this might help you if you're sending out resumes.
you can send your resume to facilities listed on craigslist, or azcentral.com, or arizona republic, or monster.com, or jobing.com, etc. however, there are many facilities that do not advertise on those websites. how do you find those facilities? well, i went to azdhs. if a company wants to operate a facility, they must have a license in order to stay in business. the company gets approval and a license from azdhs. since azdhs is the agency that issues the license, they have the most comprehensive list available. hence, you'll have more places to send your resume.
az dept of health services has a list of the following types of facilities:
az long term care facilities
az medical facilities (includes hospitals, surgery centers, and clinics)
keep in mind, if you're a new grad, you might have to start as a cna for a few months before they give you a job as an lpn or rn. if this post has helped you, please send me a thank you. i thrive on thank yous. atta girls are nice too. -- lisa
I just posted this on the General Message Board but since we have a VA here in Arizona I thought it may be worth researching...
I am off class today and am watching TV as I clean up at home and nearly every commercial break has an advertisement from the VA Hospitals. I skimmed through it but did not see anything in AZ however just having a license in AZ you can work anywhere in the US. Anyways it may be worth looking into for some of you. Best of luck!!!
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health AdministrationUSI am just a student but I really hate seeing so many out of work and hope that even a little bit of my efforts can get you placed.
I did some more flipping through the VA website (it is very lengthy to get around) HOWEVER after scrolling for quite awhile I found a few jobs that may be well suited to NEW GRADS in Prescott. My dad is a vet and while sitting in the waiting room with him many of the other Vet's told me how wonderful the facility and care is in Prescott...
Here is one link, I saw another on a previous page!!!!!!!!!
In any position, you work under the scope of that position and license. THATS IT. If you have RN skills but are working as a CNA, you use CNA skills ONLY (since that is what the scope of wat that position entails). Also, you cannot call yourself a CNA if you are not a state licensed CNA. It gets tricky.
Here is my own example. I am an EMT. Right now I'm also a block 1 nursing student. Even though I have current EMT certification, I could not legally perform EMT skills as a block 1 nursing student because that is not in my scope of practice as an RN student.
Should somebody code with me standing next to them, and an AED is right there and I know how to use it but haven't been trained as an RN student (EMT training only) so it isn't in my scope as a student.......
that is a whole different ethical discussion & involves good samaritan laws, etc. I won't even start with it.
FYI---I attempted to go this route when I came here to AZ and started looking for a job. I am an experienced LPN...BUT when I came here I was told that Banner Health System is starting to stray away from LPNs. After that, I started applying for CNA, PCT, and MA positions. Each and every time I was within a few days marked as no longer being considered (if not immediately). I called to ask why---they said that "In the state of Arizona you cant work under your scope of practice". In that instance, I was trying to get a Medical Assistant position doing the EXACT same thing I used to do in Virginia as an LPN. They said that "It would be just like hiring an RN in an LPNs position". So...Banner...or at least the recruiter I spoke with from Banner stated they wouldnt hire you in a position any lower than your highest current licensure.
I thought that would be a good idea also, but it didnt work out for me. Good luck to those of you who try....maybe it will work. But now that I look back, I too am glad that I didnt take a PCT or CNA job and then have the constant conflict of what level of education I should function at. Maybe a Medical Assistant but not the others...patience is a virtue...Im now working...sometimes a little too much.
Well thank you ladies for all of your advise. Even though I am not the original poster. I would have done things majorly different looking back once I graduated from nursing school. I to am having a difficult time finding employment as a new grad. I got me a recruiter and moved out of Arizona with intentions of moving back once I got my year in. Well the company mis represented me and they had no job waiting for me because I had not taken my boards. I did find a job and I was very naive about the power of my preceptor. She yelled at me and talked bad about me every chance she got. She would do it in front of our patients and everyone at the nurses station. I wanted to speak up about her, but I feared that it would only upset her more and she would treat me worse and give me a bad evaluation. Well I did not speak up until it was too late. She still gave me a bad eval and continued to give me a hard time until I was fired. Nursing can be hard but I dont give up so easy and I know that this was a learning experience for me. I am growing, I just wish I was growing in Arizona I sure do miss it!
