Getting into New Graduate Nurse Residency Program

[greekisfun]

Well, I'm a nursing student expecting to Graduate 2010. I've had no health care related experience and i wasn't able to land a student nurse externship this summer. My question is, what can i do know to increase my chances of getting into a new graduate residency program when i graduate May 2010?

I wanted to volunteer in a hospital, i don't know if that would increases my chances or not.

Please let me know what you guys think.

[breeah62]

hey i'm in the same situation as you basically, i graduate in may of 2010 and i tried everywhere to get an externship this summer and couldn't. I settled with getting a summer job as a home health aide for a nursing agency. Even though it's not an externship it still involves working in the health care field so I figured that's better than not having any experience come next may. So i would recommend searching for home health aide jobs, or if you are set on working in a hospital setting then look for aide jobs for get your CNA if you haven't already and that should help you with your Job Search!

volunteering would help your resume as well but i'm not sure whether an aide position or volunteer position is better than the other or not.

[Perpetual Student]

Try to get a job--any job--with any of the larger hospitals or hospital systems in your area. A job as a nurse tech would be ideal, with a CNA job being a close second, but others will also make you an internal applicant, which can be very helpful in some places. Volunteering might also be helpful, as it's something you could mention in an interview that will make you sound good, but relevant employment is your best bet. Good luck. :nuke: