5-19-2012 Continued...

For a country with a nursing shortage, it sure is difficult to find a nursing job.

I’ve sent out 153 resumes and applications since March and received a handful of replies; most of which were no. The few that said yes were all over the map, hence my extended road trip across the country. I’ve interviewed in Colorado, North Dakota, Utah and Alaska thus far. I’m curious to see if I get callbacks for any of them.

August, 2008 was the last time I punched a timecard. I’m sure many people would consider it heresy, but I miss working those crazy shifts and ungodly hours. Sameer has great stories after each of his shifts and the clinical part of my brain screams for a diagnostic challenge.

I haven’t even worked a shift as an RN yet and I’m already planning my next move. I’ve applied to several nurse practitioner programs and received letters of interest from a few more. I won’t have to relocate for graduate school, which is a nice bonus. The didactic portions are online and the clinicals can be arranged where I live. Sure, there are a few residential colloquia here and there, but I’m all for it.

Meanwhile, I’m looking into what certifications I can get. I picked up ACLS and PALS already, so the hunt is on for others which will bolster my resume. The funny thing is most of the places I’ve interviewed with or spoken to think I’m perfect for the job, they just don’t hire new graduates. The majority of hospitals want at least one year of acute care experience as a prerequisite. The trick is: How do I get that experience? Years of experience as an ER Tech and Medic put me way ahead of other recent graduates, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the Human Resources department. If they can’t tick all the little boxes on their piece of paper, then my resume goes into the circular file. I have little choice other than to keep plugging away and I’m not in the mood to get frustrated by these setbacks.

I was hoping that Community Hospital would welcome me back with open arms, but there again I got to learn a lesson in humility. My old boss made it very clear that she was going to hire someone else with more experience. She also pointed out that I was given a warning about being sick too many times in 2004. I asked her why, if she believed that a past action defined present character or future actions, did she bother to call me in the first place. She didn’t give me an answer. It seems odd that she would overlook someone with 5 years of experience working in that department, someone with whom all the physicians and nurses have a good working relationship with, someone who already knows the system, as well as someone who helped design the department. However, it is her department and she has to run it in a way she feels will be best for the patients and the hospital. If that path does not include me, then so be it. I’m just sorry that I won’t be working with my old crew again. Maybe someday in the future things will be different.

As my first choice has evaporated, I’m setting my sights on more challenging jobs. The Alaska position would be my next choice. I’d be working for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel, Alaska. They provide care to an area comprised of 80,000 square miles which encompasses 56 different tribes. It’s a non-profit hospital and most care is provided free of charge. I’d be working in the primary care clinic as well as floating to the ER time and again. I’d be able to transfer to the ER after a year, as well as get my flight nursing certification (many of the most emergent patients have to be picked up by plane or helicopter and flown either to Bethel or Anchorage). It sounds like a chance to practice truly rural medicine. Here’s hoping that they want a second interview.

Not too much to tell other than that. I’ll be meeting Marta and Birch for lunch tomorrow. I haven’t seen them in far too long and Mr. Sasha (my other little nephew) has gotten even bigger. I can’t wait to see that little man walk and talk.



-Jack