California's 2010 New Grad RN Program

PinkPickle · May 11, 2010

Yeah they told me to meet them there as well when I called today. Last time I spoke with HR she didn't know the room number so she said just meet in the lobby. I will let you know how it goes I'm so nervous.

Good luck!!! I wish you the best. I'm sure I'll be totally nervous right before mine too. The longer I'm out of school, the more I feel like I forget everything I've learned. It's just hard not knowing what they will ask us.

Gem0607 · May 11, 2010

Good luck!!! I wish you the best. I'm sure I'll be totally nervous right before mine too. The longer I'm out of school, the more I feel like I forget everything I've learned. It's just hard not knowing what they will ask us.

Not knowing is def the hardest part I'm dealing with right now. However, my friend just finished up her classroom orientation in the ER and she had scenarios and calculations in her manual and sent me some to look over for practice. I really feel like I have forgot things as well but I'm praying that God brings back everything thta I've learned and I am offered this position. Thank you so much and I wish you the best as well.

ORRocksRN · May 11, 2010

so, lets talk about interviewing... I am nervous about this too, even though I haven't graduated yet (1 month to go!) . They ask pretty standard questions, so lets talk about responses... strengths, weaknesses, what do you want to be doing in 5 years, that kind of thing...

for anyone who has done interviews already, can you tell us what to expect?? is it one person or a panel? what are they looking for? any advice would be appreciated.

thanks!!

namiani · May 11, 2010

I also came in to give them my extra portfolio info pretty quickly after applying. And I'm thinking maybe I did really well on the test? I also feel like my resume, cover, and essay were strong.
On my resume I have: graduated with my BSN, my RN license, several extra certifications, currently volunteering as an RN, previous BS degree in psychology with hospital work experience in psychiatry.
This is the first time I've applied to this hospital, but I've been applying for jobs for 7 months now. Over time, I find that my cover letters, essays, and resumes are better than when I first started applying. I think I'm marketing myself better, and adding more to my resume. It's tough out there. I live in San Diego and this is the first interview I've been offered since a few months ago when I finally started to searching outside of the area. I can't even tell you how many applications I've done. I think it's just a matter of spending all day every day applying. And expanding your search location if you can. I think eventually you will be offered an interview and then a job. Just keep going and don't give up! Good luck!

Thanks for your help and insight! What kinds of things did you put in your portfolio? Do they normally tell you what they need in it or do you just put whatever nursing related things in it yourself? Sorry if it's a dumb question! I'm not graduating till the end of the year and I haven't started applying yet, so just wanna get a head start! And also, what extra certifications do you have?

PinkPickle · May 11, 2010

Thanks for your help and insight! What kinds of things did you put in your portfolio? Do they normally tell you what they need in it or do you just put whatever nursing related things in it yourself? Sorry if it's a dumb question! I'm not graduating till the end of the year and I haven't started applying yet, so just wanna get a head start! And also, what extra certifications do you have?

They almost always tell you want they want you to give them. Sometimes it's simple like: copy of license or test date, copies of certifications, letters of recommendation. I always add in an extra resume and cover letter (addressed to their hospital) even if I know they already have it. And some hospitals ask for essays where they tell you what they want you to answer. Usually 1. why you want to do nursing and 2. goals you have

The biggest advice I will give you while you are still in school is networking! Every hospital and clinical rotation is an open door. I wish I would have made more contacts during school. Meet the charge and the manager. Ask around about potential jobs and what they look for in the new grads that they hire. The more contacts you have, the easier it'll be for you to get a job. Also, when there is an opportunity to ask for a letter of recommendation do it! Also, before you graduate take extra certifications: ACLS (great for all especially ICU), PALS (for pediatrics), NRP (for infants), etc. It kind of depends what area you want to go into. They are costly out of pocket (about $200), but they will boost your resume and sometimes I've heard will get you higher salary. And before you start applying find volunteer work where you can use RN skills (even if it's simply taking BP 1x a week for 2-4 hours). This also looks good on your resume.

I've been job hunting for 7 months, but I really only just started to get people interested after I graduated and passed my boards. So it's really only been 4 months. It's tough and very discouraging at times. I'm constantly telling myself to stay positive and it doesn't mean that I'm not a qualified candidate. Also, if you can move to other locations it will greatly increase your chances of getting hired. I waited until recently to expand my search, but there's already alot more potential outside of my area (San Diego).

