Tought job, but good luck

It is a different world for new grads since '09.

I don't recommend people go into nursing right now.

Fly fishing? Pheasant hunting? Antelope? Snow mobiles? Off-road adventures? Camping?

My girlfriend has been a home health nurse (bs in nursing ) for about 8 years.  She applied at several hospitals and they said she didn't have enough experience.  It's nuts around here.  Same for LEO jobs.

we live outside of the N. Platte area. You will meet some really cool people. Libs are few and far between.
when you venture into the prairre and canyon land watch out for rattlesnakes!!!!!

We really don't get enough snow to justify a snowmobile. most of our moisture comes late spring & early summer. Everyone that lives out of town
has a 4 wheeler. {atv}

Congrats!
My girl does the three 12 hour shifts and loves it.

If you do one thing, and one thing only...

SAVE YOUR MONEY!

Too many people turning sixty these days realizing they forgot this important detail for the past 40 years and are now looking to make it on social security alone in a few years.  Start early, start now.  Putting it off 10 years will cost you potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.

ETA:  Oh yeah, congrats!  

That's the first thing I thought, too.  My sister got a job at a local hospital immediately following her graduation.  And I see numerous nursing jobs advertised all the time in the local paper.





 

Congrats on the new gig, hope it goes well for you.  




 

Very cool.

Good job and good luck!

I say buckle down and pay off all debt.. Then look into becoming

a nurse anesthetist.  



 

I thought nursing was one of those "in demand" professions.

Glad you finally landed a job bud, but you could of signed with a travel agency been making bank for the last 2yrs.  What the hell was you waiting for, it's not that bad leaving mama and the friends behind to go grow up and make damn good money.  On the flip side all that bullshit they teach you in Nursing school does'nt really apply to real world work environments so the fact you prolly dont remember jack shit is OK!!

So the nursing market really is flooded now? All those commercials make it seem like you get your ASN and you're golden.

Congratulations!

Did you read the post where he said that he had been working as a soda delivery driver the past two years?  He moved to Nebraska a few months ago to try his luck out there.  Seems to have worked out for the OP.

I did but a fucking soda driver aint gonna make what a RN can especially while traveling........My point is there are many other markets for RN's out there that are in dire need and pay big fucking dollars for it!!  You wann ask me how I know??

North Platte ain't too bad wind keeps the riff raff out LOL

Congrats, OP. I too got a job recently, and I also relocated to a new state (Tx). I start on Monday.
 

Congratulations !! Productive tax-payers are welcome sights these days


My bennys are just kicking in with the company I hired into a couple months ago . After a slow year in 2011 , and months without any income , my bills are all caught up finally  and I'm looking into buying more guns and ammo once again ( instead of contemplating which I might have to sell )

It's a great feeling , enjoy !!

I don't fault the OP for not wanting to leave his AO.



 

Give it your all, do well, and from now on you will be applying from the inside.

It amazes me the lack of understanding people have about new grad nurses in this economy.  Travel nursing requires experience.  You'd be hard pressed to find an agency to take on a new grad without at least a year experience, and if they did, you'd more than likely fuck up and risk your license.  Part-time or graveyard for nursing?  Hahahaha.  Yeah right.  Maybe some locales, but around here nurse are being laid off and having their pay cut like crazy.  Hospitals are looking for experience only and with low census you're lucky to get a full weeks work.  They don't hire outsiders mostly because of the cost associated with new hires who often quit before training even ends.

Nursing homes?  Perhaps, I've never worked as an RN in one, but RN jobs aren't the free job ticket they once were.  I know a new grad who has put in over 300 apps in 4 states since he passed his NCLEX in January.  A good majority are new grad programs.  Wanna know what they say?  "We're looking for more experienced or qualified candidates".  The guy was an EMT for 7 years and has nothing holding him back from being hired that I know of.  

Out of his whole class, only 3 managed to get hospital jobs and one got his because his mother is an admin at the facility.  He then in turn helped another classmate get a job because they were close friends.  The rest moved out of state or are stuck working horrible jobs with MGA.

