Graduated on Saturday... 5 interviews already!

Nurses Job Hunt

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It's been a week since graduation with my BSN and I'm so happy that on Monday I had 4 interviews- 1 in HR, 1 with ER, and 2 with the health system's two OR's- the main hospital and the community one. Then on Tuesday I shadowed in the ER and today I had my peer interview there also. Next week I have an OR peer interview and an initial Telemetry interview.

The only position I actually applied to was the ER- HR forwarded my application to the other departments and they called me. I'm so excited and hope I get at least one job offer.

I heard so many stories on this site about new grads not being able to find jobs and I feel so lucky that I got interviews so quickly! The hospitals are within a half hour of where I live (with my parents) and eventually I can move closer into the city. Everyone seems so nice and the ER and OR were some of my favorite rotations. I'll keep everyone updated :)

well well it is true that with an education it can take you anywhere... good luck on whichever position you choose....

Sorry for the late update, but I have accepted a job offer in the ER that I originally applied for! I'm so excited! I just had my pre-employment physical and drug test yesterday and orientation starts June 18th!

I'll give some background about myself, since a couple of you asked: I did not take the NCLEX yet. As a student, I got mostly A's and B's in my classes, a couple C's throughout the 4 years in the particularly hard nursing classes. But I will tell you- NO ONE even asked about my grades! I graduated cum laude, and the one interviewer asked what that meant, and I explained the GPA requirements for that title, but that's as close as it got. I have to give HR a copy of my official transcript but I have already accepted the position, so my grades were not part of the hiring process. I feel that was really sealed the deal for me was that I precepted in the ER for about a month as part of my critical care clinical rotation, and they were really pleased by that. In my interview I stressed how I understand how the ER functions, how important prioritization and time management is, and they were impressed with that. I also talked about how I worked as an aide in an assisted living facility over summers, and even though I wasn't doing actual nursing care, I learned a lot about managing my time and working with patients. They were also impressed that I had started IV's in school and felt comfortable with it. I didn't even know this, but some nursing school's don't allow students to start IV's? My school provided an IV class, which I took to become IV certified.

I would not say that the job market is great in central PA. This was the only call back I had gotten after applying for every position in every hospital that I could. Most managers want at least a year experience, if not two or three, but apparently where I got hired they like new graduates. There are two other new graduates being hired along with me in this department, and 5 or 6 in the other hospital's ER. So I feel like I just got lucky. But good luck to you all and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask :)

You said you 'precepted' in the ER...was that a clinical rotation with an instructor and other students? Or maybe an internship? I ask because I went the ADN route and our clinicals were about nine students and one instructor. Do most BSN programs do precepting differently? I am looking into RN-BSN right now and hopeful that it will help me land a job.

You also mentioned the IV certification- was that something only your program did or do you know if it is something the can be obtained post-graduation and where to look for details?

Cogratulations on the job! You inspire me!

For most of our clinicals there were a maximum of 10 students to one clinical professor. For our critical care rotation, the first half of the semester was spent like that. For the second half, we chose our top 3 hospital and critical care departments and we were assigned to a nurse in one of the departments. For about a month I "precepted" with a nurse that was not a professor through the school but a volunteer staff member. I basically shadowed and got to participate in what I felt comfortable with. It felt great being with a nurse one-on-one. It really helped me to decide that I wanted to be an ER nurse. As for the IV class, it was offered along with CPR classes in my school's health center. They has flyers for it in the nursing department and they offered it every semester to juniors and seniors in healthcare majors. It was just a one day class and honestly wasn't that helpful, but I could put it on my resume.

Thanks for the reply. That sounds great- the one on one experience in clinical. I do very well that way. Wish my program had done that!!! I really lack confidence because I feel I didn't get the practice I needed in school. Volunteering with a free clinic in town has taken the edge off a little, but it's just triage, no real nursing skills are done. Thanks again!

I was happy to learn that in my final 8 weeks of my BSN program will be no formal classes but instead a full time preceptorship. I hope that 2 months of "work" will be impressive on a resume.

Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.
I was happy to learn that in my final 8 weeks of my BSN program will be no formal classes but instead a full time preceptorship. I hope that 2 months of "work" will be impressive on a resume.

A preceptorship is not enough to be considered "work" ... you're still a student. What counts is what you do after you earn your BSN.

Well obviously what you do with your BSN is important, but I'm talking about getting my first job, which was also the OP's original topic. I know it's not an actual job, which is why "work" is in quote marks. Coming from another field into a BSN program, its about all I'll have to list on my resume when I apply for jobs other than some volunteer experience.

Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.

It'll all depend on what other programs in your area do. If they all.do preceptorships then it might not be impressive. If they then sell the stuffing out of it.

Specializes in ICU.

Congratulations! It's nice to hear a success story. And it's even better that you were able to land a job in the field of your choice. I am also in PA but I am having a bummer of a time where I am. Would you mind private messaging me the name of the hospital system or general city area? I am starting an rn to bsn program this year but would not mind relocating in PA if an opportunity came up.

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