sounds as if the OR might be a suitable place for me in the future. That's something I haven't heard before about the 'remolding' thing. To my understanding everyone goes thru a long orientation in the OR regardless if they are a new-grad or have 20 years of non-OR experience as it is such a different beast than other bedside positions. It sounds as if you found yourself something you might enjoy using your new BSN and RN license (soon enough).

[tater_tot]

Hey OP! I actually applied to the OR residency at northwestern as well. I did get an interview, but was ultimately not hired. I have no experience (I was an MLT before becoming a nurse) and just graduated, I hadn't taken my NCLEX yet either. The others at the interview (it was a hiring event, and they're actually having another so go apply!) varied in experience. I don't know who they ended up choosing, but there were a few new grads and some with experience. I did end up getting an OR residency out of state though, so keep trying. Maybe you'll have some luck with this one! Since you work there maybe you can go express interest to the HR department and the managers on the floor. If you end up getting an interview feel free to PM me and I can give you the details on how the interview was and how it was conducted. Good luck!

ETA: I have the woman's email that picks the applicants for periop, I can send it to you, but don't say where you got it lol.

[Seeing Myself Out]

Just got accepted into an OR residency. PM me if you want to know more