New grad discouraged about job oppurtunity

I am currently a RN in Michigan and I can not find a job in a hospital to save my life!!! The only oppurtunitys for me are at nursing homes and I would rather not be a nurse then start at a nursing home taking care of 25 pts. i am just not ready for that yet. I am willing to relocate just about anywhere to get in a respectable hospital. Does anyone have any advice??? please!!
i don't work long term but that may just be what you have to do to get your foot in the door. you don't know until you try it if you can handle it ore even if you will like it. my friend felt the same as you and now she actually loves LTC she still plans on switching to the er one day but in the mean time she has found a job that she makes a difference at. I would hate for someone to get out of nursing before they even gave it a chance because of a pride issue. good luck

how long have you been a new grad? it's very hard to find a hospital job nowadays. have you looked at other areas in nursing besides nursing homes?private offices, ambulatory centers..etc. It took me a year after graduation to find a private ambulatory job. Apply everywhere and keep your options open because one day, someone out there will want you. Meanwhile, I am working and still searching for a hospital job so I'd suggest you take anything for now to get your foot in the door. I have friends who worked at nursing homes for about 3 months and end up getting a hospital job. Try it, you'll get the experience you need and will have something extra to add to your resume.

Take what you can get now... Work for nurses is getting really hard to find... especially with all the new grads and competition out there. Without any nursing experience you're at a big loss, just try to get anything even home health just to put something on your resume while something comes up. Keep looking.

I understand the feeling. I held out for a hospital job last year and didn't find a job at all and finally in Dec got hired in LTC!At that time I figured maybe it was for the best and it'll be great the place seemed really wonderful....I figured out a little over a month it wasn't for me and actively pursued other avenues. I wasn't sure I'd want a hospital job either, but now that I have one..I'm really enjoying most of it. Even though it's more stress that I ever imagined and I imagined a lot! Aside from getting better organizational skills, I learned a lot about managing confused pts and dementia. I wouldn't have believed it, I thought in critical care they'd be too ill to be combatative, but that's huge where I work now. At least we can restrain them if necessary, but it still takes an art to be able to talk to them and try to calm them as best as possible. I know some will say LTC is like a step down unit (and I was told that at my previous place) but I strongly disagree in my experience. It was mostly psych nursing, but that's still something I gained. And I can't imagine trying to figure out how to manage those types of pts as well as learning all of the new skills.I only had to work there 7, almost 8 mos before being able to get into the hospital and if I'd gone in a completely different direction or opted for no job, I doubt that they would have taken a chance on me. I wish you luck...I know it isn't easy

Good luck in your journey. Downsizing hospitals means decrease staff members. If you really want to stay out of LTC then keep looking hard. and looking fast.

I'm not sure what LTC facility in particular you are mentioning but some facilities actually have medically complex/rehab patients. It will never be like a hospital but somedays & with some patients it is mighty close. I have worked in a nursing& rehab center where the second floor was long term & the first floor rehab. I've worked with pts with trachs, g-tubes, LVADs, wound life vests, administered peritoneal dialysis, and learned a lot! Make sure the place you work has a rehab unit with medically complex patients. Look into an organization named Manor Care

I'm a new grad in Michigan as well. I applied to literally every hospital job possible and in 5 months only got one call back (I didn't even get an interview because I was out of the country on vacation at the time and it took me over 24 hours to respond to the voicemail annnnnd they had filled all the interview spots by then, it was ICU too, so talk about disappointing)I started thinking "outside" the box, and I applied to 4 jobs that weren't hospital such as psych nurse, stand alone surgery centers, offices ect....I had a 50% call back and interview rate with them and within two weeks I found full-time employment in an area that was not LTC, and I am thoroughly enjoying myself at my job right now...Don't give up and try ideas off the beaten path

You guys keep on mentioning LTC,, what does it means anyway? lol!! could someone please enlighten me... XD

Quote from pinoynursej2010You guys keep on mentioning LTC,, what does it means anyway? lol!! could someone please enlighten me... XD

Quote from pinoynursej2010You guys keep on mentioning LTC,, what does it means anyway? lol!! could someone please enlighten me... XD

thanks for the replies guys... ^_^

Henry Ford in Detroit only hires RNs unless things have changed since I was there (fabulous place to work ~ physicians actually respect nurses). Also there are about seven hospitals in that immediate area. Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital and North Oakland County Hospital are also places you could try. Beaumont Hospital has several hospitals and is a great place to work. Try the VA facility in Detroit (huge and very beautiful). If you like the four seasons and college towns try Marquette Regional Medical Center in the Upper Peninsula, there is also a VA Center in Marquette and Iron Mountain. Home Health is always an option as well as LTC. You'd be amazed at the skills you actually do use in LTC and you learn one of the most important ones very quickly ~ organization. Trach's, catheters, g-tubes, IVs, vents (in some specialty homes), rehab, dialysis patients, quads, psych, the list goes on and on. I have worked LTC from midnight supervisor as a new grad to being the administrator of my own building and it is more of an opportunity than people think. I have also ran hospital wings and can honestly tell you that the transition from LTC to hospital is MUCH easier than it is going the other way. People also make the mistake of thinking hospital nursing is better because you don't use your "skills" in LTC ~ dead wrong! Also remember that hospital nursing usually has "only" a 6:1 ratio. Many times six hospital patients can equal 20 LTC patients. Turn over is like crazy (insurance issue), paperwork is overwhelming (usually on computers though ~ many LTC places are also on computer) and the "six" patients keep you at a constant run between hanging blood, giving prn meds, regular meds, shipping them off or prepping them for one test or another, dealing with "transport" (always fun) or pharmacy (yup, they have the same problem in LTC), physicians (many have egos so big it's a miracle they get through the door) and family. Then there is telemetry, IVs etc. as well. So either choice is a brave one (yes, we are brave to take on all that we do and with very little thanks). However, the one great thing about LTC is that the residents become family and you are usually their family. You actually get to know your patient, intuitively realize when something is "off" for them, and watch the rehabs get better and go home. Someone mentioned Manor Care ~ this is an HCA facility. I worked there once.....we'll leave it at that (though, as in many cases, each place is different). If you're into relocating, the southwest coast of FL is great ~ Morton Plant Hospital (BayCare if you wish to look it up on the internet) is good and Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa has a wonderful mentor program. Good luck!