Thinking about quitting grad year.... can you get a job with 6 months experience?

[ninx72]

Hi guys, this is my first time posting here. I am a new grad, working in qld. I have a job in a high acuity surgical ward, and really enjoy it, have learnt SOO much after just 9 weeks, and am so thankful to have actually gotten a job this year, as many of my nursing friends didnt manage to get a grad position. But I'm from nz, and miss home so much after a few years in australia! I have another 10 months to go til I finish my grad year, but am considering leaving in 4 months time, before I start my second rotation. Do you think it would be possible to get a job in new zealand (auckland) with only 6 months post-grad RN experience?? Any advice would be great :)

[wendyday]

Hi, I am a Nurse Educator in NZ. You really need to try and complete your graduate year if you can. This may mean that you will need to stay where you are however some hospitals in NZ take Midyear intakes. The job market is a little tight so this may or may not happen this year. However my employer is intending to have a midyear graduate intake at this point so there is hope. Have a look and make some enquiries if you can find a place you are still elligable to enter an NZ New graduate programme. Hope this helps, good luck.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR GRAD YEAR!!

Sorry to sound harsh but your grad year - especially critical care experience is absolutely invaluable to your nursing career! It will stand you in good stead for the rest of your working life as a nurse.

You could contact some of the bigger nursing agencies who hire for NZ, and ask them if you can go there with 6 months, but it would be a real shame if you don't do the 12 months. You will be missing out on so many invaluable learning opportunities.

Ask if you can take a 2 week leave to fly home and see your family, or even for a week, say it's for some sort of family leave (don't lie though and say it's a funeral or something too dramatic). Look you are just feeling homesick and it IS awful, but when I was younger I gave up my first year of nursing after about 9-10 months and I sooooo regretted it. Now I'm older it has been harder getting that critical care experience. I too had to move to Perth and it was very hard being away from family, but I did it.

If you haven't got any friends or don't know many people in QLD where you are, start joining clubs or networking, or even do some voluntary work on your days off. Really explore the area and try to find things you really like doing, or relaxing such as yoga and pilates, going to museums, take up art work perhaps?

Do not give up your first year. I did and I regret it to this day (though I am a RN now), I wasted a lot of time re-training etc.

Critical care experience will give you a great grounding for any other area of nursing you want to go into later.

Let us know what you decide or do so we can continue to support you if you need it. But do look into taking a short holiday home and you will come back feeling refreshed and not so depressed I think.

Good luck!

[ceridwyn]

What Carol suggests is good, having a break to go home to look forward too and help you finish the year.

Talk to your grad co-ordinator.....I did, and was given shortened weeks to get over my problems, most of them are like mothers,sometimes fathers, and they want you to do well.

Co-ordinating the grad year is not just about making sure the clinical skills of nursing are being done well, but making sure the transition into shift work and the profession are also being handled okay.

Approach your grad co-ord and tell them how it is going! might get a week or so off then you can return or talking about this problem with them, may uncover other problems making you feel this way. Good luck

[sydneymum14]

Yes, although I'm not there yet it sounds sensible to me to finish it..when you look long term especially. I think that you would regret it.

[sairin8]

I missed out on the new grad program in Chch and am working as an RN. However, I am not able to get into the specialties I'd like as I don't have enough experience to get in. This leaves me with the hard to staff areas (and there's a reason they are hard to staff - not popular at all) such as aged care. I don't have the luxury of working with other nurses, I am senior person on duty every time I work and yet it is harder to get into the jobs I want because I haven't done NetP. (Still, if I stay in the areas I'm in, the government might just pay off some of my student loan for me - voluntary bonding scheme :) )

Basically what I'm trying to say is that it is possible to get to where you want to go without finishing the new grad program, it is MUCH easier if you have it behind you.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

OP how are you going? Please let us know if you need anymore help.

Don't keep your loneliness or problems bottled up inside, email me if you need more help!