Make No Mistake: There ARE Nursing Jobs

There have been reports coming out recently that hospitals in certain locales are running out of space for nurses and nursing jobs are not being created.

This would seem to contradict the idea that medical jobs are going to grow, and discourage those who are in nursing school right now. Make no mistake: there are nursing jobs out there, but sometimes we look in all the wrong places and sometimes you don't get hired just by the "traditional" interview. I've got a very good example I'd like to share.

A friend of mine is nearing the end of nursing school and she was, like everybody else, looking for a job. She REALLY wanted to work in a hospital, but she knew that sometimes you don't always get what you want (cue cheesy commercial music) so she was interviewing everywhere.

First, she told me that she interviewed at a few Doctor's offices because those Doctors had privileges at a hospital right up the street. One was even an OB/GYN practice that would have allowed her to be in the hospital constantly to check on pregnant mothers who were in labor or who had just given birth. The moral of this story? If you want to get somewhere (in this case...a hospital) then look at practices that MUST be in the hospital a lot. This is just another way to get where you want to go.

Second, she said she had been doing rotations at this local hospital as a part of finishing nursing school. Well, as it happened she ended up doing two things on her LAST DAY:

1. She got stuck walking around with the nursing supervisor all day. This wasn't very much fun for her because she wanted to be with patient.
2. She knew her stuff and ended up teaching a current nurse something that nurse didn't know.

So, what did she do with her opportunity? Well, she didn't want to walk around with the "clipboard lady" all day long, but she made the most of it. This goes for you too. If you are in school and doing rotations at a hospital you MUST get to know the boss. They hire you and will remember you if you're a good, decent person.

So then she went and showed a nurse a particular technique she had read somewhere on the internet (YAY for the internet!) and the nurse wasn't offended because the patient needed help and my friend was very polite in simply offering some help. The moral of this story? She knew her stuff before she even graduated and was willing to help.

You see, everyone wants to hire someone who wants to get in the trenches and get work done. As much as we talk about career advancement on Medical Jobs.org you can't overlook the fact that you have to start somewhere and you have to be nice to your boss. Diving into the "deep end" is much more attractive to potential employers when they know that you want to work for the right reasons. People can sniff out ego-maniacs from a mile away.

The moral of this story? Go in, meet the boss, don't be afraid of them, study hard, and you will get offered a job on the spot...or at least the potential of a future job. That's what my friend got...you can too!