What the heck is going on in Portland right now?

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Hey everybody!

I'm a mixed discipline ICU nurse at a level two trauma center in Los Angeles California, I completed a critical care residency and as of now have ten months to my belt. As of August, I will have a complete year. I have an associates in nursing, B.A. in communications. I took a trip to Portland in February to look at homes and hospitals-

OHSU: hiring freeze. Legacy Emanuel: hiring. In fact, everybody else was hiring and I was told that my credentials would be adequate enough to get me back into critical care once I moved up to Portland during my planned time, which was end of summer.

But now- ohhhh but now- I hear legacy has a clinical hiring freeze on! It seems that all my contacts in Portland are telling me your beautiful city and surrounding hospitals has run into a hiring standstill. Say it aint so!! The odd thing is that OHSU has sooo many critical care positions listed on their employment website-what is going on?!!??

I am about to sign papers with my wife and son and go into escrow on our first house- I know I know, stupid without having a job confirmed but I don't want to apply to any Portland area hospitals until I am, at minimum, a month away from having a solid year of ICU. I was told by Legacy I wouldn't be hired without a year anyway.

Is anybody hiring? Am I going to have to work in clinics after putting so much time and energy into becoming an effective and effecient ICU nurse? I shudder to think about all the skills I'm gonna lose.

Does anybody have any info, PLEASE! I imagine the number of new grads unable to secure positions must be piling up. Even here in so-cal I have been getting called off an alarming number of times...

Thanks friends,

Sonny:o

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Specializes in O.R. (neuro) then Psychiatry..

Hey Sonny, welcome to Portland!

Just go to any agency....they are desparate for your specialty and will pay well. The best web site is Indeed.com or CareerBuilders. You have nothing to be concerned about. I would love to have your specialty background. There is NO hiring freeze..trust me.

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Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care, Gero, dementia.

Check out the VA. I believe the only positions they have open right now are critical care.

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Specializes in ICU.

You are lucky to have a year of work under your belt. New grads are having a heck of a time getting into hospitals. This spring Linfield College graduated 100+ BSNs, University of Portland graduated 200+, not to mention OHSU's BSNs plus all of the ADNs at the community colleges.

From many of the graduating seniors I have talked to, many are looking outside of Portland or out of state for positions.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry/PCU, SNF.

Hiring freeze it is. My floor usually hires a handful of new grads, usually due to turnover and people moving on, but there is none of that this year. Same thing goes for all the floors at Good Sam. The ICU there is not even doing their usual internship. It sucks for sure. None of the seniors that we had for their senior practicum have jobs and it sounds like none of their classmates do either. I have heard rumors that Salem Hospital is hiring however and the VA too. But they're just rumors.

Good Luck!

Tom

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Thanks for the info everbody-

We shall see, we shall see...

Sonny

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Specializes in telemetry.

I work at St Vincent. There is a hiring freeze over here too. What I have heard through the rumor mill is that they are only hiring a few new grads through the the providence scholar program, and no external applicants. My floor also hires a yearly batch of new grads. I have not seen any new grads on my floor this year. Only internal transferrs.

I tried to transferr over to another providence hospital a few months back. The manager said that I was more qualified than the applicants that they hired, but they were obligated to take applicants in their hospital first. Real bummer for me......

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Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.
I work at St Vincent. There is a hiring freeze over here too. What I have heard through the rumor mill is that they are only hiring a few new grads through the the providence scholar program, and no external applicants. My floor also hires a yearly batch of new grads. I have not seen any new grads on my floor this year. Only internal transferrs.

I tried to transferr over to another providence hospital a few months back. The manager said that I was more qualified than the applicants that they hired, but they were obligated to take applicants in their hospital first. Real bummer for me......

I'm at PPMC and I don't think we'll have any new grads on our unit this year either. Luckily I got my license before the end of last year before the hiring freeze!

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Specializes in Case Mgmt, Anesthesia, ICU, ER, Dialysis.

Dang. I gotta e-mail my buddy who traveled out to OHSU and ended up liking it so much he stayed. I was looking into some locums work once I finish my CRNA out there to be closer to some friends.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

My hospital too just said NO NEW GRADs, we are not on an offical hirring freeze, but there is no open job positions either. There are 3 CNA's who graduated and are RN's who can not find jobs and one gradutated almost a year ago and is still working as a CNA. It is scarry, I am worried about what is going to happen in a year when I graduate, with 7 nursing schools in the area we are a little staurated.

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Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.

I hope that whatever jobs are available go to Oregon residents first.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

that would be nice, we have new grads that my hospital wont hire, but the last two new hires were transplants from California

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