Hi everyone. I was just curious as how is the hiring process in some of the hospitals in Portland. In my previous applications I've gone through screening like answering 50 questions. If you managed to have more than 70 percent you'll be asked to go under an interview. Other employers required me to go under typing(words per minute) screening. But other employers only required me go under interview.
Can anyone here give me some information about hospitals like provu
Providence, Legacy or any of the other hospitals?
Just want to ask why didn't you challenge the LVN in CA? i too din't work well for the state of CA. And now i applied for Texas which the application process is less than a month like omg i need to do hurst review STAT!
That's great! Prepare hard and focus! Let me know how Texas goes, I might want to become a traveler in two years and I hear TX has great opportunities.
Im not judging those who did go for the LVN route cause they need to support their family, and some can't get away from CA because they have family only in that state and I understand that. Honestly my mom was telling me to apply for an LVN and I almost did and even almost resorted to CNA but I didnt for alot of many reasons.The reasons I didn't apply ;my pride(my degree says BSN intended for RN, and from what I noticed since getting an RN position, people would do anything for a degree like that and even a US ADN grad is having a harder time landing jobs), I'm young, independent, and came to realize that there are a lot of great opportunities out there and not just in one state. I'm just blessed I managed to pass get a license and land an RN position within a year after graduating.
Study wisely and think as a nurse and critical thinking, you will do fine on the exam. Remember the Nclex word is a perfect nursing world.
hi kuyafern! congrats ima glad i read your post. knowing you were educated in baguio like i was, it gave me more encouragement.
i'm a graduate of 2011 and took the june nclex. i reviewed 3months full time. I used saunders , read it from cover to cover( but wasnt able to finish the cd--only 550 questions) plus i purhcased NCSBN online review because it was cheaper than the rest. unfortunately got my results, i failed. honeslty i think i was ill-prepared. i also think i didnt answer enuf questions.
after having difficulty applying for the exam as a foreign nurse (same problems u encountered with prep papers in PI), i was so frustrated to fail. I will be taking it again on november and the advices you gave here will sure be very much helpful.
Kaplan and hurst is a bit pricey for my budget, do you think it is a must to get these in order for a sure pass?
thanks again for the posts you've written here , Godbless indeed
Hi there! I'm glad that my post helped you out in a way. Hehe. Yes I do believe Hurst and Kaplan helped me a lot. But if you can manage to read all of Saunders and remember the content, I think you are safe without purchasing Hurst. Though I would say Hurst has really helped me understand topics that was pretty difficult for me to understand. But I believe Kaplan is very essential to tackling the Nclex questions. It is really up to you if you want to purchase Kaplan. It is one of the major tools that I used to prepare. Good luck to you and on your review. Pm me if you have any questions,
Ah I have read some of the great accomplishments of one in particular who went to Arizona and completed the said subj and received their att. I'm happy that they've come this far and show that it is possible to overcome the challenges.
I'm not saying you guys should give up on CA but Im also suggesting others to expand your options. Do what you must to achieve your dreams and its up to your drive to attain that goal.
I love this website because there are definitely some fantastic people that we can all count on. I'm not sure if I'll be as active as I have been like before but if any of you have questions feel free to send me a PM and I will get back to you whenever I am free. I will check my inbox every weekend and see if you guys need help.
I wish everyone a best future! Keep your heads up high and keep on moving forward.
Some say good things come to those who wait, but the greatest are achieved by those who work for it!
Hello everyone! I've been a member for a year now, asking questions from people and also lending advise to others who needed help. I've been not so active here for for a lot of reasons, mostly good things.
I graduated on March 2012 at the University of Baguio, in Philippines, once I arrived here in California I already knew that I would have an incredibly hard time applying for the NCLEX for this state. I was guided by a good friend to apply to another state so I did. First, I applied for the CGFNS CES, which was pretty pricey, and coordinated with the Nursing Dean and registrar, and believe me this took awhile to process. I would say around 4-6 months.
I chose Nevada state as my license state, and Nevada required me to take an english proficiency exam either TOEFL or IELTS. I chose to take TOEFL since its a bit more recognized nation wide. I would say I prepared for 2 weeks for that, watching youtube videos by Noteful. Nevada required for its applicants to have atleast have 84 and a minimum of 26 in speaking. I believe I prepared enough since I had over a 100 and a 27 in speaking, I thought i failed that portion because I did stumble on one of the question response.
