Cedars-Sinai New Grad Summer 09

NewestRN_OnTheBlock · Jun 12, 2009

the gift? that lil name tag thing? its gonna sit in the box! lol... or did you get something that i didn't get?

i graduated from an ADN program as well. but my interviewer was really sweet. she assured me that she remembers how it feels to be in our position... so she helped me relax. i actually interviewed with cedars in february and wasn't selected. my interviewer in february seemed nice, but was VERY picky with the way i answered his questions... i'm just happy that, even if i don't get selected this time again, i walked away feeling good about my interview... as opposed to the first interview when i walked out feeling so incompetent! lol good luck to you though... maybe she just SEEMED uninterested but thought you did better than she led you to believe...

lsvalliant · Jun 13, 2009

Good luck to all of you! Honestly, I think the delay is because they are trying to find permanent positions for 100 new grads that are all finishing the previous (March) residency right now. As soon as we move from med/surg to a specialty or not, then they can determine exactly how many they are going to hire probably to fill the remaining med/surg positions.

For the training.. we did 5 weeks on a surgical floor and 5 weeks on a medical floor. Then we could interview for a specialty. But it is even more challanging to get because you are competing with everyone that was allready weeded out and hired. It is SUPER competative. And yes, all of the managers look at GPA even after you are hired.

GoldenBear2 · Jun 13, 2009

Ditto on what NewestRN said... I called nurse recruitment yesterday and they said that we have to wait three weeks! So I guess that means we'll hear by 6/26 or so.

Healer007 · Jun 13, 2009

hello everyone,

first of all, thank you all for sharing your experiences and information.

i had my interview on june 4th, and according to the manager i interviewed with, they will be communicating their decision by the end of this month. i had no idea this program was so competitive until i was informed of the 1600 candidates being interviewed. i was as disappointed at this number as i was at their gpa requirement, which they didn't specify until right at the interview. in my case it is just disappointing given that i traveled from nj just for the interview. other than that, it was a wonderful experience, and i walked out feeling pretty well about the interview.

it is hard to understand that those of you who started in march still have to compete for the specialty of your interest.....how does that work? :confused:

i wish you all the best luck as you wait to hear from the program recruiters!!!

1louise1 · Jun 13, 2009

i was just thinking....they said 1600-1700 people applied, which may absolutely be true (remember how easy it was to apply online? that's all we had to do! i can totally see 170000000000000 people applying to cedars through that app) HOWEVER there is absolutely no way they could say how many people interviewed, like i said earlier, when i checked in, they were counting how many no-shows there were for the 230 slot, and i don't know about you, but when i signed-in on the form with my name, address, gpa, school, etc.....all the pages i could see were blank....no one had signed in yet! i don't know you guys, it doesn't really matter now, but there's no way that many people actually interviewed. let's just remember to breathe, everytime my phone rings i jump.

RNPatty · Jun 14, 2009

it is hard to understand that those of you who started in march still have to compete for the specialty of your interest.....how does that work?

after our first five weeks of rotation, they took our top three choices and gave them to the appropriate departments. i took it upon myself to contact the nurse manager for the department i wanted directly via email. she interviewed within a few days. i sent an email the next day thanking her for the interview and she offered me a position in her return reply. i got the specialty that i wanted and i got days. however, i am not sure how many people were interested in my specialty (oncology).

the majority of new grads seem to want icu or step down. i know it was real competitive for tele, only because i believe that is where they were directing all the new grads that wanted icu. from what i understand, the training for icu does not start until august, and the icu hopefuls needed a medical floor to go to while they wait. i could be totally wrong though, since i am not interested in icu or tele. i know it seems like people won't get their specialty, but they are trying to not use any travelers anymore. in addition, we are converting to all computerized charting in nov and i know they were trying to staff appropriately for that transition. i am not sure how many positions that opens up for each department though.

lsvalliant · Jun 14, 2009

"it is hard to understand that those of you who started in march still have to compete for the specialty of your interest.....how does that work? :confused:"

first of all, when we were hired in march, we were told to expect to be working med/surg for at least 6 months. then that changed to we can interview with different managers for specialty training programs towards the end of the 10 week residency.

there is alot of interest for l&d, icu, and or/pacu. 50+ people applied for the specialty training program i wanted, which included about 20 new grads and the rest were cedars nurses wanting to transfer or experienced nurses from other hospitals. btw that is for 8 positions.

my understanding is that new grads that do not get the specialty of their choice will go to a med/surg floor of the hospitals choice. i have a temp. assignment until i find out if i got it. it makes sense that they are delaying the next hire because of staffing uncertainty.

ps i dont think that 1600 number is true. i heard its between about 600 candidates. good luck!

RNPatty · Jun 14, 2009

lsvalliant, thanks for the PM with the congrats! I am sorry I have to post here but I have not been part of allnurses long enough to have PM privileges.

Yes, I am part of the second group:-)

I hope you get your specialty! 50 people!!! That really bites:-(

Healer007 · Jun 14, 2009

thank you both rnpatty and isvalliant for sharing your experiences and clarifying my doubts about the program. now i know what to expect. it is such a relief to know that the 1600-1700 numbers aren't real....600 sounds more realistic!!!

give that many of you won't start specialties until august, and that some of you (that don't get the specialty of choice) might remain in med/surg.....do you think they will really have 50 openings in med/surg for those starting in july/august?

it is a shame that just now they are trying not to hire more travelers as many people that interviewed were from other states :-(

anyways.... rnpatty- congratulations on getting a position in oncology! isvalliant- good luck to you!!! and for the rest of you guys waiting- let's just keep our fingers crossed!!

lsvalliant · Jun 14, 2009

"give that many of you won't start specialties until august, and that some of you (that don't get the specialty of choice) might remain in med/surg.....do you think they will really have 50 openings in med/surg for those starting in july/august?"

thats hard to say, i dont think they even they know the exact number yet.

but new grads are moving into specialties, so there are definatly some openings coming up soon.

"it is a shame that just now they are trying not to hire more travelers as many people that interviewed were from other states :-("

travelers are from outside agency companies and get paid alot more money than new grads. thats why they are being phased out. dont worry, lots of people in my group are not from the la area.

jazzyjulz · Jun 14, 2009

I was just curious if anyone had called or emailed the recruiters about the whole 3.5 GPA thing. I was curious as to why it was never mentioned before we handed them our packet at the interview. I was thinking that if it was really that huge of a deal with them then they would have listed it on the original application process...

Healer007 · Jun 15, 2009

Isvalliant, thanks for the clarifications! I totally missunderstood what you said. I was so distracted with my own worries that I didn't realize you were talking about traveling nurses.

I am also hoping that the GPA was not a huge deal. I think a good interview, resume, and experience probably takes priority over GPA.....however, I don't know if they will really take the time to read 600+ portfolios.