i need a little advice from some more experienced nurses... so i called her (the don) back and i was told that... they rarely hire new grad nurses... they could only offer me two weeks (6 days of orientation) and if i was still interested to let her know. what do you guys think? ... i don't have a current job. i need a job.
this is exactly the situation i'm talking about... why i started the thread in the first place.
the don is trying to tell you... read between the lines... the economy sucks, and they don't have money to train new grads. they can pay for 6 days of training. if you can do the job after 6 days of training, you stay. if not, you're gone. that is honestly what she wants to say, but she can't because of hr rules, afraid of lawsuit, tec. as a don, she's stuck too. she needs good nurses, but the company isn't willing to give her resources to train anyone.
the other people who replied to this thread talk about why a new grad rn shouldn't work as a cna, but no one is telling new grads rns how to get jobs. no one is giving any real solutions. so, as a new grad, you're stuck.
they tell you, "don't work as a cna!" but what's the other option? wait 2-3 years, wait for the economy to improve? you will forget 75% of what you learned in school. that's no good.
they tell you, "move out of state, to a facility that hires new grads." you did that already, and got seriously burned! you wrote about that already.
they tell you, "go back to school for your bsn" but everyone who can't find jobs is going back to school. it's real competitive, and you can't get into a bsn program.
chocolateskye, you're in the same situation as almost all the new grads out there. i've heard many times, "if you would have worked at our facility as a cna, you would already be mostly trained. you would know the policies and procedures, know the staff, the residents, know some charting. as a new grad rn, it costs us too much to train you. try somewhere else. sorry. good luck!"
so, what's the solution? new grads are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and no one is giving them any real way out.
RN-BSN programs in AZ are NOT hard to get into right now. For example, it's downright easy to get into the NAU RN-BSN program. They are running low on student enrollment in that program and would love applications. Other online programs are still advertising quite a bit - they must have available spots.
Everyone who moves for a job does not "get burned." Moving for a job is an opportunity.
It just seems like to me that you are making arguments that box you into one solution - your work as a CNA thing.
multicoll wrote: as a new grad... you muddle through and survive as tens of thousands of new grad nurses have before you.
no, that's not always the case. some facilities set you up for failure. sometimes you take a job, and try your hardest to learn, to make it work, and they take you off the schedule. (in essence, they fire you.)
chocolate skye wrote: my preceptor yelled at me and talked bad about me every chance she got. she would do it in front of our patients and everyone at the nurses station. i wanted to speak up about her, but i feared that it would only upset her more and she would treat me worse and give me a bad evaluation. well i did not speak up until it was too late. she still gave me a bad eval and continued to give me a hard time until i was fired.
skye, a similar thing happened to me too. i was given the absolute worst training, then told it was my fault that i wasn't meeting their expectations.
what amazes me is not that the facility hired a nurse like that...
what amazes me is that someone in charge made that woman a teacher, for training a new nurse.
at many facilities, the people at the top don't seem to care whether or not new grads succeed.
trust me... many other new grads have had nightmare training experiences. they just don't talk about it, or write about it here in the forums.
LTC/SNF jobs are plentiful for New Grad RNs in Arizona at least, and they pay well. Both my wife and I are new grads, once we settled for non acute care positions it was easy.
LTC/SNF jobs are plentiful for New Grad RNs in Arizona at least, and they pay well. Both my wife and I are new grads, once we settled for non acute care positions it was easy.
That is really good to hear. At least there are new grad jobs SOMEWHERE! Congratulations.
OCD_Mom
179 Posts
I just posted this on the General Message Board but since we have a VA here in Arizona I thought it may be worth researching...
I am off class today and am watching TV as I clean up at home and nearly every commercial break has an advertisement from the VA Hospitals. I skimmed through it but did not see anything in AZ however just having a license in AZ you can work anywhere in the US. Anyways it may be worth looking into for some of you. Best of luck!!!
http://www.vacareers.va.gov/vacareers_Jobs.cfm