Will Be Graduating Soon...Needs advice.

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I am a permanent resident of the USA and reside in California. I went back to the Philippines to study nursing and by 2011 next year I will be graduating. I will be coming back to the US for good to get my license and to practice my profession. Any advice for a soon to be novice? What are the best states/cities for me to find good work? What good options do I have? I hear that demand for nurses will boom again starting next year.

Thank You! Your help is appreciated :)

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I would love to know where you heard there will be a boom starting next year.

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Starting 2011 a lot of baby boomer nurses will be reaching their legal retirement age so supposedly hospitals and employers will be trying to fill in the spaces they leave.

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However, they aren't forced to retire. My parents will be of "legal age" ;-). They're not retiring, either...

Doubting the boom will be soon, sorry...

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Well according to Registered Nurses nursing job opportunities should be excellent. However, it seems that a lot of the posts that i read on the forums say otherwise. Why the different views? Are they trying to paint a much brighter picture of the situation then?

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

That is probably referring more to RNs who are already experienced; it's not as rosy for new grads because new grads are expensive to train. Hospitals are cutting budgets, and they are cutting training dollars for new grads. On the surface, it always sounds good: nursing schools overflowing + the RN shortage. But the reality is quite different.

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Competition for new graduate RN positions remains very tight. I am close friends with many nursing recruiters. One hospital in DC received 1100 applications for 50 new graduate positions this year. Another (Duke) started accepting applications for new grads on February 1st, and closed off receiving applications 3 days later after they had received 400 applications.

Although many nurses are of retirement age, they are not leaving their jobs. Retirement funds have also been hit with this economy, and many people in all professions cannot afford to retire.

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there are openings in southern california right now for new grads, i hope there will more demands for nurses later this year or next year

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btw where in cali r you from?

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@kimju: San Diego but i plan to work in some other city. LA or San Francisco perhaps

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Because of the economy, more and more RNs are staying on the job longer and pushing back retirement. Some experienced RNs who might have left for personal reasons are coming back looking for work because of the economy or because their spouse lost their jobs.

In addition, new grads are a big investment for the hospital; they cost time and money. Hospitals worry about new grads leaving after 1 or 2 years of working at the hospital, w/c results in loss of the time and money invested by them. On the other hand, I believe that New Grads are a GREAT investment, and as soon as the opportunity to hire them (budget, open positions) presents itself, hospitals WILL. The problem you have then is the THOUSANDS of new grads (and old grads) applying for these few openings.

My advice is to look for New Grad Programs/Residencies in the area you would like to work since you will be graduating soon! Many of these programs only accept applicants for a short period of time. Have people ready to write you recommendation letters for these programs. Do all you can to gain experience while in school to build a strong resume (volunteer, extern, etc.). Goodluck!

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