OK... so there are no words for how frustrated I am today. I want to scream into a pillow. Or something else generally "therapeutic"... but first some background-
I graduated my ADN program May 11, 2012. I have had a hell of a time just getting to graduation - ex-hubby asked for a divorce when I got home from the first day of nursing school, left me with two kids & no income so that our house was foreclosed on in my second semester. During my summer psych (third) semester I had to move into my parent's roach infested home because it was there or the homeless shelter - just to stay in Nursing school. Then, during my fourth semester the front tire on my car blew which then caused the vehicle to bottom out and dislodge the oil pan just enough to render the vehicle undriveable. Finally, during my final semester I have so far not been able to find a residency because I am "not competitive enough" as stated by the *large Dallas hospital* recruiter and many others. Honestly I have been through alot, there are other who may have been through more I guess, but the fact that I made it through all that with a better than 3.0 GPA and no previous medical experience should speak VOLUMES about my ability and my passion for the field. I should also add that I did that with no special accomodations for my situation, many of my instructors didn't even know what I was going through. Alas, all residencies in the DFW area are now full (with the exception of the *closest county hospital* - whom I desperatley would love to work with, but have not heard a single word from other than *this is the last email you will get unless you are selected as a candidate*) and I am left with nothing but the reassurance from others that it "gets better once you have RN behind your name."
I said I graduated May 11 right? It is now June 3 and I still have no Authorization to Test. The board you ask? NO! Two people in my Nursing class failed to apply for graduation, so it held up ALL of our Affidavits of Graduation at the college. Now test sites and dates are filling up and I may have to make a bank-breaking drive 4 hours away just to test NCLEX. I have made it through school without once screaming "It's not fair" but this one time, I think I am justified - why should 2 people hold up a class of over 100??? I don't know what to do I am so stressed and I only have a month or so of expenses put away to care for myself and my children - I am running out of options. I don't want to leave the field. I want to go higher, because Nursing seems like the only fit for me - BSN, then MSN/DNP in Midwifery and CNM!! But it seems as if nobody cares....... HR is an impenetrable wall. I just feel so discouraged, I try to keep a positive outlook, a smile on face even though I am crying inside. I just need some support, somewhere to turn before I break. I am so tired of the "it's not what you know, it's who you know culture" here in DFW.
Any ideas that could help me stand out? Maybe draw a recruiters attention and help me be more "competitive?" I am already a AWHONN member (won a free membership at a meeting, luckily) and am getting ready to take the Intro to Fetal Monitoring class - but I am not limiting myself to just WH/OB/L&D internships because what I need more right now is a way to feed my kids and get them out of my parents deplorable home, while I grow that and do my BSN (already enrolled)...
