PedsRN1975

I was wondering if you would be willing to let me know what are your advantages as a float pool nurse at your hospital. Flexible schedule, less weekends worked, more pay, choosing the units you want to go to... etc... I am trying to build a case for some injustices that are being done to my institution! Thank you, I appreciate it! It would be fine if you PMed me instead of posting! Happy Holidays!

I know it must be scary after being at home with the kids to join the work force and specially in the medical field where it seems that you need so much knowledge and there is so much responsability to be had, however I want you to think about this: You are a full time mother for 4 kids. NO vacation, No days off, 24/7 you are responsible to keep this kids healthy and make decisions that will affect the way they grow and develop. Being a mother is the hardest job in the world and it sounds to me like you are doing a great one. So the bottom line is deciding what you want to do, not by how long it takes to get there but how much joy you will get from performing that job/career. Decide and then go for it. I was 29 years old when I decided to go back to school and I was having the same thoughts that you have, RN, LVN, MA . I wanted something that will be quick and taking science classes scared the daylight out of me. But when I looked into the long term rewards from taking the long route and doing it right, it made sense to me. The first semester I dropped everything I signed out for. The second one I was more psychologically ready and I went for it. Believe it or not when you are older you get things in a different way and science makes sense, in a way that it didn't when you were in highschool. I worked hard through my pre-recs and I gave my all with the time I had, I sacrificed time with my family and time with my friends. I lost some friends but the good ones that proved to be real friends stood by me and encouraged me from afar, without putting pressure on my time and energy level. I got into nursing school, at a state school because I got A's in all my prerecs. I decided that since I was doing all this sacrifice I will go all the way and get an A. I communicated with the professors and asked them for help when I was lost and I made it into nursing school. During my second year, when my student loans were crushing me I got a job as nursing assistant at the hospital I wanted to work as an RN. I graduated with honors from NS in 2009 and I had a painful wait until my hospital had a new grad program in september 2010. I prepared for interviews, I researched all the kinds of questions I might have and prepared my answers ahead of time. I made it in and last month I finished my orientation. Now I am on my own and loving it. I make a good salary that allows me to pay for all the student loans and life is so much easier. When I was in highschool I was a mediocre student and noone would have believed I would have been able to go through this process. BUT I DID! And so it's all about deciding what you want and going for it. It will be hard and you will have to sacrifice but look at your goal. And take it step by step. Before you know it you will be done. Someone told me once: Time goes by wether you use to better yourself or not. Use it wisely! You will be proud of yourself and your family. will be proud of you

Prepare for lot's of behavioral questions. Think of the patients you had and interaction with. Common questions are "Tell me of a time when you had to deal with an emergency? What did you do?", or think of conflict questions, with patient, family, other nurses or doctors. How did you deal with that? What they want to know is that if an emergency arises, can you handle it without losing your head. Can you think critically under pressure? Also, in a conflict, do you have the insight to not engage personally and hopefully diffuse the conflict? Also in a conflict with the physician can you rationally stand your ground, advocating for the best interest of the patient, while you maintain your professionalism? Do you know the chain of command ex: more experienced nurse whose judgement you trust, charge nurse, nurse manager, nursing supervisor etc? Also, do you have the humility to listen for advice and realize that you don't know everything? Are you aware of the patient safety and infection control rules? When you think of answering a behavioral question think about what are they really asking. If they ask you about an emergency, the outcome is not as important as the steps taken towards the outcome. What is important is 1. Did you recognized when you were in over your head? Did you do all you can do until helped arrived? Practice by yourself, even writing down, or with a friend. Then your questions will come out flowing naturally in the interview. Also if you get an question that you have absolutely no clue how to answer, say something like "can we come back to this question in a minute?" but don't forget to come back to it. I hope this helps. Good luck!

I think you have a great chance, considering the fact that you will be a nurse soon and hopefully work at the same hospital. Hospitals love hiring CNA's that are on the path to RN because they can learn so much and when they get hired as an RN they are ready to hit the ground running.

I am a new grad peds nurse and I ran into this story. While is sounds nothing short of miraculous I am a little skeptical in believing that the events happened that way and a baby without Oxygen resource started spontaneously breathing without brain damage, more specifically CP. Two hours without breathing?!?!?! Just curious what you guys think about it. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled for the mom and I think it's wonderful that she has a healthy seaming baby.

Well the problem is that for a new grad to find a job here is very hard. Do a little research and you will find out that new grads me included are without a position sometimes a year after finishing. So if you are coming from somewhere else, you might want to think long and hard before you move here hoping you will get a job. There have been a few new grad programs that now are in the last phases of selecting applicants that were insanely competitive. So, what can I say, good luck!!!

You have 3 chances to pass. I don't think I have seen anyone not pass at least the second time so just practice and you will be ok.

Ha ha, I remember the feeling! You are ok to get a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, pen light, scissors and forceps. You will need that .

Just a little tip. The school will make you buy NCLEX review books that you will use throughout the course. They are quite expensive. On top of that the only book I would consider buying is Saunders NCLEX review. It has been voted the best review book. Don't buy a whole bunch of books until you know what you need. There will be a bundle (two big boxes) of books that will be available to you guys when you go for your orientation. If you are planing to get that, DON'T BUY ANYTHING else in advance, you will have EVERYTHING you could possibly need. If you don't plan to buy that, then wait to see what books are in those boxes so that you will buy the right things. I was an eager as you guys and I have spent many hundreds maybe thousands of dollars on things I never needed or ended up having duplicates. Don't try to get busy about NS yet. Just enjoy that you got in, and spend some time with your friends and families, because you will not see them for 2.5 years. One thing it's worth buying in advance is get a couple pair of white scrubs online. The ones the school sells are ridiculous overpriced. Don't buy more than two because you only wear them 1st and second semester.

