Help with ideas for extra experience

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Hi,

I am graduating this May 2010 with an associate's degree in nursing and I'm basically starting to FREAK out!!! I am overwhelmed with instructors saying things like "you won't get hired unless you speak spanish" or "don't even bother applying in this area, you won't find a job" and bla bla bla... If I had known that I needed to become a nurses aide or LPN, AND speak spanish, AND go on medical missions to third world countries, etc, AND get a Bachelor's degree (or there's no hope for me!) I really don't think I would have chosen this path, really... I am so overwhelmed I feel like I could explode right now. And then I look at all my classmates around me, who actually seem to have a lot of this experience and I feel like crying. I've been a stay-at-home mom for the past few years, and have zero health care experience besides nursing school. My resume is pathetic. So, does anyone have any suggestions for me? I can't find a job as a nurse's assistant because my school schedule conflicts with every job posting I've seen so far. I just don't know what my options are at this point. What would happen if I graduated and then got a job as a nursing assistant? Is that wierd? Any help is greatly appreciated, or moral support. I'm really just losing it...:crying2:

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See if you can volunteer or use your clinical hours on a resume. I know a lot of ppl get to shadow or volunteer.

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i could have written this post.... i also did not realize that there is so much more to becoming a nurse than just graduating and passing the nclex. i am a student/stay-at-home mom, with no experience in health care. i'm starting my third of four semesters tomorrow. i am scheduled to graduate the adn program in dec 10... my resume is almost blank.

my school does not offer classes in the summer so i was planning to find a cna job this summer to gain some experience. i currently do not have a cna licenses so i will have to obtain one before then. i agree it is a lot of hurdles i was not counting on... i have a feeling that this will not be the last hurdle in my journey of becoming a nurse.

while waiting on summer break for the cna job i was planning on volunteering in the hospital, i'm hoping i can pick my hours to work around my already full schedule. most of my classmates already have jobs or experience in the healthcare field. i feel i am at a disadvantage and a little discouraged. but, i know with a little patients and perseverance i will be a nurse working in the area i enjoy.

i am so tired of the "omg i don't know if i will....get accepted, pass the math comp, find childcare, pass check offs, pass clinical, graduate, pass nclex, write a good resume, pass an interview, blah, blah, blah... i've made up my mind that i'm not only gonna make it but i'm gonna enjoy the trip... so what if i have to take a cna job to gain experiace. if it is what i have to do to get where i want to be. i'll make the most of it. don't let these obstacles burn you out before you ever get started.

good luck to you.

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I hear you! Last year I was told by the dean that I am doing exceptional in clinical and class and it was not necessary for me to work as a CNA or PCA for additional practice-felt I would have an easy transition. There were very few CNA/PCA jobs at the time anyway, many hospitals had hiring freezes. They anticipated the job market in our area would turn around before graduation. They seem to be wrong, and I'm getting more and more nervous as May approaches.

I have been a stay at home mom for 5 years and have no healthcare experience outside of school. Now, with the job market still bad, I am getting nervous. None of the hospitals will hire senior nursing students, which I guess is understandable, by the time they finish training, we would be ready to graduate. I don't have any answers for you but wanted you to know you are not alone. Good Luck. Stay strong!

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Thanks for your responses! I would love to volunteer, but I wonder what kind of volunteer would be the best experience for a nursing student, any suggestions?

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Any and all volunteer experience haha. We have St. Jude here in town, and they're known worldwide for their cancer research, and they offer volunteer positions. What kind of specialty places do you have in your area?

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Specializes in ..

St. John's Ambulance?

Plenty of hospitals have volunteer positions doing everything from escorting patient's to the right department to making tea and coffee for families in the ER.

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I'm right on that same boat as you. I was going back and forth between ADN and BSN so what I did was go on the hospital websites and see what kind of requirements they had. (A lot had "1 year of relevant experience") but a lot of them also said the dreaded "BSN Preferred or...enrolled in BSN program with expected graduation within a year of hire". That's when I decided I was gambling with an ADN and just went straight for the BSN.

I start the professional phase of my program in September so I'm going to volunteer during the summer (since I can't do it during the semester, I don't think I can juggle both) for 180 hours total. For the hospital I'm volunteering at, you can get a reference after 150 hours so I figure that would help. Then I'll go to nursing school, and during the summer, again I'll either volunteer (there's a hospital that has a doula and postpartum volunteer program I'm considering) or an internship. Then in the final semester we have a preceptorship which I know can be put on a resume. Does your program have a preceptorship in the final semester?

So I'm hoping that over 300 hours of volunteer experience in direct patient care, 100 hours of community service (required by our NS program) a preceptorship, good recommendations and a good gpa (hopefully!) will be enough to at least get my foot in the door somewhere. I have NEVER had a job before so these will be the only things I will have on my resume.

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guiltysins,

Unfortunatley my ADN program doesn't offer any kind of preceptorship, just clinical rotations. I love the doula idea though! I'll have to look into that because I'm thinking I might want to go into maternity nursing. I will have my maternity rotation this coming semester, so maybe since I'll be learning a lot about pregnancy I can somehow become a doula at the same time. Are you currently a doula? And if so, do you know where to look into this?

Thanks!

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http://www.dona.org/ (organization website for doulas).
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