Graduating seniors with virtual clinical experience instead (due to COVID): Have any of you had residency or job interview experiences to share?

[berkenkot]

Please share your experiences.

I was just curious how interviews (and the discussions) have gone regarding rotations that have been largely virtual (instead of traditional) due to the pandemic.

I've wondered about seniors who have lost their practicums or capstones.

I also wonder about instances where your clinical experience for the specialty you hoped to purse/apply for (e.g. Peds) was completely virtual due to COVID-19. Are you just unfortunately out of luck of trying to have it as your first job? Are nurse managers understanding?

Thank you!

[careerchange1]

*bump* I have the same questions! I'm in an accelerated program and set to graduate in December, so in total 2/3 of my program will be during COVID-19. I'm in virtual clinicals right now and I'm worried about my job prospects after I graduate because of that.

[New_2_ICU]

Good morning! I graduated in May of this year, right in the middle of this COVID mess, and while it changed my graduating semester in unexpected ways, it has not hindered me getting a job.

The only clinical that I had left was my Capstone, and I was very disappointed that I didn't get to participate in that. I felt I had worked very hard to get the capstone that I wanted (ICU, they only offer 1 at my clinical site), and that it would be great practical experience.

This was replaced by simulations and additional assignments. Not the same.

Obviously, graduation was cancelled. No pinning. No honor society luncheon. None of that... Making the end of a LOT of hard work feel VERY anticlimactic.

That being said.

All of my interviews were video based.

I received an offer from my 1st choice hospital AND unit, based off of a video interview. And passed NCLEX in 60 questions.

Was it the final semester that I planned? No. But in the long run, I'm still a nurse, and that's what counts!

[rnbella39]

Hi there! I had my capstone cut short and was only able to do five out of the thirteen total shifts I was supposed to do. My situation is a little different since I was able to get some ICU experience in and talk about it during my interviews. However, with the three interviews I had, all the nurse managers and recruiters seemed very aware of what was happening and did not seem to let that negatively impact new grads' chances. I think it's important to realize that everyone in your cohort is in the same boat, and the pandemic is affecting EVERYONE'S clinicals/capstones, so no one really has much of a relative advantage/disadvantage!

For my classmates looking to go into a certain specialty area, the shortened capstone didn't seem to reduce their chances. I think around 60-70% of my classmates already had residency positions in their specialty choice by April, even though some of them had only had one or two capstone shifts.

I think overall, nursing managers are definitely understanding and will take into consideration that it's not our fault that our education was interrupted

[Psychnursehopeful, ASN, RN]

I'm in an ADN program with more clinical hours than nearby BSN and ABSN programs. My first year gave us pretty decent experience. Ob and pediatrics are virtual but thankfully my program is connected to the hospital so capstone in ICU/ER is happening, PPE had been given and the vaccine is rumoured to be otw to students just in time for next semester (Spring 21')