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Just a quick note to let all of those out there who are contemplating leaving the mainland and looking for nursing jobs on Oahu---there are virtually none here!
Two hospitals (HMC West and HMC East) have just shut down here, leaving 1000 eployees (nurses and others) jobless. The nursing job market has been bad here for quite a while but this has made it so much worse. Older nurses are not retiring and the new grads that are coming out of the nursing programs here on Oahu and on the outer islands are not able to find RN positions.
I know nursing used to be the "golden ticket" for employment here and elsewhere but no more.
BTW, I'm and RN from the mainland and have lived here for over a decade but I came here when jobs were very plentiful.
There is a Hawaii forum on "allnurses.com" that has quite a few posts addressing this but I was browsing this site and saw that people still seem to think that there is a nursing shortage in Hawaii. Not so....
Just a quick note to let all of those out there who are contemplating leaving the mainland and looking for nursing jobs on Oahu---there are virtually none here!
Two hospitals (HMC West and HMC East) have just shut down here, leaving 1000 eployees (nurses and others) jobless. The nursing job market has been bad here for quite a while but this has made it so much worse. Older nurses are not retiring and the new grads that are coming out of the nursing programs here on Oahu and on the outer islands are not able to find RN positions.
I know nursing used to be the "golden ticket" for employment here and elsewhere but no more.
BTW, I'm and RN from the mainland and have lived here for over a decade but I came here when jobs were very plentiful.
There is a Hawaii forum on "allnurses.com" that has quite a few posts addressing this but I was browsing this site and saw that people still seem to think that there is a nursing shortage in Hawaii. Not so....
How about long term care? Im not interested in hospitals, but has been considering moving to Oahu for a while. I know most (if not all) hospital nurses dont exactly consider ltc as an option, so I'd like to know how hospitals closures affected ltc employment. I have 2 years of hardcore ltc in all its brutality and am ready for anything.... can do nights/weekends...
How about long term care? Im not interested in hospitals, but has been considering moving to Oahu for a while. I know most (if not all) hospital nurses dont exactly consider ltc as an option, so I'd like to know how hospitals closures affected ltc employment. I have 2 years of hardcore ltc in all its brutality and am ready for anything.... can do nights/weekends...
The nurses are scrambling for any job they can get. I work at a software/services company focusing on healthcare and we just hired 2 nurses - they never thought they'd be taking a desk job.
Just a quick note to let all of those out there who are contemplating leaving the mainland and looking for nursing jobs on Oahu---there are virtually none here!
Two hospitals (HMC West and HMC East) have just shut down here, leaving 1000 eployees (nurses and others) jobless. The nursing job market has been bad here for quite a while but this has made it so much worse. Older nurses are not retiring and the new grads that are coming out of the nursing programs here on Oahu and on the outer islands are not able to find RN positions.
I know nursing used to be the "golden ticket" for employment here and elsewhere but no more.
BTW, I'm and RN from the mainland and have lived here for over a decade but I came here when jobs were very plentiful.
There is a Hawaii forum on "allnurses.com" that has quite a few posts addressing this but I was browsing this site and saw that people still seem to think that there is a nursing shortage in Hawaii. Not so....
Come to Alaska! We need nurses! Many employers will fly you over here!
I got an RN position on the floor in OB within three months of arriving on the Big Island.I have full benefits as well as retirement. Hilo Medical center ALWAYS has positions available for RN's.
How about long term care? Im not interested in hospitals, but has been considering moving to Oahu for a while. I know most (if not all) hospital nurses dont exactly consider ltc as an option, so I'd like to know how hospitals closures affected ltc employment. I have 2 years of hardcore ltc in all its brutality and am ready for anything.... can do nights/weekends...
There are some nursing homes here but many more "care homes," which are run out of private homes, usually owned by RN's. If they hire anyone at all it is done through personal contacts, IME.
The only nursing home that takes ventilator patients on Oahu is the Convalescent Center of Oahu (CCOH).
There are occasionally openings in the few nursing homes that we do have but, like all nursing positions on Oahu, fewer than in years past. Still, worth looking into.
One of the best things to come out of the closings of the two HMC hospitals is that one may be turned into a high-level skilled nursing facility. There is a huge need for skilled nursing beds here, especially for vented patients. If this ever comes to pass it will be a great thing for the islands.
