Re: Ohio board of nursing should be ashamed
I graduated June 11th. I sent everything in on June 15th. I didn't get my ATT till Aug 19th. Way to long. I spoke to Karen at BON and she was very nice, considering what she is up against! You would think that the BON would have had the foresight to hire a few people to help ease the crunch! I was told this was the first time with the June grads background checks were necessary, which is what has slowed the process up. I have a friend that graduated with me and she went to Tenn. She took the NCLEX in July! (Passed!!) If I had known, I would have done the same!!!
I have scheduled my exam for Sept 16th. However, I will push it out a week or two if I don't feel prepared. This has been a very stressful Summer. My husband was unemployed from April till last week, Aug 19th. I have been spending the Summer studying and looking for a job. I agree with meloveGL, no one will consider looking at us w/o a license. Can't blame them. They are probably swamped with applications that have their license!
What bothers me even more is the fact that all the local hospitals have hiring freezes. We will be relocating to a larger community where my husband is working. There are several hospitals but the RN positions are few. 90% of them require experience->2 yrs or specalization. With over 7000 grads in Ohio, and hiring freezes where are we supposted to get jobs??? Yes, a precentage of the grads will move out of state and a precentage will not pass the NCLEX or enter the workforce right away. I am supposted to start paying back my student loan in Dec. I hope I have a job before then! I will work in a nursing home or home health setting if need be, but I really want to get a couple of years of Med-Surg under my belt so that I will be more competent and experienced, for the sake of the patients!!
When I entered college five years ago, everyone was screaming for nurses, offering sign-on bonuses, etc., and the outlook was great! Since 2008, that has totally flipped. It is disheartening and discouraging!!

I also am thinking of getting another career besides nursing. This is my second degree. The problem is, jobs are so few right now....there really are no other careers! Have I wasted 5 years and gotten myself into a big debt for nothing??? Yes, depression has start to set in!

Good Luck to everyone on the NCLEX!!!! May we all pass the FIRST TIME!!
Blessings
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