Starting all over again?

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Well, after 30 plus years as a Registered Nurse I am unemployed. I graduated from a diploma program in 1983 and never had difficulty finding a job. I chose where and when I wanted to work. I worked as a bedside med-surg nurse, charge nurse, home health nurse. I worked as an aesthetic nurse performing hair removal and facials. I did private duty nursing with special needs kids at home and at school. I even have certification in wound care. I started out as a critical care nurse in the beginning of my career. I have tons of experience in different settings. But now, I have been unemployed since May. I have applied to several positions with no response from potential employers. Some employment listings even say that so many years of experience can be considered for the education requirement. I am re-evaluating my goals and trying to decide if this is the time I can move out of nursing and find another passion. I am going to make the best of this situation no matter what. Back to school for a BSN or some other field? Anyone else in this situation?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

Would it be rude to ask why you've been unemployed since May? I've always kept a foot-in-the-door backup. With your years of experience, I can't help but to be curious as to how this came to be. Of course, I won't be offended if you choose not to disclose the reason.

As for the BSN, I just completed mine this very week. My current PRN job, when I asked about full time pay), said they will only count 3 years of my 24 LPN years, which would amount to $2/hr less than I made as an LPN. I literally laughed at the hiring manager as I told her that I have not gone to school for an additional 4-5 years to make $2/hr less than I was making BEFORE receiving my RN license. Another facility told me that they don't distinguish between ASN and BSN pay and although they still have ASN RNs and LPNs in their facility, they "prefer" BSNs.

I say all of this to say that as an ASN RN who found yourself being unemployed for whatever the reason, you are at their mercy now, depending on your area.

Also, another factor might be your age. When you're already up against BSN-prepared nurses, it doesn't really help that most of these nurses are so much younger than we are and are probably considered more agile. I know there are some days that I get up and realize that I left my hip sitting back in the chair. For the most part, I'm very active. But I do believe that if I ever am without work BEFORE there is a steady income already in the mail, I will be be in the same situation as you are now.

Good do luck, though. There are still opportunities out there. My goal is to get out of this hospital and into community/public health nursing.

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I worked at my last job for 8 years and felt pretty secure (not a good idea now in hind sight). I worked in a unique setting of corrections. I worked Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 430. No weekends. Holidays if I chose to. Med surg type setting. I choose NOT to work in a hospital- 12 hour shifts, weekends, rotating BLAH! I guess I have limited myself Yes, I choose to leave that to the young-uns. Congrats on your BSN.

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I feel like you should seriously look into other type of nursing than to stick with the average hospital environment. Look into travel nursing, community nursing, and school nursing. There are many more options you can do. If not you can always see if you can specialize into something specific or if not nursing get a minor into something that can get you an easy job. There is always another door waiting to be open.

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Specializes in ICU.

HippiechikRN, it is probably just your area or even the time of year. I know a lot of hospitals post jobs they really have no intention of hiring anyone from the outside for; my hospital has had the same jobs posted for several years. They are only serious about hiring when the census stays high. We have diploma nurses, ADNs and LPNs, too. I don't think newer nurses realize how much education a diploma nurse has; the diploma programs in my area were 3 years in length, and those nurses came out ready to work. Today, the BSNs require a lengthy orientation, and I constantly hear, "we didn't learn that in school," or "they said we would learn that on the job." The diploma nurse needs little orientation, in my experience. Good luck with your job search; don't sell yourself short, either. Something will turn up.

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We have had similar careers.

I came onto my dream job (age 60) through a large staffing agency. Have you tried these or local nurse staffing agencies?

Does your resume list your core competencies and do you tailor it to include "key" words to the position you are applying for?

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Specializes in ED, Long-term care, MDS, doctor's office.

