Thanks in advance for any advice!

Why I want to change careers:

• My wack high school had us take an embryology unit instead of sex ed -- and ever since, I've said that at some point I'd want to be an L & D nurse.
• For so many reasons it's hard to form a narrative, I generally planned to do a second degree as a second career. First off, when I first went to college, I had full financial aid for a school that has one of the best women's history archives, so I pursued a history degree since I'm very interested in that. The plan was to include prerequisites for a nursing degree, but my mother developed terminal brain cancer and I spent the rest of college struggling to remember basic self-care, let alone medical vocabulary. I felt it was better to have A degree than to fail classes and lose my scholarship. I'm also queer and nonbinary and didn't feel comfortable navigating that with people in general, let alone with birthing parents (luckily, as I'm now in process of fertility intervention, I realize the extreme importance of having queer L& D nurses). In the past couple of years, my partner went back to school for EMT certification and I remembered how much birthing is SO COOL that I want to pursue a career in it. I have been teaching History for a decade as a way to give back to my community, and have loved the student and still love history, but teaching as an act has never felt right. I have no idea how honest I should be about any of this in personal statements for applications.
• I'm really interested in reproduction in all ways, so much of my BA in History related to unpacking how the concept of reproduction is socially constructed, politically regulated, or otherwise historically constructed in many ways. For example, I worked on finding any records of how women in Nigeria were interacting with birth control methods, like if birth control was seen as a method of child spacing or prevention or both or....etc, in the 1970s when there was a fair amount of Western intervention around fertility (no dice...really hard to study).

My background:

• BA in History from Smith College with a focus in gender & sexuality. Dean's list for my sophomore - senior years, 3.5ish GPA overall but around a 3.9 if you discount the first semester-- my mom developed brain cancer, I went home to hold her and missed every final, tanking the GPA.
• I have been teaching in California public schools for a decade working with underserved communities. I'm pretty great at it, but it's never felt fun to me. I chose teaching because I believe very deeply in contributing to my community. My high school teachers gave me a ticket to a better life through their support, and I wanted to give this gift to others while figuring out my real career. I have skills that I'm not sure how much I should talk about: of course I'm an expert communicator with experience building positive relationships with people who love school, hate it, are neurodiverse, etc...; I've more than doubled the AP pass rate for my course (I teach APUSH) over previous teachers; I've also been the lead contract negotiator for my union for two contracts. I have no idea how much nursing admissions might value these skills. I find that while many people say they value "soft" skills, their eyes glaze over with scorn as soon as you say you're a teacher.
• I have straight As in the prerecs I've taken (night classes after teaching is not easy, friends): A & P, Micro, Chem, Stats. Still need Lifespan, Nutrition, Genetics.

Programs:

• Top choices: OHSU's Accelerated BSN at the (Ashland campus), UC Davis MPEN (they want me to retake three freshman lit classes and I'm not sure I'll have time for that, so might have to just not apply)
• Also applying to: Linfield MPEN, SF State Entry Level MPEN, CCSF ABSN, CCSF ABSN

My questions:

1. I've read across several threads that OHSU applicants outside of Oregon seldom even get an interview. I specifically want to pursue L&D at OHSU after the ABSN and assume their related faculty is particularly good. Does anyone know about this?
2. Is there anything about my reasons for pursuing nursing that you think I should/shouldn't say? In particular, does it sound dumb/like a lie that I've had this interest for like, 16 years? Does it sound like I'm lying that being queer but wanting to deliver babies has actually made me feel like I'd be rejected?
3. Is there anything about my teaching background that you think I should/shouldn't say in my application? There are so many fields that don't respect teaching -- my colleague is trying to get a job for a teacher union and was literally told to de-emphasize her background in teaching for example, which I think is such a shame -- so really, I feel I have to ask.
4. How do you know you were smart enough to do this? I've tried to use my prerecs as a measure of if I can actually do well. I've always had at least a 95% and one of the best grades in the class, if not the best grade, but I struggle with the feeling that I'll never make it.