Doesn't surprise me.  Home health != acute care.  The experience at one does not help with the other.  If her experience had been in acute care, with 8 years she'd probably have a lot of opportunities in various hospitals.



Agencies don't take people without experience.  I'd say at least 2 years but I guess that varies with each agency.  Honestly, even with 2 years experience I wouldn't recommend travel nursing.  You have to be on top of your game and just about completely independent or else you'll sink.  Great way to lose your license.



Yes, it's really flooded.  When the economy tanked, nurses stopped retiring and some even came out of retirement.  That plus the huge numbers of diploma-mill nursing graduates means no jobs for noobs.  It's rough.

If you just really, really want to be a nurse I'd say get a job as a tech (nurse aid/CNA/PCT/whatever they call them) in a hospital and find a unit you like.  I like ICU.  Anyway, stay there and work for crap wages while you're in nursing school.  If you're not a retard, you should get a job offer in the unit where you have been working the last couple years since they know you, know you're not a tard, and want to help you.  But coming in off the street looking for a job?  GTFO.

Thanks, all!

1) I'm not a criminal.  My GPA was over 3.0 after 200+ credits.  I went to a good school, not some podunk community college.  The nursing market is horrible in some parts of the country.  Unless you have an "in", good luck finding a job.  Even the nursing homes wanted 2 years of experience (preferably in long-term care).

2) I'm from the North Platte area originally, so I'm used to the wind, cows, corn, yokels coming down out of the Sandhills, and what passes for culture in western Nebraska.

3) All you haterz keep hatin'.

AV1611 out.......

Agreed on starting as a CNA and getting to know the unit head and Director of Nursing at the hospital before/while going to nursing school.  

The first and most important hurdle is to get past the drones in H.R. or their computer program that sorts through resumés and sh*t cans all of them that have no/limited experience listed.  You can't get a job if you can't get an interview.  

Your next hurdle is potentially as ugly as getting past H.R..  A lot of positions are already "pre-hired", meaning that H.R. and the hiring authority have already identified an internal candidate for the position you've finally gotten an interview for.  It doesn't matter how well you present yourself or how well you "think" you meshed with the interviewer.  You're hosed before you even walk into the interview.  People are just covering their butts by posting the job and going through the motions of looking for someone.  I know that not all H.R. departments operate like that, but it's certainly common.  

Having an "in" is a lot better than what I've gone through since I graduated in May 2010.  One caveat...... CNA's are having trouble getting first jobs in my original AO as well.  So, the grand master plan of developing an "in" while working as a CNA is great in theory, but in practice you're in the same boat as the new grad R.N.'s.

As far as going to a community college and getting your ADN.  It's like the Dark Side.  It's faster.  It's easier.  The smaller number of credits necessary may be seductive.  DO NOT DO IT.  New grad ADN's have an extra strike against them because they don't have their BSN's..... especially if they are applying in an area where there is a BSN program or two.  A lot of job listings specifically say "No ADN's", or "BSN preferred".  Unless you are an experienced ADN with some certifications, you're even more screwed than the BSN new grads.

Stay the heck away from those online schools and satellite branch programs like University of Phoenix and others like them.  There's a reason their instructors don't teach in highly regarded, well-established public and private nursing schools.  While the degree that they hand out is legit, would you be comfortable seeing an American M.D. that went to med school in the Dominican Republic or some other second or third world toilet?

Plenty of well-meaning people told me I needed to go to a healthcare job agency and do temp nursing.  That only works if you have experience.  Hospitals and other healthcare providers use temp agencies/talent pools because they are a drag and drop solution.  Call agency.  Experienced nurse shows up to work shift.  Problem solved.  Orienting a bringing a new grad up to snuff is all the way at the bottom of the healthcare facility's want-to-do list.

Same goes for travel nursing.  No agency in their right mind would hire a new grad and rightly so.  JustaTXguy is right on the money here.  I wouldn't take a travel nurse gig if they offered me $50 bucks an hour plus travel expenses.  I'd probably frack up big time and lose my license in the first week.  

Some areas of the country are way saturated with nurses.  Madison, WI has 5 nursing schools.  Two are BSN programs: U.W. Madison and Edgewood (private Catholic school).  Three are ADN programs: Madison Area Technical College, University of Phoenix, and some other school like it.  My graduating class at U.W. was 150.  Edgewood probably cranks out 50 per year.  The Voc/Tech school probably 50.  The two other programs probably 50 between them.  That's 300 new grads per year in a metropolitan area of 400,000.  Milwaukee is like 60 miles from Madison.  The population is much higher, but they have plenty of their own nursing schools there as well.   It doesn't help that pay in Madison is quite good for the part of the country.  The U.W. pays over $28 an hour to start.  The private Catholic hospital starts inpatient nurses at $32 an hour.  So, a lot of experienced nurses gravitate to Madison making it about impossible for even quality grads from the U.W. or Edgewood program.
 

So, what's the moral of the story?  If you want to be a nurse in Madison you either need an aunt who is the Director of Nursing at the hospital, a fantastic relationship with a very influential nursing professor/preceptor/the Dean of Nursing at your school, or the luck of the Irish.

AV1611 out.......

Move to AZ and be willing to work in one of the rural hospitals.  Go to the Res, high pay but you will be living a very rural and violent areas.

The problem with rural hospitals is that many of them don't have a preceptor program and don't have the time, money, or desire to focus on a new grad.  The problem with large hospitals is that they have preceptor programs, but often have a very limited number of positions that are reserved for new grads.

This isn't 2005 anymore.  It it were, I would have had a couple of offers before I even graduated from school.

AV1611 out......

Well, I just got the formal job offer.  It really is for real I guess.  


AV1611 out.......

 

NURSING!!!!!!! Used to be unheard of.
I loved being a regular RN. I could say fuck you whenever and have another job tomorrow.
What I do now...not so much.

Yep.  When I hear nurses tell me that got a job on ICU, or Neurology at some prestigious facility right out of school I want to kick them in the junk.  I do believe I was the only bachelor degreed R.N. in Wisconsin slinging soda in 2010, 2011, and 2012.  I have a good friend from nursing school that is still looking for work.  I'd venture a guess than at least 10% of my graduating class of 150 is still unemployed.

AV1611 out.......

I'm gonna buy a cup then. I graduated in 1993 and went right into SICU at University of Alabama Hospital.
12.50 an hour.

Nut check inbound.....................  

My times have changed I guess, or at least in larger markets it seems....................While many hospitals are suffering from low census I believe most to be preparing for new health care laws.  Lay offs are happening in a career market that has been strong for many moons................any how congrats was'nt trying to bust your balls too hard.......

Yeah that was before every podunk tech school and junior college added an associate RN program and universities doubled or tripled their BSN enrollment, I bet school output of new RNs has at least tripled in the last 5 or 7 years.

 

If I can be of any help, let me know.
IM in bound.

Congrats on the job!!

Now go about 40 miles west and treat yourself to a steak dinner at Ole's Big Game Steakhouse.

I love central and western Nebraska!!!

I grew up outside of Hershey.  I've been to Ole's before.  


AV1611 out.......

If you looked into coming to KS, I could have found you probably 30 nursing jobs paying $19/hr+ starting out.  Fuck, my ex g/f started out at $24/hr as a LPN.....went up to $26/hr when she became IV-certified.

Congrats and enjoy Nebraska's crappy carry laws!

Congrats!!!

Now go to EE and shop around for something nice to celebrate with.

Just picked up an Advantage Arms .22lr conversion kit + 2 extra mags for my Glock 26.  Now I can afford to shoot my carry piece.  


AV1611 out.....

Do you guys think I should upgrade to the Glock 20 for carrying in my scrubs pants???


AV1611 out......