Please feel free to ask more questions. It's a hard process, but it'll all be worth it soon!

jyaa · May 12, 2010

I too have an interview at Rancho Springs Medical Center. I cannot believe only 15 of us have interviews! I am so excited but nervous. I have current experience working at a school district as a Registered Nurse and I did a 6 month internship as a med-surg nurse intern. I have my A.S and I live about 10 minutes away from the hospital. I don't know if that's why I got an interview as opposed to others. Good Luck on your interviews mine is next week:D

PinkPickle · May 12, 2010

I too have an interview at Rancho Springs Medical Center. I cannot believe only 15 of us have interviews! I am so excited but nervous. I have current experience working at a school district as a Registered Nurse and I did a 6 month internship as a med-surg nurse intern. I have my A.S and I live about 10 minutes away from the hospital. I don't know if that's why I got an interview as opposed to others. Good Luck on your interviews mine is next week:D

Congrats! I'm sure your experience is a big plus. I hope we all get hired. Good luck to you. :)

OB6658 · May 12, 2010

Try looking at the hospital websites in this link. If they have new grad programs, most will list as such or as a "Versant" program. I know Fountain Valley Regional had a listing for a Versant RN about a week ago.

http://www.theagapecenter.com/Hospitals/California.htm

Good Luck

missyrynal · May 13, 2010

The good news is, Loma Linda's New Grad program does not have preference for their nursing grads because they are not affiliated with the university's nursing program (according to the nurse recruiter I spoke to). The bad news is, we have to wait another WEEK before we hear from managers and whatnot. That seems like light years to me, yea? :eek:

PinkPickle · May 13, 2010

The good news is, Loma Linda's New Grad program does not have preference for their nursing grads because they are not affiliated with the university's nursing program (according to the nurse recruiter I spoke to). The bad news is, we have to wait another WEEK before we hear from managers and whatnot. That seems like light years to me, yea?

I was thinking about calling the recruiter too. Yes, waiting and more waiting. Thanks for the update :rolleyes:

BEBE1MEE · May 13, 2010

The good news is, Loma Linda's New Grad program does not have preference for their nursing grads because they are not affiliated with the university's nursing program (according to the nurse recruiter I spoke to). The bad news is, we have to wait another WEEK before we hear from managers and whatnot. That seems like light years to me, yea?

Thank you for this information...I was wondering when they will start calling applicants...Good luck to all of us

TraumaJunkieRN · May 13, 2010

so, lets talk about interviewing... I am nervous about this too, even though I haven't graduated yet (1 month to go!) . They ask pretty standard questions, so lets talk about responses... strengths, weaknesses, what do you want to be doing in 5 years, that kind of thing...
for anyone who has done interviews already, can you tell us what to expect?? is it one person or a panel? what are they looking for? any advice would be appreciated.
thanks!!

I was grilled for 1.5 hours in my interview! I've heard some interviews in other departments were simple conversations but this was totally different. It was a panel of the department managers. The general personality questions are a given (i.e. tell me about yourself, why do you want to work here, why should we hire you, what can you contribute, 3 words to describe yourself, etc.) This made up about 20% of the questions in my interview in the beginning.

The last 80% were scenarios and questions to expose my critical thinking skills and weaknesses. I was given different emergency scenarios in which I had to list what nursing actions I would do, what medications to expect the doctor to order, what are the dosages of those medications, and what is the diagnosis of the patient. Then I was given prioritization questions for different situations. Things were pulled out of the air to make the questions more difficult once I got them right. For example, the question may be what you would do for a patient who is in 10/10 pain and all non-pharmacological measures have failed. You say the patient needs an IV push of an ordered pain medication after checking against any contraindications (which is the correct answer). Then the scenario changes to "what if the patient is an IV drug user, the only line he has is a central line but he pulls it out due to agitation, becomes combative, and wants to leave AMA so he can sue you because you won't give him pain meds?" Definitely not the easiest interview when the questions are biased against you from the start lol. Luckily, I was already an employee of the hospital and had some advice prior to going into the interview about what to expect. Thus, I read up on a couple of things relating to emergency medicine. However, that almost lead to my downfall which I will explain later.

The best thing I can recommend is to be honest. I would not have gotten my job without honesty and a job would not be worth doing for me if honesty was not important. One of the first questions was if I ever made a medication error. I answered yes (I had given a PRN dose of Zofran early once). They thanked me for my honesty and said, if I said I have never made a medication error, that would have been a red flag because virtually ever nurse has made an medication. When you come to those questions, it's better to err on the side of honesty in case it is a test of your integrity. Throughout the interview, if I did not know the answer, I didn't BS and trying to force the answer. I just simply said I didn't know the answer but I would know where to find it and moved on.

Now the juicy part. Couple of days after my interview, I received a call from the manager. I was asked if I received help for my interview. I answered yes, that I was given advice prior to my interview (thought I shot myself in the foot with that answer). The manager said something like no interviewer can possibly have done as good as me and that I was able to answer some questions before they were even asked, and that it was considered cheating (now i thought I really didn't get the job). But then the manager said that my honesty was appreciated and that I would be hired or terminated based on my answer to that question. Since I answered yes, I was offered the position. Therefore, the biggest lesson I learned from my interview was to be honest lol.