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Medic624 wrote:Shotgun approach...

Good advice, from a gun forum.

Bill wrote:does not want to travel and did not qualify

Old gringo, shes only 45, but i guess hospitals are like Airline were 40 years ago and only want 20 year old

Our RV neighbor in Colorado is a traveling contract anesthesiology nurse (age early 60's) in a BIG motor home. She works where and when she wants to and drags down REALLY BIG bucks for her efforts. Her husband, a retired Boeing engineer, is quite happy to be an able mobile/house husband/driver. They are a neat couple.

Is it time to to start, "thinking out of the box"?

Oldgringo wrote:Our RV neighbor in Colorado is a traveling contract anesthesiology nurse (age early 60's) in a BIG motor home. She works where and when she wants to and drags down REALLY BIG bucks for her efforts. Her husband, a retired Boeing engineer, is quite happy to be an able mobile/house husband/driver. They are a neat couple.

Is it time to to start, "thinking out of the box"?

Nurse anesthetist is a great gig if you can get it. It requires quite a bit more schooling, but pays extremely well. In fact, Baylor has a graduate program in that field.

One of my former co-worker's wife is one. She got the Air Force to pay for her schooling. She is now retired from the USAF, is an officer in the AF reserve and works in a private hospital!

Oldgringo wrote:

Bill wrote:does not want to travel and did not qualify

Old gringo, shes only 45, but i guess hospitals are like Airline were 40 years ago and only want 20 year old

Our RV neighbor in Colorado is a traveling contract anesthesiology nurse (age early 60's) in a BIG motor home. She works where and when she wants to and drags down REALLY BIG bucks for her efforts. Her husband, a retired Boeing engineer, is quite happy to be an able mobile/house husband/driver. They are a neat couple.

Is it time to to start, "thinking out of the box"?

Travel nursing is great if your
A. Single
B. Married no kids or single
C. One spouse doesn't work or is retired or you're single
D. Have your own insurance
And...
Unfortunately for some...Nurse anesthetist is a 30 month highly competitive course that they require you do not work during school...
I can understand their frustration... nursing 3 years ago was touted as one of the most stable and fairly lucrative as well as available industries to get into... Now, thanks to Medicare/Medicaid cuts the fact that the dollar is worth only 70 cents on the world market and the upcoming implementation of Obama Care has the medical industry circling the wagons and cutting as much fat as possible!
It's still a good and stable industry just not as available as before... Like any and every other industry right now... They're holding fast and patching the holes as best they can...

Two of my brothers married nurses. They have been in the business since the 70s and the supply and demand has always been cyclical. Whenever there is a nursing shortage, the schools fill up and in a couple more years there is a glut. It is not a new phenomenon.

One is still working as a surgical nurse. After two years of work in a nursing home, which she did not enjoy, she went back to school so she could get into surgical nursing. She was fortunate enough to get into a program and started working with doctors like Norman Shumway at Stanford Medical Center. She has been continously employed ever since.

My other SIL started as an RN working in hospitals, but after about 15 years she started working for insurance companies that handled medical billings. After that, she started her own business reviewing claims until she decided to retire.

Medic624 wrote:Shotgun approach...

I was a Paramedic for 15 yrs and actually moved here from WA last month for family but I'm working as a RN (2 yrs ER experience in WA) at Memorial Hermann

Apply for any and all open positions on every Hospital website...

Once she is in she can then transfer to the dept she is actually interested in working...

Oh and although it's not fun... Nursing homes maybe?

The shotgun approach is good advice in this economic time. That goes double for recent graduates with no work experience in their new field. The time to be picky is after you have a job and are looking for a better job.

Thanks for all the good replies fellow CHL's
First of all I really like the travel in a motor-home approach, I wish I could retire and could if my wife was Nurse anesthetist, or Nurse Practitioner, but I have an eleven year old so that might not work although both our kid were home schooled for several years. She has thought about going and getting a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner masters deg

She did interview with Memorial Northwest yesterday and also got an email from Denton Cooley's daughter who is trying to help as well, along with his Daughter in Law who both are involved in Nursing at a high level. One sent a email to the CEO of Herman who is a friend.

