Nursing Jobs

[hugabearjo]

I graduate in June with my RN. I picked nursing because you hear of the shortage and jobs everywhere. Well a lot has changed in 2 year since I started and now they are telling us there are no jobs to be had. I am so discouraged. I have done my practicum this term in the NICU and I love it. Any NICU nurses out there that have ideas on how to make myself more marketable and ahead of the pack? I am also willing to relocate if necessary it wouldn't be my first choice as I have kids in high school and they will go but it would be hard on them.

Are there nursing jobs in general in your area? How do you stand out in the crowd to get hired?

I am a single mom so going per diem scares me, however I really don't even know much about that. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks-

Jo

 

[ekatiel]

My DH is an NP. We live in Houston. There are many nursing jobs available here (Houston has the world's largest medical center). If you end up considering relocation, I'd put Houston on your list. --Katie

 

[Deb & Bill]

Check out USA Jobs. The VA is always looking for more nurses. Except not much of a need for Neonatal with the VA.

 

[bennyrn12]

That happened here last year. They werent hiring any new grads at the hospital I worked at not because there werent any jobs but because there was a hiring freeze due to the economy. Here in Rochester we have a TON of nursing schools so we tend to be more saturated with nurses but there are always jobs to be had. As far as making yourself more marketable I would just be yourself and make sure your love for the NICU comes through. I dont know if your NICU hires new grads, I know the one here doesnt but if you make it known you want to work in NICU they will put you on a peds floor to get the experience then will let you transfer. Good luck and congrats on making it through nursing school!

 

[Kellydelly]

I live in Metro Detroit and there are new grads being hired. Even some without their licenses. I personally think adding my new license number to my apps finally got me an interview and my first job. I graduated in December and was applying for jobs a couple months before I finished. I graduated with 26 classmates and I think only 6 don't have a job yet. The job offered to me wasn't one I really wanted (I was applying everywhere for any and all units) and I struggled with the decision to take it or not (I was literally making myself sick because I was so not interested). I finally sucked it up and accepted it because I wasn't sure what else would come along for me. Hopefully I will end up liking it (just started orientation). It isn't a nursing home, like two of my classmates are working at, so I did end up in a hospital like I preferred. I honestly don't know what made my application stand out, I don't have much medical background (worked as a nurse tech for 11 months the last year of school) and I had a ten year gap without employement (having babies). I don't have a long work history with any of my former employers either. I just got lucky that someone decided to call and give me an interview.

I don't think you can even work per diem or contingent without a year's experience, so I wouldn't worry about ending up with a job like that at this point. Start applying now, if you haven't already! Get your license as soon as you can after graduation. I hope you don't have to relocate to find a job.

 

[MomRN]

I live in Indiana. My town has two hospitals and several other opportunities, but the big one was one hospital added a new building and is adding staff like crazy. NICU is harder to get into though because we don't have a major NICU in the area, they all go to Indy, and from what I understand it takes a little experience to get on there.

 

[jackie101]

I am a newer RN I graduated Dec of 2008 and finding my first job took a few months. I didn't want to work at a nursing home if possible. I got hired at a acute rehab hospital & I am still working there & love it. Check nursing homes & rehab hospitals they are more likely to hire a new grad

 

[npierce25]

I graduate with my RN June 25th, and I'm going through the same thing. I live in pittsburgh, and go to a UPMC school. they paid for my schooling and I have to work for them for 2 years, but havent found a job yet. I have my 8 weeks of transitions left, I really want to work in ped's or post-partum. I wish you luck as well!!!!!!

 

[meg_twittles]

My advice to you is to apply to a teaching hospital that has a NICU. I think you may have more of a chance getting hired as a new grad if you were to apply at a teaching one. I started out in one over 7 years ago. I did not work in the NICU but it was a level 1 trauma center and I learned so much. Good luck to you

 

[SarahKate]

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation!

I live in the central part of IL and can definitely tell you we NEED nurses around here. I am not a nurse but I have worked at one since 1995 in the employee education department.

What I've seen a lot of over the years is that a LOT of nursing students want to go into OB/GYN areas, as well as Pediatrics. Unfortunately, that makes it harder to find a position in those areas.

Have you looked for other nursing positions? My feeling is that you're probably going to need to "get over" the thought of starting out in the NICU and get your feet wet in a more general nursing area and then you can work your way around. I would think that the NICU is going to want experienced nurses.

Also, one thing that I've heard consistently at my hospital is that when you're first starting out you won't have the greatest choice of shifts - so you may end up on nights/evenings in the beginning. Every other weekend is usually a normal thing as well.

As far as per diem nursing goes, there are a LOT of them at our hospital. As a per diem nurse, you normally don't receive benefits like insurance or vacation time. BUT, one perk is that you'll make a significantly higher wage per hour. At our hospital, per diem employees can still qualify for things such as tuition reimbursement and our yearly year-end "bonus" but it's all dependent upon how many hours the employee works in a given year. In your situation, per diem nursing may not be a good route for you since you would need a steady income and assumably health benefits.

Good luck to you!!!!

