Re: Have I been beaten
I agree with chicookie--you aren't beaten. Nursing programs are very competitive. If you were good enough to get in, you have a lot going for you. And while these are difficult economic times, that's much less true in healthcare than elsewhere. I'd recommend you look for a different job right away. A lot of places look at employing aides who are nursing students as a way to recruit nurses. There are facilities that want you. And as someone else noted, there may be units within your present facility who want you enough to work with you.
If you have an idea what sort of nursing you want to do when you graduate, I'd look there first. It's not easy, most places, for a new GN to get a job in L&D, for example, but if you've done good work there as an aide, you might have a foot in the door.
I started school with the attitude that my job, as an orderly, came first, because I could do my job without school, but I couldn't go to school without my job. In orientation, I found out how many people who were qualified didn't get into my program, and I decided I'd flip burgers if I had to to get through school. It never came to that, because my manager worked with me on my schedule, and now I'm a nurse on the same unit.
One advantage I did have is that my job was a bit less critical than an aide's.
If we're short aides, it's a problem. If they were short in my position, it was merely inconvenient. So you might look for a job that isn't quite so indispensible. Still, if you tell someone up front the schedule you need and they agree to it, they ought to keep their word. And there are people who will. (Being willing to pick up extra shifts during school breaks is something any manager would appreciate.)
Hang in there. And I'd be looking hard for another job in the hope of getting back into school ASAP.
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