Should I bother going through all of this hassle for a job?

Nursing Students General Students

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Specializes in LDRP.

ive been applying for hospital PCT jobs like mad for months now. I am halfway through my diploma program and would really like to get some acute care experience before i graduate. I'm really interested in critical care and would love to work there as an RN someday. One of the jobs I applied for is in a CCU at a hospital thats pretty close to my house. I had an interview today and I would love to have this job! The unit looks awesome, the NUM was really nice, and the interview went well. I think I have a decent chance at getting hired. This is all great and exciting, but I have a small problem:

If I get hired their are 3 mandatory orientation days I must attend. The unit is really in need so if I get hired they want to get me in ASAP. The 3 days are a monday, tuesday and wednesday from about 7-4. I knew I would probably have to miss a day or two of school, but these particular days are not good ones to miss.

monday is a clinical day. we are allowed to miss one clinical day, but we have to pay 100 dollars to make it up at the end of the semester--thats ok, i am willing to do that.

tuesday is an exam day. this is the one that most worries me. im hoping my teacher is understanding and will let me make it up either later in the day or the next day. thankfully there is no lecture scheduled that day, so if i can reschedule the test it would be good.

wednesday is lecture from 8-3. that is a LOT of lecture to miss. I have a recorder and can most likely get a classmate to record the lecture for me, but its going to be touch learning all of that. however, the next day is thanksgiving and we have off until the following monday, so it would give me time to catch up.

does anyone think this would be doable? i know i will only know if i ask my instructor, but would any of you go through all of this just to get a job? i mean, its a great opportunity and it will be great on my resume, especially if i want to get into critical care, but ill never get there if i fail out of school! any advice? talk some sense into me.

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Specializes in LTC.

Yes, do it !! It is so nice to have your foot in the door.

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:grn:I am in the exact same situation as you! I just left (literally 2 hours ago) one of the days of orientation for the Extern position I just landed. Talk about the stress I feel right now. I have an exam tomorrow, and I am going to show up late to another day of orientation after my exam. The hospital I just got hired at is going to do a 1:1 with me to make up the lost time because they need help a.s.a.p. Then I have to go to 4 hours of orientation Wed. THEN work a 12 hr. night shift for my preceptorship....

Have you asked the hospital to work with you? Hopefully they will.

Oh, and the reason I am stressed is because they just told me TODAY that I have to come WED. to the "Extern" training. I would have never scheduled a 12 hr. night shift if I had known this. The HR lady "FORGOT" to tell me. Needless to say, I just poured a glass of red wine to try and calm myself down.... And no, I'm not drinking it all because I have an exam in the a.m.

I think you should go for it. It's just one week of torture... right??? (That's my thought process anyways.)

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I had a similar situation like yours, where I was going to miss an exam for training. I begged and pleaded with my instructor but she wouldn't let me take it on another day. She was willing to let me miss her lecture, though. My clinicals were not affected. Anyways, my plan was to do my exam (which was a MIDTERM), then go late to the training. And...then the hospital rescinded the job because of "internal structuring"; they had to offer the job to current employees instead. :mad:

The moral of my story is that I was completely stressed over doing all of this, imagining all of the possible scenarios (failing my midterm, not doing well in training), and then the opportunity vanished! If I could do it again I would still have done it because a foot in the door is worth its weight in gold, but I would not have spent energy stressing over it!

Also, $100 to miss a clinical day? Who do you actually pay? The nursing school? Is that their end of year party fund?:)

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Specializes in LDRP.

yeah we pay the nursing school.. we dont have to pay it if we have a drs note. i guess its because they have to pay an instructor to come in an extra day...

anyway, i asked my teacher about it today and she said there is NO WAY anyone can miss clinical this semester because we have no days to make it up.. and she wasnt too keen on me missing the test, she said she would discuss it with the other teacher for the course, but it will be very unlikely. :bluecry1: (what happens if someone gets sick?!)

i really want this job, but i cant fail out of school over it. im hoping if i get the job offer they will work with me. the HR lady did say they have orientation for techs once a month, and i would be able to attend the december one because id be on break, im just worried they wont let me do that because they need people now on that unit and why would they hire me and wait a month when they could hire someone else and have them working right away?:uhoh3:

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:uhoh21: How are things going? Did you get anything worked out yet?

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Specializes in LDRP.

thanks for asking.. not yet, still waiting on HR to call me and if they offer me the job im going to ask if they can work with me.. ill be sure to update with what happens! and hopefully its good :/ they have called at least one of my references though. :)

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