Around September CGFNS finally processed all of my papers and passed the requirements to Nevada. I was somewhat not comfortable with the wait while Nevada reviewed my papers since I read members of allnurses who also applied in Nevada but was required to take classes in order to take the NCLEX; physical assessment and medical surgical nursing 2. I finally got a word from Nevada and they said I needed to take medical surgical nursing 2 so they could determine if I was safe to practice in the state. I looked classes in Nevada and there wasn't a single class that offered just medsurg 2. I got a message from someone here in Allnurses saying there will be a class for OB nursing and medsurg 2 in one of the CSU's but it never really pulled through since the CSU didn't have the budget and clinical instructor.
By October I decided to apply to Alaska, since I have a good friend there willing to help me out. Taking classes again was just a waste of my time and holding me back from what I wanted to become. I mean come on, why pay for classes that you've already taken in your nursing program. So, I had to apply for CGFNS to review my papers again and pass it to Alaska. It took about a week to finish. By the end of November Alaska received all of my requirements and early December they started to review my papers. January I received my ATT to exam.
Since I graduated I started reading the Saunders 5th edition reviewer and finished January of 2013. Then I signed up for Hurst review for 2 months and then Kaplan for 2 months. I used PDA by LaCharity and the Kaplan workbook reviewer as well. People were saying not to have that much sources but I wasn't satisfied with just one.
By May 7th I took my exam and ended around 90 something. My last 10 questions of the NCLEX RN was prioritization and SATA. It's like bombs of them coming out of nowhere. 48 hours after I took the exam I purchased the quick results and saw that I passed!!
*you can read my preparation for that here* https://allnurses.com/nclex-discussion-forum/nclex-rn-day-832240.html
A week later I received a mail from the state with my license inside. I applied for a job where my friend had worked and 2 months later I get a call saying I got a position as an RN!
Well guys, my word to you is not to give up and keep on trying! Though there are new obstacles that have been probably been put up this year, I say plow through them and reach for that goal.
I advise for foreign grads not to have California as your final dream state to work in. Expand your option. If you are willing to spend money and time just to work here in California so be it. As long as you will get somewhere. I know a good number of people who wants to apply for California but so far no luck because of the concurrency issue. Now to those looking to apply at other states, I advise you to apply at a state where you are looking to work for a good number of years, and not just because you want to endorse back to California. There are nurses endorsing back to california with a good number of years of experience and they still are required to pass their cases and transcripts for review. I'm not saying give up on Ca but there are other opportunities out there.
If you're looking to pursue in enrolling the required subjects just be prepared to sacrifice a lot of time and money. and I mean a lot.
Well there goes my 2 cents, and I wish everyone luck with their journey. I hope to meet some of you in the field of nursing someday!
Congratulations positivevibes! Your hard work has paid off. Now you have a new chapter to write!! You can now relax and start making cover letters and resumes!! hehe. Good luck to you!
Thank you so much for the tips. I've been practicing questions in Exam Cram 2013 and Kaplan 2013 since I don't any access to online review. Have you use those books?? Do you think its sufficient?
Well everyone has a different method as to how they prepare for the exam, you just need to review at a pace you are comfortable with. Is there a CD Rom with the 2013 kaplan book? cause I had the 2012 kaplan green book and it has a CD ROM. I believe it may give you some access to some online questions. But I am not sure about the 2013 version.
I am not familiar with Exam Cram, though I know a few who has used that reviewer and saw it very helpful when they were preparing.
When doing practice questions try to relax and apply the decision tree kaplan provided. Steps 1-5, don't rush and just relax. When you take your exam apply all of these strategies and other strategies you are comfortable using. Have a rest day before your exam. I hope you find some of my suggestions helpful. =)
Hello kuya fern I'm from California too and i'm planning to take my nclex-rn on the 30th of this month. I graduated in the Philippines like you. I wanted to ask what is the trend of the BRN this month. If what topic did the focus on. I honestly not sure if i'm ready to take the nclex due to lack of time. I used KAPLAN, EXAM CRAM and PDA as my review materials, nothing else. Do you think its enough?? Oh btw aside from that i keep reviewing my local board notes. Hope to gear from you
what do you mean "trend of the BRN of this month."? NCLEX wise or application wise? if you're asking about the exam, um basically you're given a pool of 2000 questions with all content ranging from management of care, pharma, basic care and comfort, health promotion and maintenance etc. and during your exam you will be given 265 questions within the 2000 questions. You won't get all 265 questions if you manage to answer above the passing line and may stop 75. but a person who answers below the passing line can also stop at 75 but the results won't be as good.