Quote:
Originally Posted by byerssue
I got an RN position on the floor in OB within three months of arriving on the Big Island.I have full benefits as well as retirement. Hilo Medical center ALWAYS has positions available for RN's.
Do you happen to know if they are hiring new grads or just those who have experience? I know so many new grads here on Oahu who would probably be very interested!
There is always going to be the exception but the truth is there are no RN positions open even in LTC. Of course they are always hiring in the most extreme LTC postions where your RN license is always in jepordy due to...well, everything; it's insane.
Sure I can pass every med known to man to 30 to 42 residents whom you will have to crush most of the meds and more then likely literally trick the person into taking them. If you're lucky enough to get that done by noon (the morning meds) then go right to wound dressings, charting, admissions/discharges, emergencies, don't forget to check the labs, doctor orders; oops don't forget the diabetics and the immune compromised, oh yes the foleys and the trachs and the ones actively dying... whoa time to pass the noon meds. I could go on forever but I think I've made my point...it's just not safe.
Currently most LTC places are required to have at least 1 RN in house 24/7... then they staff with LPNs or med techs. Money is the name of the game and RNs are feeling the brunt.
Absolutely some people are getting hired but as I said you are definately the exception to the rule. As for the new grads who are graduting from all the community colleges and universites on all islands be brave. In leu of all the RNs from the mainland and the foreign nurses who are making Hawaii their home be extremely proactive when in school. Network before you graduate.
As for all of you who I know are out there pounding the pavement for a job, think outside the box. There are many things an RN can do. Think about going into business for yourself. As talked about by the OP Allnurses.com is a community forum of nurses helping nurses and nursing students. They have excellent posts and threads on this very subject.
Nursing has changed drastically over the last decade. We must change with the times or get left in the dust.
There is always going to be the exception but the truth is there are no RN positions open even in LTC. Of course they are always hiring in the most extreme LTC postions where your RN license is always in jepordy due to...well, everything; it's insane.
Sure I can pass every med known to man to 30 to 42 residents whom you will have to crush most of the meds and more then likely literally trick the person into taking them. If you're lucky enough to get that done by noon (the morning meds) then go right to wound dressings, charting, admissions/discharges, emergencies, don't forget to check the labs, doctor orders; oops don't forget the diabetics and the immune compromised, oh yes the foleys and the trachs and the ones actively dying... whoa time to pass the noon meds. I could go on forever but I think I've made my point...it's just not safe.
Currently most LTC places are required to have at least 1 RN in house 24/7... then they staff with LPNs or med techs. Money is the name of the game and RNs are feeling the brunt.
Absolutely some people are getting hired but as I said you are definately the exception to the rule. As for the new grads who are graduting from all the community colleges and universites on all islands be brave. In leu of all the RNs from the mainland and the foreign nurses who are making Hawaii their home be extremely proactive when in school. Network before you graduate.
As for all of you who I know are out there pounding the pavement for a job, think outside the box. There are many things an RN can do. Think about going into business for yourself. As talked about by the OP Allnurses.com is a community forum of nurses helping nurses and nursing students. They have excellent posts and threads on this very subject.
Nursing has changed drastically over the last decade. We must change with the times or get left in the dust.
Tyvin, I know very well of what you speak. Many moons ago, before RN-hood, I was an LPN. Another time, another place.
I've worked LTC as both an LPN and an RN. In much tougher environments than anything Hawaii has to offer. HIV/AIDS units, wound care units, MS units.
LTC is tougher than most can imagine, but the poster "Mounty" seems pretty grounded in reality. Might be a chance there. No delusions.
As stated before, RN's who have extensive experience in specialty areas have a much better chance of securing a decent hospital position. OB, OR, ICU, ER.
I've been an ICU nurse for nearly two decades now and I've been in my present position for nine years. Nope...not retiring any time soon. I guess I'm part of the problem, LOL.
As far as thinking out of the box.....
I know RN's who have gotten out of the hospital trap and gone into aesthetics (think laser hair removal, etc) but they don't make the money that we in the union-protected jobs do. I know one who has gone into the tanning bed business. No comment.
Bottom line---it's tough for RN's here. If you get a position, God bless. But again, an RN license is not a golden ticket. An anectodal success story is not necessarily indicative of the norm here.
I was wondering if you knew about the nursing on any of the other islands and where one my have the best chance of finding work in terms of searching for positions.
Thank you
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