Hello. I am considering an ABSN program. Does anyone have any insight into the Concordia St Paul program? I have talked to their admissions but want to make sure it would be worth my time and money. I am also looking into Bushnell’s program as well.

hey all, i’m a new grad rn trying to land a hospital position before i hit the one-year-since-graduation mark in may (a lot of new grad programs stop accepting applicants after that). i’ve been getting turned down through the normal online application process and heard about people having success reaching out directly to recruiters or HR for the specific unit they want, instead of just submitting and waiting.

specifically looking at kaiser, legacy, providence, ohsu, and similar systems. has anyone actually done this? if so:

**•** how did you find the right contact (linkedin, calling hr directly, searching hospital staff online, etc.)?  
**•** what did you say when you reached out — did you ask for feedback on a previous application, or just introduce yourself?  
**•** any tips on finding recruiter emails/titles to search for on linkedin?

trying to be proactive instead of just resubmitting the same application and hoping for a different result. if anyone has actual contact info they’re willing to share, feel free to pm me instead of posting it publicly. any advice appreciated!

For those that did the Ohsu absn program for winter cohort. What did the schedule look like? Were you able to work part time and get good grades?

I am trying to collect data for nurses (specifically Providence hospitals, but any will work) how much do you make to be "on call" any info would be greatly appreciated

Hi friends! I am doing some care coordination for a patient with severe treatment resistant depression, who has OHP/Trillium, and I am looking to help them find a psych provider who has experience with this level of severity & chronic SI. Any recommendations would be phenomenal. TIA!!

Anyone have experience working at the Jackson house clinic in Portland? I have an interview with them and am wondering what to expect in terms of pay, hours, duties, and quality of life.

Any insight is appreciated!

Is it tradition for Legacy Health to ghost their new grad candidates? This is the second time this has happened to me for a new grad position.

I live in Cottage Grove and received an offer to work at USPS as a Assistant Rural Carrier, pay staring at $21.89. I also got a callback for an interview with CHI Mercy Health Hospital in Roseburg as an Imaging Clerk. Pay starts at $20.86 - $29.46. I also applied for a Food Services job at this hospital and it says "application in review." Pay starts at $17.67 – $24.96. I'd really like to work at a hospital and I'm not sure if I should take the USPS job. I have tried unsuccessfully to get a job with Peacehealth at Riverbend for many entry level positions, and my application with Mckenzie Wilamette hospital as a Patient Transporter has been "in review" for over a month so I've given up on hearing back.

Does anyone work at Hillsboro Medical Center? I know it is a smaller, suburban hospital, but how is working there? Good work culture and leadership? And cons that you can think of?

I appreciate any info you can share!

Has anyone interviewed with Salem Health before? If so, do you remember any of the questions they asked? This is for a new grad General Med position.

Also, how long did they take to respond?

I’m a new grad nurse on a Med/Surg unit in Portland. We take some tele patients, but rarely have more than two tele patients per nurse. There’s been a lot of talk on my unit about unsafe staffing, on nights we max out 1:5 and days are 1:4. Normally we have at least 1 CNA, but sometimes are without a CNA for the last 4 hours of the shift. I was wondering what other hospitals ratios look like, if your charge takes patients when you’re understaffed?

What is your experience with internal RN transfers at Legacy Hospitals (recently). Is it difficult to change jobs from one hospital to another within similar specialties?

I’m wondering if anyone has any insight on working at the St. Charles NICU in Bend. I’ve been watching their job postings since July of last year and nothing has been posted. Does this unit have super low turnover? Are jobs just posted internally that external candidates don’t see? Would love any information