Like what I stated, I focused on EVERYTHING. and I mean focused on Content, i was horrible in content back in college but I read the Saunders 5th edition from cover to cover from authors notes till the last test assessment of the book. A lot people have been asking me on what they should focus on, but honestly I really can't assess an examinees weakness. I can tell you to read this and focus on this but the exam itself is unpredictable. Some have gotten 30 SATA and I was given only 7-9 SATA, some had no drag and drop and I had 1 and calculations. Though everyone does get different types of questions, I've read around that if you get majority of questions that may be management, prioritization and SATA you're in good track. Just dont get questions asking you what position would you place a post op liver biopsy patient. Now that is basic content.
Another thing, I would suggest not to tackle the NCLEX like how we were taught how to tackle the NLE in the philippines. The two are completely different.
Take some assessment exams within those reviewers your taking and see what your weakness is. If you have a category in Kaplan that is lower than 65 percent I would recommend brush up on that portion. You can never really know when youre ready but I noticed that I was improving once I saw my scores in Kaplan online review. Do Question and Answers too! Probably 75 or more a day. and I mean 7 days a week and don't stop. and go over the ratio.
I actually read the article from CA BRN. It's so crazy how they're hiring all of those investigators. I feel angry and at the same time disappointed at those applicants who had to fake their degrees. I know some students are known for trading cases with classmates to complete cases and for a fact I know students are very clever in altering cases. I would not be surprised if there will be applicants who alter their cases just to have concurrent cases. All I can say is selfish.
To applicants altering their papers:
I've come a long way to become an RN. A US-RN. I've worked hard for this and have been honest on my application. It's not hard guys. I remember joining this forum last year around march-april looking for help so I could get a license in the US. If you are so focused on becoming an RN in California, then meet the requirements, don't alter your cases, hours or other requirements. You will just ruin things for those honest applicants.
Congrat's! i also graduated march of 2012 but had issues with the california board of nursing since i'm also a foreign grad from the philippines...i took the PN yesterday and got a good pop up so btw which state did you take your boards need help on what state to apply. thanks!!!
I applied for AK. I can't suggest on what states you should apply to since its hard to apply to a state that we don't know nothing about and then look for a job there, but I would recommend in researching on states you wish to apply to. and remember even though you will be licensed in another state and endorse back to california, the BRN will still evaluate your papers.
don't tell me they added those too! I've been told the BRN is asking of log book of Clinical rotation and log book of Cases. So maybe it is now. Figured it would be added since some have actually tried to fake their cases just to have concurrent cases. Some actually trade cases with other students too and say it's their case,
So basically, you need a breakdown of of your clinical rotation such as what hospital you went to what date and what shift. and what ward and clinical instructor. For the book reflecting clinical cases, I'm guessing its the log book where surgeries are logged in, which states what procedure was done, RN on duty, student nurse who completed the case and the clinical instructor who supervised the procedure. I'm betting some have tried to pass cases that weren't really theirs or faked cases and it didn't match with their clinical rotation.
Whoah I see that this is still up. I've been on the down low for awhile so im sorry about that. But to inform everyone, I took my exam on May 7 and 48 hours after I purchased the quick results and found out I passed the NCLEX RN! I applied in AK! Keep on working hard everyone!
I've also asked others about the Kaplan scores, and you know what they tell me? DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE SCORES. So I didn't. I completed the Qbank to a 100 percent and average score of 58% I'm not saying you should slack off, but what I'm saying to you is focus on how you tackle each question and how you apply the decision tree. I can't remember Qtrainers 1-5 they were around low to high 50's. QT 6 was 60 and QT 7 was 58. My readiness was 65.
Dont worry about your scores, read the rationales after doing a portion and it doesn't hurt to write down notes. I took the exam this May 7th and found out yesterday morning i passed. You can read my nclex journey around here somewhere. "NCLEX RN; the day and the preparation - Foreign Grad"
Hi everyone. I was just curious as how is the hiring process in some of the hospitals in Portland. In my previous applications I've gone through screening like answering 50 questions. If you managed to have more than 70 percent you'll be asked to go under an interview. Other employers required me to go under typing(words per minute) screening. But other employers only required me go under interview.
Can anyone here give me some information about hospitals like provu
Providence, Legacy or any of the other hospitals?
That's great! Prepare hard and focus! Let me know how Texas goes, I might want to become a traveler in two years and I hear TX has great opportunities.
