Letters of recommendation

Oh boy! Glad to hear I'm not the only one in that boat. I'm not working in a clinical setting and haven't been since 2011. I got my BSN online so I have no faculty to go to other than my ADN program which was 10 yrs ago. I have my old manager (she's an RN but not clinical) and my old supervisor writing me one. I was going to apply to Simmons but I am think in not as I don't have a nurse clinical educator who would be able to write one...unless I track down an old IV professor. Uggggh stress :-) I really wish I went to a B&M school for my BSN and masters.

Even a faculty member from your online program can write one I think, especially one you had several times. I've sent emails to my manager and assistant nurse manager and no response yet. I have one professor doing one, another declined. The Nurse Practitioner one required by Simmons will be a bit more difficult. I do talk to the ones at work quite a bit, but don't know if I can ask to shadow or a letter of recommendation.

Although it might not solve this issue for you, I would suggest starting to spend time networking with providers. You are about to apply to go to school to become a provider, you path to becoming a provider will be much easier if you have already established a network of providers who know you, and want to help you become one. The help will be both obvious (preceptors, etc) and not so obvious (support when your feeling like your struggling, etc.). Work on identifying ways in which you can help and interact with providers. Try to put a few hours into this networking weekly, and keep doing it throughout. It will pay off 10 fold if you do. If you start now, you might even find it will help with your efforts to find references.

How hard was it for everyone to get their letter's of recommendation? I have one former faculty doing some but getting one from managers is like pulling teeth. Though one school I'm applying to wants one from a NP that I have shadowed. This last one will be very difficult to get, but not impossible.[/quote']

I have been accepted to simmons and i had difficulties getting a NP recc. My admissions counselor said that was fine and very common and I just sent an extra academic one i think.

I tried to get another academic one, but she declined. I'm wondering if I can get in contact with my states NP and NM coalition? Or, if just cold calling will work. My employer's workforce development person said they might be able to help as their are a lot of NP's working for our system.

Glad to see i'm not the only one having trouble with this! I did my RN-BSN online, and I work in home hospice, so we are all RN's no NPs in my office.

I placed a phone call to the admissions rep from Simmon's who told me to try my best, but i'm stressing over finding someone! Any one have other suggestions? I don't want my application to be denied because of the lack of recommendation. ARGH !

So you sent 3 letters not from a NP? Were you accepted into the program?

I don't have all my recommendations yet. I'm getting one supervisor, one former professor, and my employer is seeing about helping me shadow a NP so hopefully I can get a recommendation from that person.

What I find annoying is each school has a different recommendation form they want filled out. I can't ask the same busy person to keep filling out a different rec form.

Rachel, hopefully schools are beginning to realize that. Georgetown rep told me to simply write the names of the recommenders, and after app submitted, request the letters. Of course, everything I was told by that rep turned out to be false, anyway. Asst. Dean of my BSN was very nice and promised to write, but it I had to keep prompting to get it done, and at one school I missed the deadline because of the one letter. This was after I had been asking for 1 month, and I was told it was already sent. I finally had to go to the Dean to get it done. I should add that the program director, who originally wrote my letter when I first graduated and thought I would be able to begin an MSN program immediately, had left the school. Not the situation you want to be in for a recommendation letter! :)

Rachel, hopefully schools are beginning to realize that. Georgetown rep told me to simply write the names of the recommenders, and after app submitted, request the letters. Of course, everything I was told by that rep turned out to be false, anyway. Asst. Dean of my BSN was very nice and promised to write, but it I had to keep prompting to get it done, and at one school I missed the deadline because of the one letter. This was after I had been asking for 1 month, and I was told it was already sent. I finally had to go to the Dean to get it done. I should add that the program director, who originally wrote my letter when I first graduated and thought I would be able to begin an MSN program immediately, had left the school. Not the situation you want to be in for a recommendation letter! :)

I even asked one of the schools if I could have the school I already applied to transfer my reference letter. Her reply sure we can do that, you just need to have them rewrite the reference letter on our form... Scratches head???