 

[Ladybugsy]

This is upsetting news since my son just decided on a Nursing program. I've told him he would always have a job, and be in demand, and now it looks like I was mistaken .

 

[SarahKate]

Ladybusgsy, don't be discouraged. There ARE jobs to be had out there.....it's just that you can't always start out in the exact area of nursing that one would want. I think that's hard sometimes because nursing students will have a certain area they want to focus on but then when they graduate they can't get a job in THAT special area.....have to have realistic expectations and not get one's hopes up!

Nurses are definitely in hot demand right now. But it can also be a regional thing, depending upon the economy in that given area.

I'll tell you that the hospital I work at has had its BEST financial years ever this past year (and the hospital has been around well over 100 years!) and we are always looking for nurses. And we even have a couple of local nursing schools but we're still not saturated. The hospitals are even working on a way to expand the nursing programs so that they can accommodate MORE students. The other hospital in our community has even had to hire nurses from the Phillipines!

If your son is still single, one thing he might also consider is travel nursing. I've encountered several travel nurses who LOVE their job. They might live in Hawaii for a year, CA for a year, they go all over the country. Not ideal for a single parent or someone who's married, but for a young single person it's great!

Nursing isn't going anywhere.....it's not a position that can be replaced with computers, which is a good thing!

 

[clowe247]

Been a RN for 20 yrs. Moved in Sept of last yr. No jobs in Jefferson City Mo for RNS. So drive to STL every weekend to work, butttttttttt been getting canceled every weekend due to low pt count... What do you do..... I can't see how people say there is a nursing shortage?????? Maybe its the colleges gimmic to keep money and students coming in the doors????????

 

[hugabearjo]

Thanks for the responses. I am not looking to go into NICU straight away. I just stated I love it. Some day, I hope to land there. I just want a job at this point. Any job. I am traditionally a night person so graves would be great. Our market is just that each job no matter the department has many many qualified applicants. I am praying not to have to relocate, but I am thankful to hear that there are jobs out there. Houston sounds interesting I actually have a cousin who lives in Houston so that might not be a bad choice.

Thanks again for the responses. I will have to look at all aspects. I don't think around here per diem nurses have to have experience because that is how I have been told I might have to start to get my foot in the door. It is just scary to not know what your schedule is or what to count on for bills when you are a single mom and sole provider. I may have to walk in faith a bit more and do it. Just scares me as to if I could make enough to cover the basics for my family.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I also live near Pittsburgh and as a pp stated there aren't many jobs here for new grads. When I graduated 20 years ago, the hospitals were wining and dining us to get us to come work for them.

We have many hospitals here but also many nursing schools . I think with all the nurses who didn't work for years deciding to come back as well as all the nursing students, the jobs aren't there.

 

[ekatiel]

Here's a link to a video about the Texas Medical Center in Houston: http://www.texasmedicalcenter.org/root/en/GetToKnow/TMCVideo/Largest+Medical+Center+Video+HD+English.htm

As PP have said, it will be eaiser to get hired if you already have your license. If you are looking to begin employment before you have your license, then you will need to apply now, b/c most hospitals here only hire a certain number of GN's as a "cohort". Once you have your RN license, there will be more jobs available to you. If you are interested in Houston, I would start with some of the main hospitals like: Methodist, St. Luke's, Memorial Hermann, Texas Children's Hospital, Texas Women's Hospital, and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Goood luck with your search! --Katie

 

[eliza61]

I live in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area. For my area the problem is not they don't need nurses (hospitals are very short staffed) it's that many hospitals went on a total hiring freeze due to the economy. I've heard slowly that they are begininng to pick up the pace. If you can get the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday (try online) they have a huge health care employment section. That may be a good start.

 

[antmaril]

This is upsetting news since my son just decided on a Nursing program. I've told him he would always have a job, and be in demand, and now it looks like I was mistaken .

This worries me, too. My son is starting an accelerated second degree nursing program on May 10th. He will have his BSN in one year. He already has a BS in Biology. We live in the Detroit area and this economy is really rough. We were hopeful that nursing would be a good choice for him. Obviously, nothing is ever a sure thing.

I hope the economy improves a little by the time he graduates in May, 2011.

 

[MomRN]

In my experience, anyone who already had a foot in the door at graduation (worked as an aide or an intern) was pretty much guarenteed a job pre- licensure. The hospital also offered to pay for boards, and I know of hospitals that even pay for NCLEX review courses, even though mine did not. For any nursing students out there, that would be my number one suggestion- get experience. Number 2 would be to make the best grades possible- stay ahead of the pack- but that's not always possible with doing #1 also.

 

[kirstykids]

I have been a NICU RN in Boston for 11 years now and am happy to have gotten a position. When I graduated, there were no jobs available unless you had experience. My advice is to lower your goals to gain experience. I was lucky to have gotten a job at a Rehab Hospital because I worked there for 3 months as a student. I worked there for 1 year and then took a job on an adult floor in the Boston Hospital that I am at now. Finally after a year of that, I got into the NICU. Just be patient and build your resume.