Has anyone heard from the John Muir New grad program?

In reply to a few of the posters:

1) The August '09 cohort of new grads that are a little over halfway done numbered 18 people.

2) In the current class of 18, all but one or two either already worked there in another capacity, or precepted there.

2) The current class has 2 going to surgery, 4 in the progressive care unit, one in ICU, and 11 spread throughout the med/surg floors. As far as I know they're only looking at hiring for med/surg now, and the floors available are as listed on the job announcement (oncology, renal/endocrine, otho, post surg, etc.).

has anyone heard anything yet??

I was able to talk to the nurse recruiter and she told me there are 9 slots total. There are 17 internal applicants alone!!!!!!!! then 500 applicants externally. In a very nice way she told me the chances are slim to none for anyone at this point. She then proceeded to tell me to leave California if possible (she seems super optimistic!!) LOL I have to laugh at this point to keep myself from crying because this **** is ridiculous.

Unfortunately that's reality. Expect those 9 slots to go to the internal applicants especially if they're under a UNION! For internal applicants all they have to do is to put in a transfer and then go through the interview process and then it's up to the directors and AHNs of each unit. It's very frustrating for everyone and those new grad positions are very precious. Just keep hoping and praying that something else comes up. Good luck to everyone.

Given what I know about those 17 internal applicants (I imagine most of them are my cohorts at CSUEB), I sort of feel sorry for the hiring managers having to limit themselves to 9. They are all such strong candidates. It would be difficult to tell a great employee that they did not get promoted into a job they spent years preparing for because another employee interviewed better. I would hope such a large and profitable organization would make room for all 17 employees that showed initiative to become RN's.

Good Luck everyone; eventually this cycle will turn and we will find our places.

Speaking from personal experience, even the internal applicants at JMMC-WC are not guaranteed a position. I worked there for two years and went through two rounds of new grad hiring, to be told I did not get a position and I also had to "vacate" my position. I know that a good number of those hired in August 09 had personal connections (i.e.- daughters and friends of administration) which trumped my hard work over the years. They are not union so they can hire whom ever they want. When I graduated there wer ten of us alone from my school that worked and precepted there, only 2 got offers. I loved working at John Muir, especially my peers, and as nurse it is a pretty cushy place to work with so much support staff (i.e.- CNAs, Lab Techs, RTs, etc...) . However, if you are not popular with the "in crowd" which is the administration then your career there will be shortlived. F.Y.I.- I am not the only person that was treated like this so don't think I am just a single disgruntled employee. If you can get a job there, do it to get your experience, but know that it may not be a place you want to stay. With that being said, Mt. Diablo is better from what I hear and they are union, so you may have a better experience there. My single piece of advice is- shine in your panel interview because that is what they put the most emphasis on. It is mostly personality based questions (i.e.- Talk about a time you received constructive criticism, Why do you want to work at John Muir and/or be a nurse?, What would you do if you were asked to perform a task that you had never completed?). You really need good anectdotes for each questions so that your personality shows through. Good Luck new grads, I have been there (graduated December 2008, Finally Hired September 2009).

itsthegreeneyes, thanks for all your info. where did you end up getting hired?

When I went through the new grad program at JMMC about 3 years ago there were around 45 of us! It has dwindled so much and many of the floors are way overstaffed as it is. I did hear it's only internal applicants this upcoming round and with very few slots.

Those of you that are discouraged about not finding a dream job, try applying elsewhere to nursing homes and other less desirable places. I know when I started my career as a nurse I couldn't find hospital work as a new grad. I worked for a year at a SNF, got some experience and then landed at JMMC. Nothing wrong with working your way up! There ARE jobs out there! Just maybe not quite your dream job. It's not forever. Just a place to start and get some experience.

Just heard today that I got an interview! Good luck everyone