the hunt continues...

I hate to vent, but I have to say: those jobs i've been hunting for seem to be more elusive than I originally thought. I've been applying for nursing jobs since January, Phoenix specifically since March. I graduated in May, passed my boards in June, and here we are (in practically October) and I am haven't moved an inch. I haven't even been asked to interview.

Here's the scoop: no one wants new grads on their units who haven't gone through a new grad program/residency. In Phoenix, there are four hospitals/organizations that do new graduate programs: Phoenix Children's, Banner Health Care (around 15 hospitals in the Phoenix area), Maricopa County Medical Center, and Abrazo Health Care (four hospitals around Phoenix).  Phoenix Children's application was in the beginning of the year. I had the application turned in the first week it was released. It took about a month to hear back. I was rejected (obviously). A few of my friends called HR at Phoenix Children's to find out the scoop, and we learned they had 500 applicants for around 20 slots. So then I geared up for the Maricopa County application. That one was supposed to be opened on May 5th. We then found out two days before, that the program had been cancelled. The hospital couldn't afford it. They said they may or may not open one for the winter graduates. SOOO disappointing. One more opportunity down the drain. The next one I applied for a few weeks later. The Banner program was cool because it fed into all the Banner facilities, including the hospital RIGHT next to my new house. After I applied I quickly got a response that they did not want us unless we had our license. Which was pretty tricky, since we hadn't even graduated yet. That left Abrazo. I had missed the application for the Abrazo program starting in the fall, so a month ago (August 24th?) I submitted my application to the new grad program for Abrazo Health. I felt so much better about it. Now, I'm graduated (with a bachelors degree), I have my license, and ready to rock. Yesterday, I got a rejection, and it sucked! Probably the worst one yet, because I'm a great applicant and I DON'T understand. And these four programs are in addition to the tons of non-new graduate jobs I've applied for (which I'm pretty much automatically turned down for). I've applied for at least 30 to 40 of those.

However, there is nothing to do but be positive. No where to go but up, I suppose. I'm currently training to teach for Teen Outreach Pregnancy Services as a volunteer nurse. I really love the organization and I'm excited to get involved in mommy/baby stuff again. Hopefully something positive will come from it (besides giving teen moms and their babies a better chance for success!).

Thanks for listening to a little bit of what's going on with me. I appreciate everyone's support while I'm working through this.

XO,
Ash