You have to go at the pace of the program, you can't take your time and take a class here, a class there. The program is 5 semester long. My hardest class I would have to say was community health. We had to write a monster paper and a lot of us had trouble with it. For me, I studied for the NCLEX from the start and I used Saunders review book and had no problem with the boards. A typical week in the first semester: Health assessment 3 hours and Nursing theory 3 hours. Then Skills Lab twice a week 3 hours each and a clinical day 8hrs, that starts about half way through the first semester. You will also, before you start clinicals, need to pass a drug calculation exam with 90 or better. Don't worry about it though because you will have plenty of time to study after the orientation. My advice is to start looking at the drug calc book after the orientation.

The best segment III courses are holistic health (western and eastern perspective ) and Human Nature Global Perspective. I wouldn't worry about that until you get to second semester but don't leave them for the last semester. There is so much to do then that one less worry is really welcomed. As far as clinical rotations, in the first semester, I had St Lukes, others had UCSF, Laguna Honda (try to stay away from there, my classmates that went there had a very rough experience) Second semester; UCSF, St Francis, CPMC. Third semester, the Children's Oakland experience for peds and LPCH for maternity. Fourth and fifth, you have plenty of time to figure out. What I want to stress is choose your clinicals wisely, not by location or convenience. Ask around and get the best instructor and then put your whole heart in it. Your clinical instructors are the ones that will write your recommendation letters when you are trying to get a job. Also network if you are interested in the unit or hospital. If you like it and you want to work there, before you end, go to the manager, introduce yourself, thank her/him for having you there and express your interest. It will go a long way into getting a job. After the second semester you can get a job as a Nursing Assistant and you don't need the certification. I can't stress enough the importance of having your foot in the door, specially in this economic time. As far as materials, all those pocket reference books I have found helpful and of course Saunders the Nclex review, which I consider the BIBLE of the nursing student. As a mater of fact I have a few books that I don't use anymore so if you are interested, PM me and I could meet you on campus or we will figure out a way how to get them to you. I'm not trying to sell them but I would love to pass them along to someone that is having a hard time financially and trying to make it on their own. So if you can afford them, get your own. Go to the Bookstore at the Nursing section and you will find lot's of reference books. Also if you have an Itouch or an Iphone, check the apps, they are great reference.

I am a graduate from the SFSU BSN nursing program and I want to congratulate the ones that got accepted. Just to release some of your anxiety I want to tell you a little about the campus and the program. The campus is big and beautiful but until the library is built it's a pain to get to the annex library so don't count too much on using it. There are however many computer labs in every building so if you need a quick printing job for your homework, if you give yourself a little time, you will be able to do it. Food on campus is pretty good with plenty of choices. The only problem is, overcrowding, so think ahead. Now about the nursing program! Most classes are in Burk Hall on 3rd and 2nd floor. When you go in for your orientation you will feel excited and freaked out at the same time. Take a deep breath! There are some great professors and some that suck and some of the work you will have to do will seem ridiculous to you. Well, do it and tell yourself that nursing school is boot camp and the real learning starts on the floor after you have graduated and no matter how interminable nursing school seems, it does end. The first semester is the hardest because you don't know what to expect. Go to every class because it will help you in the long run and you are more likely to get the professors ear if they see you present. Also some of the professors have an ego trip about you being there. If you want to know what to expect from your professor, go to Rate My Professors - Find and rate your professor, campus and more - RateMyProfessors.com and you will find info on most of them unless they are new. Some of the professors you will love more than you ever loved a professor and some you will wonder how the hell they got a degree in anything, let alone be professors. Those are very few though! The best preparation for exams in nursing schools is doing NCLEX questions. For me I bought Saunder's NCLEX review and also the ATI NCLEX review books, not the ones the make you buy but suplemental ones you find at the book store. So again I just worked those throughout nursing school and not only that I graduated Summa cum Laude but I passed the NCLEX with less than a week review. I don't know what else to tell you. Feel free to ask me questions, and I will do my best to guide you. Good luck everyone!!!

yes I've received mine and I did pass. I received my license in the mail. Good luck!!!!

What really gets me is even when they do post a job and you have some hope you might get something, you have to jump through so many hoops and interviews. Sometimes I feel it would be easier to become the president of the US than to get a job as a new grad RN. Then I think about two, three years back when they were dying for nurses and they hired you on the spot. It's so depressing, my partner is so sick of seeing me rant and rave about not having a job. But honestly, I have a BSN, 3.9GPA, I speak 6 languages, I have experience as a nursing assistant, you would think that I would be able to get something, anything. I mean, I'm not picky at all. I would ANYTHING. Well... I hate when people outside nursing and sometimes even experienced nurses that are not aware of the problems new grads have, when they hear about my "credentials" they assure me that I shouldn't have any trouble getting my dream job. They're saying " look I read this article that is talking about the great shortage of nurses we have, there is no way you can't get a job". Truth is, I want to slap them... Oh well.. Just ranting and raving!!!!

You know, you might be luckier if you go to the midwestern states. I also read somewhere that El Paso is hiring new grads pretty easily. If you have the flexibily to relocate then just go anywhere for a year to get your experience. In California right now is difficult even with experience. I know nurses at the hospital I work that it took them over 6 months to get hired. But this is in the Bay Area of course, where is a competition all around. As a new grad here I'm biting my fingers too, I jeep applying and nothing. Also being from out of state will give you right now a little disadvantage also.