Im not judging those who did go for the LVN route cause they need to support their family, and some can't get away from CA because they have family only in that state and I understand that. Honestly my mom was telling me to apply for an LVN and I almost did and even almost resorted to CNA but I didnt for alot of many reasons.The reasons I didn't apply ;my pride(my degree says BSN intended for RN, and from what I noticed since getting an RN position, people would do anything for a degree like that and even a US ADN grad is having a harder time landing jobs), I'm young, independent, and came to realize that there are a lot of great opportunities out there and not just in one state. I'm just blessed I managed to pass get a license and land an RN position within a year after graduating.
Study wisely and think as a nurse and critical thinking, you will do fine on the exam. Remember the Nclex word is a perfect nursing world.
Ah I have read some of the great accomplishments of one in particular who went to Arizona and completed the said subj and received their att. I'm happy that they've come this far and show that it is possible to overcome the challenges.
I'm not saying you guys should give up on CA but Im also suggesting others to expand your options. Do what you must to achieve your dreams and its up to your drive to attain that goal.
I love this website because there are definitely some fantastic people that we can all count on. I'm not sure if I'll be as active as I have been like before but if any of you have questions feel free to send me a PM and I will get back to you whenever I am free. I will check my inbox every weekend and see if you guys need help.
I wish everyone a best future! Keep your heads up high and keep on moving forward.
Some say good things come to those who wait, but the greatest are achieved by those who work for it!
Hello everyone! I've been a member for a year now, asking questions from people and also lending advise to others who needed help. I've been not so active here for for a lot of reasons, mostly good things.
I graduated on March 2012 at the University of Baguio, in Philippines, once I arrived here in California I already knew that I would have an incredibly hard time applying for the NCLEX for this state. I was guided by a good friend to apply to another state so I did. First, I applied for the CGFNS CES, which was pretty pricey, and coordinated with the Nursing Dean and registrar, and believe me this took awhile to process. I would say around 4-6 months.
I chose Nevada state as my license state, and Nevada required me to take an english proficiency exam either TOEFL or IELTS. I chose to take TOEFL since its a bit more recognized nation wide. I would say I prepared for 2 weeks for that, watching youtube videos by Noteful. Nevada required for its applicants to have atleast have 84 and a minimum of 26 in speaking. I believe I prepared enough since I had over a 100 and a 27 in speaking, I thought i failed that portion because I did stumble on one of the question response.
Around September CGFNS finally processed all of my papers and passed the requirements to Nevada. I was somewhat not comfortable with the wait while Nevada reviewed my papers since I read members of allnurses who also applied in Nevada but was required to take classes in order to take the NCLEX; physical assessment and medical surgical nursing 2. I finally got a word from Nevada and they said I needed to take medical surgical nursing 2 so they could determine if I was safe to practice in the state. I looked classes in Nevada and there wasn't a single class that offered just medsurg 2. I got a message from someone here in Allnurses saying there will be a class for OB nursing and medsurg 2 in one of the CSU's but it never really pulled through since the CSU didn't have the budget and clinical instructor.
By October I decided to apply to Alaska, since I have a good friend there willing to help me out. Taking classes again was just a waste of my time and holding me back from what I wanted to become. I mean come on, why pay for classes that you've already taken in your nursing program. So, I had to apply for CGFNS to review my papers again and pass it to Alaska. It took about a week to finish. By the end of November Alaska received all of my requirements and early December they started to review my papers. January I received my ATT to exam.
Since I graduated I started reading the Saunders 5th edition reviewer and finished January of 2013. Then I signed up for Hurst review for 2 months and then Kaplan for 2 months. I used PDA by LaCharity and the Kaplan workbook reviewer as well. People were saying not to have that much sources but I wasn't satisfied with just one.
By May 7th I took my exam and ended around 90 something. My last 10 questions of the NCLEX RN was prioritization and SATA. It's like bombs of them coming out of nowhere. 48 hours after I took the exam I purchased the quick results and saw that I passed!!
*you can read my preparation for that here*
https://allnurses.com/nclex-discussion-forum/nclex-rn-day-832240.html
A week later I received a mail from the state with my license inside. I applied for a job where my friend had worked and 2 months later I get a call saying I got a position as an RN!
Well guys, my word to you is not to give up and keep on trying! Though there are new obstacles that have been probably been put up this year, I say plow through them and reach for that goal.
I advise for foreign grads not to have California as your final dream state to work in. Expand your option. If you are willing to spend money and time just to work here in California so be it. As long as you will get somewhere. I know a good number of people who wants to apply for California but so far no luck because of the concurrency issue. Now to those looking to apply at other states, I advise you to apply at a state where you are looking to work for a good number of years, and not just because you want to endorse back to California. There are nurses endorsing back to california with a good number of years of experience and they still are required to pass their cases and transcripts for review. I'm not saying give up on Ca but there are other opportunities out there.
