What jobs can you get with an associates degree in nursing?

Will my experience at a nursing home count towards "experience" to get a hospital job?

• Im a new grad, age:24. I graduated from an associates degree program. Ive seen tons of ads online and on hospital websites that say they prefer nurses with a bachelors degree and that they want at least 1-2 years experience. I can't afford a bachelors degree and I refuse to get one, we all had to sit for the same state boards and have the same knowledge base. Im 30k in debt and my student loans went to collections because the job market for nurses was little to none for my new england state. I recently got a per diem job at a nursing home type place. Its in an old house and the residents require little care, we pass meds, write nurses notes and do a fair amount of LNA work. Its the opposite of a corporate run type nursing home. will this even count as experience. I have seen people online posting about getting jobs as new grads like "operating room nurse", "oncology nurse", Pediatric ICU" how are these new grads getting the jobs?? Will I have a chance at these?

• Answer:

  I am sure you need to have a diploma that you are at least a health care worker, then that can help you to get a job at a hospital and you could try to get more experience at this nursing home and work with the residents there. If they only require miminum care that's more like being a retirement health care worker..they get paid less because the work is somewhat easier than to be a health care worker at a long term care residence where there are bedridden people or people who are even paralyzed and need full attention and help with everything. If you are a hospital nurse you do need experience dealing with more than minor disabilities... it might give a good impression that you do this and it shows future employers that you see this as a vocation and that you seem serious about it ..that works in your favour...You do need more training but they will see it as a positive sign that you are really taking an interest in becoming a nurse and have some minimum knowledge from first hand experience..but the nurses in a hospital and helping out in a retirement home setting can't be compared...if you worked in a long term care setting and gained some experience there, that would help you to gain more insight into what the job to be a nurse really entails...I am sure you are compassionate and you really want to do this job...I hope you can get some experience. Maybe you can ask if you can help out at the hospital and only get paid the equivalent of a student nurse..because you are definitely not qualified to make decisions on your own as you don't have the work experience required by a nurse at a hospital..x