An increase in the number of new nursing students graduating across the country in today's tight market has made finding a job even more competitive over the past few years. Now, an announcement by hospital giant Kaiser Permanente that it was building a new facility in California is giving hope to hundreds of health care workers in Orange County. Officials in Mission Viejo, California, recently approved the new 36,022 square-foot building that will house 24 doctor's offices, a pharmacy and outpatient services. Tamera Rice, assistant dean of health sciences and humans services for Saddleback College, told the Lariat News that despite a 64 percent increase in the number of nursing graduates at the school over the past two years, many are finding jobs in a reasonable amount of time. "We've been pretty fortunate. Students are finding jobs within three to six months of graduating," Rice told the school's news source. "However, dropping off your resume is not enough. Students need to be persistent. A lot of networking is involved" The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that job opportunities for registered nurses are expected to grow by 22% through the end of the decade. |