Friday, September 24, 2010

The Job Search Continues

Ok. Two years ago they told us that when we graduated we would be able to work in a field that fascinated us. They told us that the days of "you must work in XYZ and be grateful for it" were over. Well...THEY'RE BACK. I've been told by THREE human resources people TODAY (Beth Israel Deaconess, Concord Hospital, Mass General) that "you should get experience wherever you can with this job market. How about working in a nursing home?"

This is a terrible idea on the industry's part. A LOT of us got into nursing because we thought, even though we HATED certain clinicals, it didnt matter because we wouldn't WORK in those specialties. I, for example get insanely bored in areas that don't move quickly. If i worked in a nursing home I'd probably go crazy within a week.

I wonder how everyone is going to feel in a year when many new nurses never work in nursing because they couldn't get jobs...then they'll be shrieking about a shortage all over again.

6 comments:

msx said...

This is exactly what I fear the most... Especially in Canada where baby boomers are now going into nursing homes and long term care facilities theres alot more demand for geriatrics. I wish you the best of luck :)

Crazed Nitwit said...

No offense but I work in an ALF and even though I've only had the job 2.5 weeks, I have not had time to be bored yet.

On the other hand, I get what you're saying. It's a complete repeat of junior high in the areas outside my med/treatment room.

Lais said...

I am currently working part time at a womens health clinic. Love it but its only part time. I have applied to hospitals but no calls. no interviews. Its really disappointing. Can't give up though.

Alpine, R.N. said...

I'm not saying that an ALF is a terrible place to be, I'm saying I personally would hate it. I'm never happier than when I'm juggling three catastrophes at once, and the power is down. (Chaos is FUN!)

Cartoon Characters said...

Actually when you are first learning, even geriatrics can be chaos. I started out in Geriatrics and actually loved it. Moved on to other things of course, worked every area but PEDS. Any kind of experience is better than no experience....and if an employer is going to choose between a Nurse that has been working in ALF/extended care and one that has never worked....they will always usually pick the experienced one. Sometimes you have to do what you hate to get where you want... :)

Krista RN BScN said...

I'm a new Registered Nurse in Alberta, Canada. When I started the nursing program, we were all told that we would have jobs before we even graduated, and like you said, would be able to work almost anywhere we wanted... That sure changed by the time I graduated. The Alberta Government decided that they had 'too many' nurses, and that the 'nurses' were taking up too much of the budget... They talked about filling the 'non-existent shortage' with LPN's instead of RN's. I deeply respect LPN's and their work, but the solution is not to hire more LPN's in place of RN's.
I am lucky... I actually got a temporary position on a busy medical unit after graduation. Many of my classmates are still working casual, some still searching...