Portland nurses — I need a reality check: How hard is it really to get hired at OHSU, Providence, or Legacy right now?
I’m relocating from Florida to the Portland area at the end of September. After reading this subreddit and watching job postings, I’m starting to feel genuinely nervous about securing an RN position.
Before anyone asks, “Why would you move here without a job?”—this isn’t a spontaneous move because I heard Oregon nurses make more money.
We’re moving to Oregon primarily for my family.
I’m a mom, and one of my children is my six-year-old autistic son. A major part of this decision has been finding a place where we can build a better long-term life for him and access the educational, developmental, and community support he needs.
There are also personal family reasons for leaving Florida. My teenage daughter and I have both been struggling with our overall well-being here, and after a lot of thought, we decided that we need a change and a fresh start as a family.
So when I say I’m moving to Portland, I’m not an out-of-state nurse chasing a temporary high-paying contract and planning to leave. I’m trying to become an Oregon nurse, raise my children there, and build our life there.
Now comes the part that scares me: finding a job.
I’m not a new graduate. I’m a BSN-prepared RN with more than five years of nursing experience and an active Oregon RN license. My background includes:
Approximately three years on a 39-bed multisystem progressive care unit caring for high-acuity and step-down patients, including serving as Charge RN
Charge responsibility for approximately 8–10 nurses and three PCTs
Emergency department experience
Most recently, cardiovascular observation and pre- and post-cath lab care
Admissions, transfers, discharges, rapid responses, interdisciplinary rounds, discharge planning, patient flow, precepting, mentoring, and more
I’m moving with my family and don’t have the luxury of arriving in Portland and spending months searching for work, so I’m trying to understand the current RN market before we get there.
I’ve been looking closely at OHSU, Providence, and Legacy. OHSU is probably my first choice, but I keep reading stories about experienced nurses applying repeatedly without success, positions disappearing quickly, and Providence’s interview and recruiting processes being inconsistent.
I’d really appreciate candid advice from nurses who currently work in the Portland market:
1. With my background, which positions or units would give me the best chance of getting my foot in the door at OHSU?
I’m not expecting to walk in and immediately get my dream specialty. If the smartest move is to take a position that matches my PCU and acute-care background, prove myself, and transfer internally later, I’m completely willing to do that.
2. Is it actually easier to get hired at OHSU first and transfer internally later?
Long term, I’d love to transition into PACU or pre-op, procedural nursing, infusion or oncology, or another specialty.
I’m especially interested in OHSU’s Transition to Practice and specialty fellowship opportunities for experienced RNs changing specialties.
Has anyone here entered OHSU through one specialty and successfully transferred into a completely different area later?
3. Which OHSU units are realistically hiring experienced external RNs right now?
I recently found the Adult Medical-Surgical Oncology/Vista Pavilion openings and am seriously considering applying. I don’t have oncology experience, but I do meet the adult inpatient RN experience requirement.
Would my PCU, charge, ED, and cardiovascular background make me reasonably competitive for a position like that, or would I be at a significant disadvantage without oncology experience?
4. Should I apply to everything I’m qualified for instead of waiting for the “right” position?
I’ve seen people mention that some postings are open for only a few hours.
Are nurses actually checking OHSU, Providence, and Legacy job boards several times a day?
Does contacting a nurse manager or recruiter directly after applying help, or is that generally frowned upon?
5. Providence and Legacy nurses: Is the hiring situation really as difficult as Reddit makes it sound?
I’ve read stories about interview no-shows and applicants being ghosted. If you were hired recently, what helped get your application in front of a manager?
6. If you were in my position, where would you apply first?
I genuinely don’t care about prestige.
I want a good hospital, safe staffing, decent management, strong pay, and somewhere I can grow professionally and hopefully stay for years.
I’m willing to work nights. I’m willing to start somewhere that isn’t my dream specialty. I’m also willing to commute outside Portland proper if that makes sense.
I’m hoping someone who understands this market can tell me: “With your résumé, this is where I’d try to get your foot in the door.”
I’m not looking for sugarcoating. If the Portland RN market really is that difficult right now, please tell me. I’d rather know before we arrive.
But if there are strategies that actually work—specific units, contacting hiring managers or recruiters, job alerts, fellowships, hospitals outside Portland proper, applying immediately after a posting goes live, employee referrals, or anything else—please teach me how this market works.
If anyone at OHSU, Providence, Legacy, or another Portland-area hospital would be comfortable letting me send a few questions by DM, I would be incredibly grateful.
I’m trying to make this move responsibly. I’m not coming to Oregon to take a job and disappear after 13 weeks. I’m bringing my family across the country because we’re hoping to make Oregon home.
Thank you for reading this long post, and thank you in advance to anyone willing to point this nervous Florida nurse in the right direction. ❤️

Any recommendations for food Hospitals for RN/BSN? Or will be my 1st Hospital job. I need a change from long term facilities and home health care. Thank you.

Hello, I know there's a whole reddit thread on clinical research that i have not checked out yet, and im sure there's a lot of answers to this question already, but i would like to hear input in the Oregon/Portland area.

Unfortunately despite being a new grad working less than a year, i found out pretty fast that i'm not interested in anything bedside related. I really want to get into something more clinical related, where i can focus on helping research, or anything to get my toes dipped into learning how research/educating works, but i'm rlly clueless on how to go about this with a RN license.

I'd love to know what other ppl's experience has been! Any tips/advice is greatly appreciated. I know masters is required for educating, but i'd like to try other levels of clinical before committing to that

As several nurses here predicted, the interviewer did not show up for my scheduled interview. I reported the no-show through the email link Providence provided, but I received no response.

Then I checked the Providence candidate portal, and the positions status now says, “interview completed – under consideration “. Apparently they completed the interview they never attended, which is almost funny.

Providence sent me two separate scheduling emails for the same position, so I have another interview scheduled on Friday. I’ll attend, although at this point, I suspect they may not show up for that interview either.

Edit: spelling

New grad here, just curious about people who have worked on the PPMC Med Surg floor what was the environment like especially for new grad in their residency program? I was told PPMC has a new floor for Med Surg/Acute Care starting in September will it be different? I had a clinical at PPMC Med-Surg on the 4th floor and didn’t have the best experience as a student…

Hey recent grads - where did you graduate from and what was your favorite experience in the program? If it was in Portland, did you do any clinics in rural areas or did you stay in the city? Do you feel like your program did a good job in preparing you for your career?

Ciao all, I have an interview with ppmc for an acute care residency tomorrow, and I’m feeling slightly anxious but also incredibly excited. I’ve done my fair share of interview prep+research, but I’m still feeling a little nervous and would love to hear from anyone who has interviewed with the program before. Any advice, tips, or insights on what to expect would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance 🙃

Hey! I applied to the PeaceHealth New Graduate Nurse Residency Program for Springfield back in July and have not heard anything back yet, but typically with PeaceHealth, I've been rejected almost immediately.

Is it a good sign that my application still says "under review"?

Just curious if anyone else has any updates or has heard back from them yet. Thanks!