I feel your pain. Having worked my way up: CNA for 6 years, LPN for 17 years, ASN RN for 4 years now, I am currently at age 50 finally working my dream job as an Emergency Department nurse after applying and being rejected by every local hospital for the first 3 years of my RN degree. I am grateful for having the opportunity to finally be working my dream; however, sadly, the price I have paid is too high. I am deep in debt for student loans and I do not make significantly more money than I did as LPN. In some ways, I make less because the opportunity for overtime is almost nonexistent. I also drive an hour each way for 4 days a week (10 hour shifts). This costs me approx $400 in gas + 8 hours a week of drive time. I now am faced with the tough decision to go back for a BSN, because it will soon be required for my employment. That means more student loan debt with no increase in income. Yes, my employer would pay for it in exchange for a long commitment to them. My desire is to stay here in Indiana for a couple more years and then move somewhere warmer, so I do not want to be obligated. Everything I have done has been great personal accomplishment for me; however, to do all over again, I would have just been content with my LPN. I agree that age coupled with no BSN is probably your barrier to getting a job. I doubt if there are any other fields in which you will be able to make as much money as you can as a nurse, so if I were you, I would probably go for the BSN and if you do have to take out a student loan, plan on changing the payment to Income contingent whenever you retire so you can afford the payment. This is probably my plan.

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Here at the ANA and ANCC, we could care less about how we are aiding at trashing the careers of great nurses.

We are mostly interested in today's nurses being able to write silly papers and learn to get their name in print like we have! You see, to us nursing is about research and writing papers in a effort to "elevate" the profession.

Because we are academic types, or glorified school teachers, we are great at writing papers and we figured that we could get rid of almost everyone 40 and over by not grandfathering anyone like every other profession and simply making the content of ADN-BSN programs so ridiculously stupid that hardly anyone above 40 would go back to school and deal with it. We realize how much easier it is to program the minds of today's youth to our way of thinking.

We also found a great way to push minorities out of nursing that clawed their way out of their situations and completed ADN programs. We have forced them back into inner-city hospitals that don't ever have the money to go magnet.

Thank you and please join the ANA!

P.S. Please don't call your manager "Your manager." We sat in many focus groups and committees to coin the term "Nurse Leader." We even have evidence that simply referring to your manager as "nurse leader" improves patient care. We hope to present that data soon in a journal article but we must 1st do research by reading other people's papers. We will present in APA format of course.

Thank you and don't forget to join the ANA.

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

Op, can you go into wound nursing or do as others say and join a temp or travel agency for the time being?

My guess the lack of BSN is what is holding you back, especially if you are in an area of over saturation of new grads.

I recently graduated with my BSN. Part of me wanted to obtain a higher education, write those papers and learn more (which I did), and the other part looked at the degree as a strategic move to keep myself safe from the IOM/BSN in 2020.

Good luck and I hope you find something soon.

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
Here at the ANA and ANCC, we could care less about how we are aiding at trashing the careers of great nurses.

We are mostly interested in today's nurses being able to write silly papers and learn to get their name in print like we have! You see, to us nursing is about research and writing papers in a effort to "elevate" the profession.

Because we are academic types, or glorified school teachers, we are great at writing papers and we figured that we could get rid of almost everyone 40 and over by not grandfathering anyone like every other profession and simply making the content of ADN-BSN programs so ridiculously stupid that hardly anyone above 40 would go back to school and deal with it. We realize how much easier it is to program the minds of today's youth to our way of thinking.

We also found a great way to push minorities out of nursing that clawed their way out of their situations and completed ADN programs. We have forced them back into inner-city hospitals that don't ever have the money to go magnet.

Thank you and please join the ANA!

P.S. Please don't call your manager "Your manager." We sat in many focus groups and committees to coin the term "Nurse Leader." We even have evidence that simply referring to your manager as "nurse leader" improves patient care. We hope to present that data soon in a journal article but we must 1st do research by reading other people's papers. We will present in APA format of course.

Thank you and don't forget to join the ANA.

I don't think the paper writing and research is silly at all. There is much to learn past an ADN degree (held one for over 20 years).

Secondly nursing NEEDS to elevate the profession. In fact it needs a complete tune-up and over-haul. We ARE the least educated of all health care professionals (RN and above) and unless we change our educational mindset, like and respect each other, nursing has nowhere to go but backwards. Even Florence figured that one out.

I DO agree that nurses should be grandfathered in and the recent generation, the late forty-something nurse, should be allowed to retire with their ADN. They should not feel pressured to obtain a higher nursing degree unless they choose to go back to school.

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As an older second career person, I have encountered blatant age discrimination. There is no getting around that. The only advice I could give at this point, other than consider relocating now for any viable offer, is to pursue the BSN. Don't look at the BSN in terms of not paying off salary-wise. Look at the BSN as a help in obtaining and securing employment. Best wishes.

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