advice for a future nurse

If you plan on being at Seattle U and in that general physical area I would look at getting CNA certification and then trying to an establish yourself at a hospital and if that is not available then at a long term care facility. Then as a student when you apply as a Nurse Tech you could simply transfer from CNA to NT if you work in that hospital or at least have a background of long term care to help make you a better candidate.. other then that I would just focus on getting in school at this point :)

v/r

Try to get your CNA certification and work part time if you can in a hospital. Try to stay away from long term care. Working in a hospital will make smooth work of nursing school for you and will go a long way to help you with the basics and get you comfortable with patients. In addition, it will get your foot in the door of a facility where you can probably stay after graduation. That is what I did and after school I had a job waiting for me. Now the job market is different up here. My nursing friends in Texas, where I am from, tell me that are hurting for nurses all over the place down there. And there are some GREAT hospitals to work in in Texas plus some great nursing schools if you decide to transfer. But if you ever do move to the south like Texas or Florida you will find a lot of "for profit" hospitals there like HCA. DON'T WORK AT A FOR PROFIT HOSPITAL. You won't get what you need in terms of orientation, support or money and you sure won't have enough help.

Thanks everyone for your help! I really appreciate it!

One thing I did as a nursing student was shadow experiences...I followed an RN in the ER, ICU, labor & delivery, and OR. It was a great introduction into which types of nursing actually interested me (as well as which didnt) and got my foot in the door as far as starting to network. Networking is really what it comes down to. Get your name and face out there. Get yourself and your resume noticed. Show interest in several aspects of nursing, but be genuine about it. Then, as others have said, go for your CNA and NT. The skills you gain with either of those, are invaluable when you start clinicals and then when you apply for senior practicum.

Hope this helps

Cheers :redbeathe:nurse::redbeathe

With your timeline of starting school soon (congrats!)

I would look at doing CNA course over the summer OR looking at when your assessment class is conducted because you can call WA DOH and with your assessment course you can self study and then take CNA on your own accord.

Since you mentioned you'd want to be a tech you could get CNA and then xfer to tech position (usually need to do at least 6 mo prior to xfer), or you could work as a CNA at a different location and then apply (LTC might be a good way to get a job quickly over the summer and expose you to a lot of unique gero related care), or you could get CNA and then Volunteer at a hospital where you might hope to work (I like this idea as you'll be very busy for first quarters) and then apply for tech position after you are eligible or towards summer of first year... volunteering will be something you can do more of during the summer, gain hospital exposure and perhaps it will look great on a resume for that hospital.

v/r

Start networking on day one and work at a hospital at any cost--even though you will surely burn out putting the 500-lbers on the commode... . Otherwise you are at the mercy of your clinical preceptors to get your foot in the door. I was not lucky--had some crazy preceptors and one really good one who got ill... So I had to move out of state for a new grad job. The Seattle market is brutal for new grad nurses. Honestly, I can't believe anyone is even still going to nursing school with the amount of saturation there is in that city. It's really criminal that the schools keep taking the money of nursing students. Most of my classmates are STILL unemployed or underemployed and we graduated in 2009. With BSNs. And no, they are not bad interviewers and/or holding out for some perfect placement. There are no jobs for new grads unless you know someone. Period.