RN jobs off the beaten path....

[studystudy]

Let's brainstorm about some jobs that AREN'T in hospitals. I'm a really positive person but this job market is starting to get to me.... some people from my class found jobs in

surgery centers

inpatient hospice

the jail

I've really been wanting to get into a new grad program, and I feel like I'm a pretty strong candidate, I've had some interviews, but it is so competitive and a recruiter told me today that realistically only about 1% of the new grad applicants get hired.

What else is there? I really want to get my experience in and I wish I could stay away from something that I feel I might lose my skills in, like doing bookings in a jail.

[NurseThis21, BSN, RN]

Never underestimate the power of a "quirky" or different type of nursing career. Apply to places you may not have thought of before and see where that takes you. Once you have a career, it's a lot easier to get people (aka recruiters) to notice you. If you want to eventually gain hospital experience, take some time to step outside the box and venture into outpatient, community, correctional, hospice settings.

It's the great compromise that most of us have dealt with in the beginning stages in our careers. And who knows, wherever you end up may become something you'll fall in love with!

Just give it a chance and good luck in your Job Search! ^_^

[Aeterna, BSN, RN]

I know plenty of people who went into home care type of jobs, and I don't think they lost their skills at all! I think one of my former classmates starts more IVs than I do...and I work in a hospital! She also does wound care, catheterizing, and all sorts of different things.

Here in Ontario, we have an organization called CCAC (Community Care Access Centre), which manages and provides medical care and support for people in the community (i.e. sending nurses for wound care or for medications that aren't just pills, or even personal support workers to assist the disabled or elderly with bathing and other ADLs) or for determining who is eligible for LTC and where (depends on where you live and what kinds of services you require, as well as personal preference). I know some people have found jobs within CCAC as case managers - that is, they see clients, assess their needs, and manage whatever services they require.

A cousin of a friend of mine works as a nurse in a fertility clinic.

I have two classmates who ended up taking Nursing Jobs in a remote community in northern Ontario, and when I mean remote, it's really remote. As in, they had to take a plane up there because you can't drive there - the roads don't extend that far up north! Anyway, they get to do all sorts of stuff there and their scopes of practice are far wider than in the more populated areas.

And then I have a friend who started off in a hospital but then got a job in a community for children with AIDS in South Africa. She says that it's an amazing experience and very, very different, though of course not without its challenges.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

1. Home health

2. Private duty

3. Doctors' offices and clinics

4. Nursing homes

5. Rehabilitation hospitals

6. LTACH (long term acute care hospitals)

7. Psychiatric hospitals

8. Jails and prisons

9. Blood banks

10. Occupational health centers

11. Schools

12. Infusion centers

13. Hospice

14. Methadone clinics

15. Cruise ships and theme parks

16. Insurance companies

17. Ambulatory surgery centers

18. Group homes for the mentally retarded

19. Birthing centers and midwifery groups

20. Dialysis centers

21. Assisted living facilities