No mental health nursing jobs for newly qualified nurses

[BG2015]

My son's GF (who lives with us) has just qualified as a mental health nurse at Keele University. She has worked so hard & her placements have only said good things about her but she cannot get a job.

Infact only 1 of her cohort has secured a job so far. Apparently many entry level nursing graduates are facing hiring freezes, blocks on entry level positions and intense competition.

She is so low and disappointed. She's 23 and her life is now on hold. My DS and her want to start saving so they can move out but it looks like she may have to try and get a job elsewhere if nothing turns up soon.

She did have an interview last week but it went internally. £60k+ of debt and no jobs.

And yet….. everyone is complaining about young people not working due to mental health problems. It’s like being surprised in a long hot dry spell that there are wildfires and hosepipe bans.

How incredibly disheartening for her and how frustrating for everyone who desperately needs support with their mental health and is on a long waiting list .

It's happening across the healthcare sector. I'm so sorry.

It's just so disheartening. Mental health crisis but no money to help.

She is raring to go, so keen and desperate to put all her training into practice. No doubt there will be some manager somewhere on a massive salary pushing paper around and calling the shots.

It's so disheartening, and also ridiculous when the NHS is in such a state. DS graduated in child nursing three years ago when his uni guaranteed a job for every graduate somewhere in the Trust. That was the last year of that guarantee and now he is so busy and short-staffed - in a paediatric ICU setting - and yet there are recent graduates who have seemingly no hope of getting a job. I'm not sure it is much better when you get into a role as he has almost no chance of being able to move to a Band 6 position because so few are available. One of his friends desperately needs to move out of her ICU role (it's not for everyone) and at one point could only find one Band 5 role in the whole country for which she could apply! Absolutely crazy.

DD has just qualified as a registered children’s nurse and only 3 out of her year had managed to get a job at the end of the course.

Same for my son who has just qualified as an adult nurse. He's got a job as a senior support worker with a private care home who have agreed to give him a nursing job after 6 months. Sad.

She's found out today she's got a first in her degree. Makes it even worse somehow.

Is she looking outside the NHS?
https://careers.cygnetgroup.com/jobs/?is_my_location=0&search_distance=10&search_lat&search_lng&job_family&search_jobs=1&search_keywords=Mental%20health%20nurse&search_location

Hi OP, tell her to have a look at higher education. They are hiring MH nurses for all their wellbeing teams due to the increasing demand for mental health support within Unis. Also better work life balance as no antisocial hours. Hope she finds something soon 😊

Also, as PP suggested, if she looks outside the NHS there a lot of places now that want MH nurses. Companies are also hiring them for their staff wellbeing… there’s a lot of options if she widens her search, but I know the job market is tough

There’s work over my way

https://au.seek.com/mental-health-nurse-jobs/in-Australia

https://search.jobs.wa.gov.au/jobs/search/healthcare

Sadly common, Trusts are being told to save millions, staffing is their biggest cost so they will freeze vacancies and stop recruitment to save money. Its a terrible decision for patient care and staff morale though. No wonder so many healthcare staff are emigrating.

It's pretty dire. We are short staffed and have unemployed nurses looking for work. Doesn't make sense and someone with more experience is more likely to land the job even though due to experience I prefer working with NQN fresh out of uni.