New nurses, it’s time to look in new directions for employment and to utilize new ways to find and get those jobs. The nursing job market is tight in most parts of the country and hospital jobs are particularly scarse for nurses – especially new nurses. If you haven’t already, please read parts 1 and 2 of this series.
So if hospital jobs are scarce, where else can new nurses look? Consider some of the following options: Out-patient hemodialysis with a private company (as opposed to hospital-owned), cancer care facilites, birthing centers, psychiatric facilities, pediatric rehab, long-term acute care (LTAC), adult rehab – both acute and long term, long-term care, sub-acute care, and home care.
Other options include school and public health nursing, hospice and palliative care, and correctional health (prisons & juvenille detention centers) to name a few.
If you are willing to relocate to obtain a hospital job, you’ll find opportunities for new nurses more plentiful in parts of Texas, Arizona, Missouri, New Mexico, and some Midwest states. Use the search feature at http://www.nurse.com/jobs/ and enter “new graduate” in the keyword box. Although all opportunities that come up will not be right for you, you may find some that are.
Consider joining the military – even the reserves – as a way to launch your nursing career.
Look for civilian jobs in hospitals and healthcare facilities on military bases.
Apply to the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corp if you qualify http://www.usphs.gov/
Apply for loan repayment programs where you will be required to work in underserved areas http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/repayment/nursing/
Contact the Indian Health Service for opportunities http://www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/Nursing/
Consider starting your own business. Some innovative new nurses who couldn’t find employment started a sick-child daycare service!
Remember – you need to look in new directions for employment but you also need to utilize new ways of finding and getting those jobs as outlined in Part 2 of this series.
2 thoughts on “Advice for New Nurses Seeking Work Part 3”
As a new graduate in one of the states you mentioned as being more plentiful–that may be true, but many of my classmates are having trouble finding any sort of job at all.
Also, as far as the military goes (I talked with recruiters of all branches with a nurse corp) they are in a position to turn down new grads as well. The USAF has filled all it’s positions for the year, and won’t look at new files until next fall. The Navy has filled all available positions, and wants at least 1 year experience. The Army recruiter wouldn’t even call me back even though I am a magna cum laude graduate. When I stopped by her office, she refused to see me, and her secretary told me they want at least a year’s experience, and the soonest to get in then would be 6-9 months following…
NurseXY – I fully acknowledge and understand what you have said. All of the suggestions I make have worked for some nurses. There is no easy or sure-shot route but each new grad must try all that is available to them and use more networking and other avenues to pursue nursing work. It is not easy for any of you right now but I want you to be able to fully exlpore your options.
I hope you have joined your state chapter of ANA and are getting out to meetings and getting active on a committee. I alo hope you are volunteering in a medical setting. Networking is still your best chance of finding something.
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