If you're looking to pursue in enrolling the required subjects just be prepared to sacrifice a lot of time and money. and I mean a lot.
Well there goes my 2 cents, and I wish everyone luck with their journey. I hope to meet some of you in the field of nursing someday!
Congratulations positivevibes! Your hard work has paid off. Now you have a new chapter to write!! You can now relax and start making cover letters and resumes!! hehe. Good luck to you!
I am not familiar with Exam Cram, though I know a few who has used that reviewer and saw it very helpful when they were preparing.
When doing practice questions try to relax and apply the decision tree kaplan provided. Steps 1-5, don't rush and just relax. When you take your exam apply all of these strategies and other strategies you are comfortable using. Have a rest day before your exam. I hope you find some of my suggestions helpful. =)
Like what I stated, I focused on EVERYTHING. and I mean focused on Content, i was horrible in content back in college but I read the Saunders 5th edition from cover to cover from authors notes till the last test assessment of the book. A lot people have been asking me on what they should focus on, but honestly I really can't assess an examinees weakness. I can tell you to read this and focus on this but the exam itself is unpredictable. Some have gotten 30 SATA and I was given only 7-9 SATA, some had no drag and drop and I had 1 and calculations. Though everyone does get different types of questions, I've read around that if you get majority of questions that may be management, prioritization and SATA you're in good track. Just dont get questions asking you what position would you place a post op liver biopsy patient. Now that is basic content.
Another thing, I would suggest not to tackle the NCLEX like how we were taught how to tackle the NLE in the philippines. The two are completely different.
Take some assessment exams within those reviewers your taking and see what your weakness is. If you have a category in Kaplan that is lower than 65 percent I would recommend brush up on that portion. You can never really know when youre ready but I noticed that I was improving once I saw my scores in Kaplan online review. Do Question and Answers too! Probably 75 or more a day. and I mean 7 days a week and don't stop. and go over the ratio.
I actually read the article from CA BRN. It's so crazy how they're hiring all of those investigators. I feel angry and at the same time disappointed at those applicants who had to fake their degrees. I know some students are known for trading cases with classmates to complete cases and for a fact I know students are very clever in altering cases. I would not be surprised if there will be applicants who alter their cases just to have concurrent cases. All I can say is selfish.
To applicants altering their papers:
I've come a long way to become an RN. A US-RN. I've worked hard for this and have been honest on my application. It's not hard guys. I remember joining this forum last year around march-april looking for help so I could get a license in the US. If you are so focused on becoming an RN in California, then meet the requirements, don't alter your cases, hours or other requirements. You will just ruin things for those honest applicants.
To everyone else, keep your head up guys.
thank you and congrats to you aswell!! I read your post and thought you took the boards on the 7th as well. hehe.
don't tell me they added those too! I've been told the BRN is asking of log book of Clinical rotation and log book of Cases. So maybe it is now. Figured it would be added since some have actually tried to fake their cases just to have concurrent cases. Some actually trade cases with other students too and say it's their case,
So basically, you need a breakdown of of your clinical rotation such as what hospital you went to what date and what shift. and what ward and clinical instructor. For the book reflecting clinical cases, I'm guessing its the log book where surgeries are logged in, which states what procedure was done, RN on duty, student nurse who completed the case and the clinical instructor who supervised the procedure. I'm betting some have tried to pass cases that weren't really theirs or faked cases and it didn't match with their clinical rotation.
Whoah I see that this is still up. I've been on the down low for awhile so im sorry about that. But to inform everyone, I took my exam on May 7 and 48 hours after I purchased the quick results and found out I passed the NCLEX RN! I applied in AK! Keep on working hard everyone!
I've also asked others about the Kaplan scores, and you know what they tell me? DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE SCORES. So I didn't. I completed the Qbank to a 100 percent and average score of 58% I'm not saying you should slack off, but what I'm saying to you is focus on how you tackle each question and how you apply the decision tree. I can't remember Qtrainers 1-5 they were around low to high 50's. QT 6 was 60 and QT 7 was 58. My readiness was 65.
Dont worry about your scores, read the rationales after doing a portion and it doesn't hurt to write down notes. I took the exam this May 7th and found out yesterday morning i passed. You can read my nclex journey around here somewhere. "NCLEX RN; the day and the preparation - Foreign Grad"
Good luck on your review!