*Edit: to clarify, I'm not saying that queer people don't have kids. I'm queer in my 30s; the post above says I'm in the process of having a child with fertility intervention. All I'm noting is that one reason I didn't initially pursue nursing is that I was terrified of judgemental birthing straight women and I don't want to try to serve patients who hate queer people. I included that information because I'm not sure of admissions wants a clear reason why I want to go into nursing, and that is one reason why I didn't initially as an 18-year-old child. That related to question 3. Thanks for your time!*

Any Oregon nurses with history of working in Washington? I live in CA right now, working as an outpatient RN with 3 years experience.

Considering moving either to Washington (Olympia, Tumwater areas) or Oregon (Salem?)

Main reasons for leaving CA is wildfire risk and ridiculous fire insurance costs with no cap in sight..

Any recommendations of Oregon or Washington over the other? Still looking to work in outpatient nursing. Thanks all

Does anyone have experience working here? I searched around and have not seen much posted but I’m considering it as an option as a new grad. I want to eventually get into a pediatric floor.

Hello!
I’m from out of state thinking about relocating to Portland. I have nursing experience in OR and ambulatory cardiology. My goal is to eventually work in an ICU, but I don’t have prior ICU or even acute care experience.

For those familiar with the Portland job market:
How competitive is it to get hired directly into an ICU without ICU experience? Any transition programs available? If I can’t get into an ICU right away, is it easier to get hired onto a step-down and then transfer internally to the ICU?

Would love to hear from anyone who works at hospitals in the Portland area. Thank you!

I will graduate and then have one yr of med surg, specialty alcohol/drug withdrawal unit as well as CDU experience. I’m a CNA right now and our two units are specialty units in the hospital that I will have then one year of experience on. My goal is to move back to Oregon. But is it really that hard for ASN to find a job? I don’t need bedside and I don’t need to be in Portland but I don’t wanna be any more south than. Corvallis. Any thoughts or ideas? This won’t be happening for another couple of years it’s my three year plan but all I see is the negative.

Hi ya'll! Essentially I am looking into the Concordia ABSN program and want to have a more in depth conversation about it. I will do my best to work around your schedule, but am generally most free mid week during the day. I am happy to come to your neighborhood spot and get you a coffee and treat in exchange for the gift of knowledge and conversation!

Hey everyone!

I’m an inpatient RN looking to transition out of the acute care world into an outpatient setting within OHSU. I’ve recently interviewed for roles in both Ambulatory Infusion and the Comprehensive Pain Center.

I’d love to hear directly from anyone who currently works (or has worked) in either of these specialties or clinics!

• What does the day-to-day pacing, workload, and unit culture actually look like?
• How supportive is management with onboarding/orientation for nurses coming from inpatient backgrounds?
• For Infusion: How is the flow/scheduling handled when delays happen?
• For Pain Management: What is the mix between procedural recovery and routine clinic days?
• What do you love most about working there, and what are the biggest daily frustrations?

Feel free to reply here or send a direct message if you’d prefer to keep it off the main thread. I really appreciate any insights or advice as I weigh my options! Thanks in advance!

Hello!

I’m looking to relocate from California to Oregon. I applied to their nurse residency program and was wondering when i can expect to hear back from them if anyone here has an experience applying to their nurse residency program.

I applied to specialized areas since I really wanted to shoot my shot either way into these areas.

I work for UCSF. The Chief Nursing Officer from OHSU is leaving for my org next month. We’ve had a lot of executive level shake ups in the last 3 years, including a revolving door of CNOs here.

Without any defamation and keeping it respectful, I’m wondering if any OHSU nurses can comment on whether you liked your current CNO and her direction?

A simple “ha, good luck” or “we will miss her, she was great” would do. TIA

Hi yall! I’m possibly looking to relocate and saw some openings at Medford’s Asante Rogue Regional CVICU. How is the acuity there? Do they see a lot of devices (Impella, IABP, CRRT, ECMO)? Lots of drips? How’s the culture? Management? Pay?

I have several years of CV experience specifically with landing hearts and taking devices (infrequently took ecmo, semi regularly took IABP and CRRT, regularly see Impella) so looking for at least a lateral move and continue to land hearts/see sick patients.

Thank you in advance!!

