Miss Out on New Grad Program Now What?

Hi KKat,

I also got a letter on Monday...the day before my exams started...to say that I was unsuccesful in any of my hospital preferences. I think that I was unlucky with my preferences....I listed RHW Newborn care as first..and then found out at interview there were only 4 places available...Sydney Children's were next on my list and I was unaware that they only take those who list them as first preference..So I guess by the time I moved down the list there were no places available. I found the whole interview process a joke. They do not take into consideration academic or clinical performance....as a student with a distinction average I am insulted that others who just cruise by were able to secure places for next year. Apparently there are second round offers in December.....chin up there are bigger and better things awaiting us out there!!!!! I also find it amazing that there is a shortage of nurses yet no places for new grads to find their feet...there are plenty of jobs out there but a selection criteria is experience. Can anyone explain how we gain this experience when we can't get a job?????

Hey there,

earth.angel67 your story is pretty much the same as mine! I only applied for NSW and with little information completed the application. My first preference was also RHW newborn care and i flew to NSW to interview for this. I received an unsuccessful letter, which i was kind of expecting once I too discovered it was only 4 positions available, which said i was on an 'eligibility list'. did yours say this, talk about confusing? anyways in my interview i asked how the whole preference system worked as nobody had given me any info. i was told that if unsuccessful your info is passed to your 2nd, 3rd, etc preferences. now i assumed the reason for the almost 2 month wait from the interview to the posting of letters was because your information was being assessed by other preferences. so while i wasn't expecting an offer for RHW i was kind of expecting something from one of my other preferences. they would have known where those jobs were going after a week..why make us wait so long...isn't this meant to be the 'real world'. i too found the fact that academic and clinical performance is not taken into account to be a joke. I have a HD average, completed Acute Care Nursing with an overall score of 99 and yet while those with scores of 51 get job offers i'm left with no information and no clue what to do next. surely our performance over 3 years should stand for something, yet they didnt want to know about it?! The lack of infomation was also frustrating, i had no clue what an 'eligibility list' was and what to expect next. I emailed everyone i could and either got vague replies or nothing. I finally got one reply from the RHW that explained that more offers will be made from 1st December - if people decline positions within my preferences and I'm positioned well enough on the 'eligibility list'. I just really wish someone had explained this whole process to begin with as if i had known all of this i wouldn't have gone for such a competitive and specialised position and switched my preferences around. Anyways, good luck with further offers :)

Hey guys, not sure how they conduct things in NSW, but in QLD it was made pretty clear to everyone that paediatrics is basically the most competitive field to get into, either as a grad or an experienced RN. As for these other people that cruise by with 51%, look at where they got their grad programs. Probably areas that have a high demand for grads. I did a little better than 51%, but certainly not anything like the scores you guys say you got, however I did a fair bit of aged care work, did an elective subject relevant to the field that I applied for and did my final prac where I wanted to work, which I chose because I knew it wouldn't be ultra competitive like other hospitals in my area, and made sure I made a good impression. This is how people with inferior marks than yours get grad positions because in truth it isn't all about academic marks in 'the real world.'

This happened to me last year - despite high marks in both theory and clinicals (and a letter from the Dean congratulating me on my outstanding academic achievements) plus assurances from ACU that we would all be offered a place in a new grad program, I did not get one. In January I answered an advertisement for new grad program in a private hospital, was lucky enough to get it and have had a great year there. After getting this job I wrote to the NSW Minister for Health, questionning the validity of the selection process and specifically its focus on the ability of applicants to 'sell' themselves (as per NSW Health website). I also asked why, when the NSW public hospital system is so desperate for nurses, they were losing new grads to private hospitals. She did respond to my letter but clearly nothing has changed - I know how you're feeling and I send my best wishes - don't give up -