Starting ADN Program, Will I Get Hired?

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.

Dear Nurse Beth,

I recently got accepted in an ADN program in our community college. I am married with 2 kids and I know if I decide to do this, it will be a big commitment. My question is, are there still hospitals in Houston, Texas willing to accept RNs?

Dear Married with Kids,

Congratulations!!

It is a big commitment and you've passed your first hurdles, completing your pre-reqs and being accepted. Community college based ADN programs are still an affordable way to earn your nursing license.

Once you get your RN, you can plan to return and earn your BSN. There are many options for doing this, including online programs designed for adult learners.

I'm not familiar with the job market in Houston, but while a BSN is preferred in many areas, there still are opportunities for the ADN nurse.

During your clinical rotations in various hospitals, network and get to know the charge nurses and managers. In my book below, I explain how to reach out to the nurse manager in a memorable way while you are a student nurse.

I call it auditioning for your first nursing job while a student. Managers prefer to hire people they know over people they don't know.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!

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Specializes in Telemetry, Med-Surg, Peds.

I don't know how it is in Texas, but in Arizona every single one of my class mates (40 in all) graduated with their ADN, passed NCLEX and got a job. Some, while still in school, and others less than 5 months after graduating and passing NCLEX. Many went on to RN-BSN and RN-MSN programs.

I chose ADN because it was affordable and I finished and had my ADN within 18 months. I am now working on my MSN.

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I’m an ADN and have not found a hospital job yet. Most require BSNs here in Houston. I resorted to home health. Make an effort to network with students, nurse managers, and nurses with do clinical with. That should help a lot. I wish I would have done that. Also, apply to the new grad programs as early as possible and start applying for jobs before you graduate. As for me, I feel like I’ve wasted my life away. I’m enrolling in a RN- BSN program soon. Hopefully I’ll find a job then...

good luck!

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On 5/22/2019 at 9:56 AM, Chazzie_Made_It said:

I don't know how it is in Texas, but in Arizona every single one of my class mates (40 in all) graduated with their ADN, passed NCLEX and got a job. Some, while still in school, and others less than 5 months after graduating and passing NCLEX. Many went on to RN-BSN and RN-MSN programs.

I chose ADN because it was affordable and I finished and had my ADN within 18 months. I am now working on my MSN.

Hey there! Sorry not to hijack the OP, but I'm also in AZ, I'm glad to hear that you all were able to get jobs so quickly. If you don't mind me asking are you in the Phoenix valley area? I'm just starting to apply to the Maricopa program and have been trying to decide between just the ADN or doing their concurrent enrollment program to get my BSN at the same time. I already have a BSW, so another bachelors is something I would like to avoid. Thanks!

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.
9 hours ago, CamMc said:

Hey there! Sorry not to hijack the OP, but I'm also in AZ, I'm glad to hear that you all were able to get jobs so quickly. If you don't mind me asking are you in the Phoenix valley area? I'm just starting to apply to the Maricopa program and have been trying to decide between just the ADN or doing their concurrent enrollment program to get my BSN at the same time. I already have a BSW, so another bachelors is something I would like to avoid. Thanks!

It's important to get your BSN to have almost any options besides clinical bedside nursing.

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2 hours ago, Nurse Beth said:

It's important to get your BSN to have almost any options besides clinical bedside nursing.

Thanks, I guess what I am trying to decide is if I will be able to find a job as an RN with my ADN while I work on getting a BSN or potentially an MSN since I have a bachelors in a different field; or if I should just focus on doing the concurrent program that will result in me graduating with my RN and BSN at essentially the same time.

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1 hour ago, CamMc said:

If possible, go for the BSN

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

If you have the option, always go for the BSN. ASN is a viable pathway, but becomes less desirable every year.

Houston, DFW, Corpus Christi, Austin and San Antonio all have a glut of new grad nurses. This means there isn't an acute care (hospital) job available for every new grad RN that wants one. Therefore the standard of hiring has gone to BSN only as a first-line method of weeding out applicants. Some hospitals in some areas will still hire an ADN with a contract commitment to have BSN obtained by a certain time, usually two years. Some will only hire ADNs if they are already an internal job candidate (ie working as a tech through school). This too, though is fading away. None of the hospitals I have worked at in the last five years will hire new grad ASNs into their internship programs.

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Specializes in Dialysis.

Check your local hospital's hiring boards for an exact answer

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 1:21 PM, Hoosier_RN said:

Check your local hospital's hiring boards for an exact answer

Unfortunately several of the DFW hospitals will either not divulge they are only hiring BSN or they will put an allowance in for ASN, but not divulge that this is only for internal candidates.

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On 6/3/2019 at 6:29 AM, Nurse SMS said:

Unfortunately several of the DFW hospitals will either not divulge they are only hiring BSN or they will put an allowance in for ASN, but not divulge that this is only for internal candidates.

To add to your point about ADN's being hired in the hospital, this is true. I work at a hospital here in Dallas and was told by one of the nurses who just finished the internship that out of the 40 or so graduates that were present, only two were ADN's. I know one of them was a tech on my old floor and I worked with her so she currently works on the floor now as a nurse. I'm not sure what affiliation the other one had but that was it! So yeah, unless you are in the hospital as an internal candidate and can talk and network with others, its really difficult to get in or stay in with the ADN.

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I think the program has changed some, but WGU has a RN-to-BSN program. I got a job in LTC (a job is a requirement for the program) and finished my BSN in less than six months. I started applying for jobs in a hospital the day I finished my program.

As an added bonus, the program cost me around $3500.

The negative was that I was not eligible for the new grad program but I survived.

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