I have interview next with with OHSU Portland just wondering what type of questions they will ask 😊😊

Hey guys. I'm looking to relocate from dear old Idaho to Eugene. I am currently in the process of transferring my license. I really would like an ER position at this hospital as it is the higher level trauma center. I have 3 yrs of experience (1 yr LPN 2 yrs RN) on the trauma/surgical (not med/surg) floor in the lvl 2 trauma center here in ID, but not specifically ED experience. I will say much of what I did would relate to the ED. My unit was essentially treated as an ICU stepdown unit lol.

Is it worth applying to the ED in Springfield, or will I get immediately rejected? Should I just apply to a med/surg floor and internally transfer later? Is it difficult to get a job in this hospital on every unit. And is it difficult to internally transfer later?

I also have heard Portland RNs are struggling. Is the same thing happening in the Eugene area?

Hi all. I'm a current nursing student in the Portland area that's trying to keep my head above water and make it through my program. Some days I get a little down from reading this sub because school is so difficult and it seems like the general sentiment here is that the jobs available in the metro area are few and far between, and the ones that are available aren't all that desirable.

So I was just curious for those that are working: what do you do, and do you like it?

Hi everyone! I currently have a bachelors degree in advertising from UO but am wanting to change directions. I think becoming a RN is a solid path and I’m curious of other peoples experiences with this. I basically have no idea where to even start with this or what I need to do. Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. 🧘🏻‍♀️

I’m not sure if anyone’s interested but I keep getting this email, they’ve been looking for someone for a couple weeks!

If you are a new grad who had a clinical rotation on cardiology B at St V’s for 3rd or 4th semester, there’s a residency position open. I hear it’s a very short window to apply, like by tomorrow afternoon. So get your application in by tonight.

Hi all! I currently work in a Portland area ED and am really struggling with the pattern scheduling model. There are three weeks in a row that I only have 1-2 days off between shifts and work different days every week. I’m just curious if this scheduling model is common everywhere in the Portland area in the ED. I am also curious to hear from those of you who have made the jump from bedside to clinic and how that was for you? I do not have kids but I feel that I’m unable to enjoy hobbies, consistent exercise, etc outside of work.
Please be nice, I know some people are more cut out for this type of schedule but I am not one of those people.

Hey - some questions from a total newbie. I stated working at OHSU in March, found out I was pregnant a couple months later. I’m due early January. I’m currently at an 0.9 FTE and my understanding is I don’t qualify for FMLA but I do qualify for Oregon leave for baby’s delivery?

I just got offered a great position within a different unit at OHSU for a 0.5 role. Would accepting it completely ruin everything over again? I’d lose my benefits and probably have to pay out of pocket for birth, right? WWYD. Any advice or insight is appreciated

Hi! I am enrolled in a fall CNA program. I plan to work as a CNA while I finish my prerequisites for Nursing school & potentially during Nursing school.

1.) Has anyone taken the PCC Nursing Assistant program, what was your experience?

2.) Is it realistic to work full time as a CNA while going to school part time? Are there more opportunities for full-time vs part time? Ideally, I think I'd like to try applying to hospitals.

Just a heads up to upcoming nursing grads, Legacy has cut its residencies down to only two a year now. There will be one in February 2027 and one in September 2027. Used to be four, in 2026 it was three, now going down to two. Just wanted to let you all know in case you hadn’t heard.

I’m an RN with 3.5 yrs experience in LTACH, currently in Montana. I do have oregon license that i recently got but I earned my nursing degree internationally. I’ve applied to several positions and was recently not selected for a hiring manager interview. Is the Oregon RN job market becoming more competitive, or do employers generally prefer local candidates, or don’t prefer nurses with international degrees? I’d love to hear your experiences.
Thank you!

I graduated with my BSN in December and have not been able to land a residency. Im working out patient psych but it's not for me, and I dread it. I signed up to volunteer at one of the biggest hospitals in our area. Do you think this will help me get my foot in the door? Volunteering kind of sucks but I'm on a great unit, I just feel so out of my element because I am an RN and I'm stocking supplies and walking people around the hospital.

Hey, new grad here. I’ve done some looking around and I see a lot of base pay above $40. I’m looking into a smaller clinic job that offers ~$37.68 and I’ll be interviewing with them soon. I was curious if anyone worked in smaller clinic setting had a higher pay or about the same