I was a Corpsman in the Navy and my experience influenced me wanting to become a registered nurse. Nursing is my passion and calling in life, but what's the point if there's no job for me in the end? I live in Southern California and the majority of the human resources department and experienced nurses have stated that SoCal is oversaturated with nurses. Schools are pumping out more graduates which exceeds the demand for them. I heard its rare for hospitals to hire a new grad w/o any experience. I currently attend USC's business school along with UCLA's nursing school. I'm not really stressed about taking the course load from both schools and I'm doing very well in each field. I am very optimistic with my double major in Business because I know many executives from the Big Four Accounting firms and have finished my paid internships in San Francisco over the summer. But, I have no experience with the field of Nursing with the exception of the clinicals we are required to do alongside with our labs/lectures. How does one go about gaining experience in Nursing if nobody is willing to hire? Military? Peace Corps? VA?
I still would like to do Nursing, but with all the bad news I keep hearing about nurses not gaining employment. Some have recommended me to relocate (which isn't a problem at all) to Texas or some other state. But, with all the new grads already relocating to these locations, I don't think there would be a job at all by the time I graduate. Some have even told me not to waste my time in Nursing. The economy doesn't seem like it will recover
anytime soon nationally, and specifically for CALIFORNIA! Education, health care, social security is all being cut etc.
Are there any recommendations/advice/suggestions that you guys may have for me? Any informative information would be highly appreciative.
jfisher, try reaching a nurse recruiter at a VA for a student nurse technician position if you want more experience. You make your own hours, plus you get to work 1:1 with RN's and gain a lot of hands on experience. Usually you float too if another ward needs you to take care of a special so you get to meet a lot of people and see different care units. And at the end, the VA usually likes to hire their SNT's as RN's.
jfisher, try reaching a nurse recruiter at a VA for a student nurse technician position if you want more experience. You make your own hours, plus you get to work 1:1 with RN's and gain a lot of hands on experience. Usually you float too if another ward needs you to take care of a special so you get to meet a lot of people and see different care units. And at the end, the VA usually likes to hire their SNT's as RN's.
You make your own hours? Sign me up, please! Where is this position? BTW,how much does it pay? I'm assuming around $9/hr right?
You make your own hours? Sign me up, please! Where is this position? BTW,how much does it pay? I'm assuming around $9/hr right?
You can work any shift, you're just required to work 1 weekend a month. Of course you have to keep in mind if the unit is already fully staffed, your manager may appreciate it more if you worked an eve or night instead of day shift, and to work more weekends. It's really a beneficial job and I'd say if you go for it, get your experience while you can and work as much as possible. I would think any VA hospital would have a SNT position, so look at their website to find the nurse recruiter. There's no benefits, you're a temp, but there's weekend/night shift differential. And it probably pays at least $12/hr depending on where you are.
muffins20
46 Posts
jfisher, try reaching a nurse recruiter at a VA for a student nurse technician position if you want more experience. You make your own hours, plus you get to work 1:1 with RN's and gain a lot of hands on experience. Usually you float too if another ward needs you to take care of a special so you get to meet a lot of people and see different care units. And at the end, the VA usually likes to hire their SNT's as RN's.