THANK YOU to experienced nurses, from a new grad

[Lisa From Maui]

i start nursing school - again - january 11, 2010. yipee! so, i doubt i'll have time to look at these boards for awhile.

i want to take a minute and say thank you to every nurse - who now works (or recently has worked) in hawai'i - who has posted messages here - on this allnurses.com hawai'i forum - in the last year.

you all have helped me get through my first year initiation on this rock. the universe (spirit, higher power) dropped a job in dear husband's lap. i got two weeks work experience on the mainland, then quit because dh got a job offer here. we moved here in january 2009. i left behind many things that were important to me, because my marriage to my hunny bunny - aamylove - dweeb - goober - love of my life - best friend - is more important to me than the other stuff i tearfully left behind.

twelve months living on maui, and still no job. i beat (past tense) myself up for the first six months i was here. what's wrong with me? how am i screwed up? what am i doing wrong? i would be condemning myself, even today, if it wasn't for you all. windwardoahurn, thank you especially. you've got alot of experience, and you post alot.

you all have helped me realize that i'm not a failure. it's not me. it's the economy. worst economy in hawai'i in 20 years. no one is hiring new grads. 30 students graduate from a local nursing school, and

koi wrote: it is very difficult to "make it" in hawaii without a support network. if you are an outsider without contacts, friends, or family to help you out, you probably won't last beyond a couple of years here. those who lack the aforementioned support networks but do survive here posses the following characteristics: resilience, independence, cultural tolerance, emotional and cognitive flexibility, and an ability to make friends quickly. oh, and tremendous motivation to make a life here--as if the captain burned the ships after making landfall on an explored continent-type of motivation. most people don't have these qualities.

you all helped me realize that employers don't want to give newcomers a job until they've lived here a year, at least. they don't want to spend lots of money training someone, only to have the employee say, "sorry, have to quit. i'm moving back to the mainland, can't make it here."

attention all new grads: i have a hawai'i lpn license. i still haven't found a job as an lpn, can't even find work as a cna. i haven't been able to find volunteer work, working as a receptionist at a community health-care clinic, who serves the working poor. i want to be surrounded by medicine terms, so i don't forget the stuff i learned in school. my husband has a good paying job, so i'm willing to work for free. when i call, they say, "we're not taking any new volunteers." i think it's because the non-profits don't have staff to train a volunteer, then have that volunteer leave. closed doors everywhere.

the first year has been tough financially, too. we charged up credit cards to move here. we didn't have much spending $ because we were paying off all our credit cards. today, zero balance on the cards. our first year here, we were also spending money to furnish our condo. today, condo mostly furnished. this past year, all we did was snorkel, because snorkel gear is cheap. now that the credit cards are paid off, and the condo is furnished, we have $ to put towards buying fun stuff.

last week, we bought a $700 two-person kayak. we now have two things to do at the beach, snorkel and kayak. in another six months, we'll probably have money for stand up paddle boards, or scuba gear, or kite surfing, or something. my point: it's harder to enjoy the ocean when you don't have $ to buy equipment. as time goes by, we have money to buy equipment, so we have more stuff to do, more ways to enjoy the ocean. it's taken a year, but it's getting better. after 11 months, 29 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes, i'm now starting to somewhat understand why people love it here.

so, again, mahalo, mahalo, mahalo, for helping me get through my first year on this rock. i'm starting school, will start to move forward in my career, and hope the rock will turn back to an island again.

if you want to get in touch with me, send me either a private message or an email.

a hui hou! -- lisa ;-)

[paacollins]

What a sweet post. I hope things work out for you soon dear. It's hard in all the states I think and, according to a friend in Canada, its not that great there. When most of my friends graduated in 2008, they had their pick of jobs. What a difference a year makes.