What is frustrating is TX children's should have hired her right away. She is a speaker for Children's Miracle Network on behalf of TX Children's, along with being co-chair of the Parent advisory committee for the Hospital and the Chief Surgeon Frasier was my sons heart surgeon 11 years ago and Gayla's cousin was in the same fraternity as the CEO Mark Wallace

Were are also looking at Colorado Springs

A friend of mine works at St. Luke's The Woodlands as a mother/baby nurse. She hasn't said that they are hiring, but has told me before that they are short-handed. Next time I talk to her, I will ask her if they are currently hiring nurses. Is your wife an RN?

Venus Pax wrote:A friend of mine works at St. Luke's The Woodlands as a mother/baby nurse. She hasn't said that they are hiring, but has told me before that they are short-handed. Next time I talk to her, I will ask her if they are currently hiring nurses. Is your wife an RN?

thanks and yes below
She has a BA from Baylor, BSN from U of H, and is a RN ( passed boards) Summa cum laude with a 3.85 Gpa
Maybe someone knows someone, she has had only 2 interviews in the past 4 months since she graduated
you can contact me wagge@swbell.net

Wife found job, It finally happened and very quick after My wife contacted her friend Susan and told her she was having a hard time with this job search. After Susan Cooley (yes Denton Cooley's daughter) wrote the CEO of Memorial Herman a very nice referral, Gayla had a call from HR about 2 hours later. They asked her where she wanted to work. She was later called by Dept head who did a phone interview. She is going to Cardiovascular ICU, she start July 8Th

BTW Susan Cooley is VP of Redi Clinic a division of Memorial Herman, so this is what it takes sometime just knowing the right person. Gayla could have pursued this months ago but thought getting a job would not be this hard.

Anyway, thanks for the support and prayers from this group
Bill

Bill wrote: Wife found job, It finally happened and very quick after My wife contacted her friend Susan and told her she was having a hard time with this job search. After Susan Cooley (yes Denton Cooley's daughter) wrote the CEO of Memorial Herman a very nice referral, Gayla had a call from HR about 2 hours later. They asked her where she wanted to work. She was later called by Dept head who did a phone interview. She is going to Cardiovascular ICU, she start July 8Th

BTW Susan Cooley is VP of Redi Clinic a division of Memorial Herman, so this is what it takes sometime just knowing the right person. Gayla could have pursued this months ago but thought getting a job would not be this hard.

Anyway, thanks for the support and prayers from this group
Bill

Just finished reading this thread, congratulations on your wife finding a job.

I was actually quite surprised to read that she had so much trouble. I honestly believe she experienced "age discrimination" (though you'll never get anyone to admit it).

I don't live in the Houston area...but Hospitals are still scooping up RN's around here before they graduate. My Daughter had several offers BEFORE she was out of school (as did most of her classmates).

She worked her first year in "Step Down" which is basically critical care patients (one step below ICU), then transferred to ICU and has been working there the last two years (as well as ER when needed).

She is going back to school this fall to pursue her CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) and plans to do "Travel Nursing" after that.

From what she tells me...there is still a demand for good nurses, but it doesn't hurt to know someone when looking for employment.

Glad it worked out for you.

Flint.

Flint, I think you are correct, many of her classmates , young pretty things got hired before they even passed the boards and even after they failed the boards. I am not sure why this is the case? My wife is more dependable and most likely will not change jobs till she retires, she will pursue a MSN as well so she could go into teaching. She only has had one boyfriend in 20 plus years ME her husband and father of our 2 kids

I told my wife "The Fat lady has not sung yet" so we are waiting for her start date.

Congratulations!

Thats awesome buddy... Congratulations to your wife...CVICU...Wow thats a big step good for her!! Im sure she will do amazing!

Interesting update, now several Hospitals have called back, but of course she is not interested now. I told her she should keep the info close because she take a 2 part physical/drug test and a calculation test next week

The fat lady has not sung yet