Newbie question re: getting hired

LauraF, RN, ASN, CNA, LPN, RN · Sep 2, 2003

I'm an LPN. I found a great job when I graduated. It was in a Children's home. I was one of the nurses that pasted meds, did treatments kinda like LTC facility. No problems at all. They even gave me a week off, to study and take boards. And that was back when you didn't get results from your boards for months. I think you will do as long as you do well in your clinicals.

Brownms46 · Sep 2, 2003

I'm also an LPN, and was hired before I finished clinicals, at the county hospital where I did my OB rotation. I was offered a choice of two positions. One in L&D and one in NICU. I wanted the L&D position, as I loved the time I spent there. I was very impressed with the staff, even though it was a temp position for a year, while an LPN took a sabactical while returning to school for her last year in a BSN program. But she took back her sabatical when she found out they offered me the job, so I took the NICU position.

I ended up being crossed trained in OB anyway, as the hospital had a MOT policy, and our two dept. covered each other. Great learning experience! I started after my last day of clinicals.

mistersleepy · Sep 2, 2003

Ruby,

I am an RN and my school didn't even offer internships (Don't ask) Unless the world you live in is a very different place from the one I live in, you won't have any trouble at all.

Also, orientations vary greatly, mine was wonderful but the length of orientation was one of my biggest considerations in my job search. I work in critical care (major cvicu with heart transplants, lvads, cabgs, valves, etc.) Talking to my class mates, it seems that the orientations are best in this type of nursing.

Robert

nowplayingEDRN · Sep 2, 2003

Ruby,

I am an RN from an Associate's program. Several girls that I went to school with entered internship programs at some much larger hospitals in the city. They were looking for students from some othe out lying colleges in the area. I however was not one of those people. Like you, I had children and a family and it was just not feasable, as a matter of fact 1 instructor seriously doubted that I would even succeed as a nurse because she know that I held my family in high importance. Anyway....digressing again.....

I graduated at the end of May and put my resume out and by mid June I was getting a tad bit nervous because some of my class mates were getting hired (I since found out that they had put out their applications and resumes a week or 2 before school was completed and they had been pinned and graduated) about that time, I was called for a couple of interviews.....1 was in the city and the other was local....I went to both. The position I interviewed for in the city was for ICU and the local position was for step down with telemetry......I turned down the unit position because I really felt that to provide top quality care to my patients, I needed to get some experience under my belt and fine tune all the skills that I had learned....I ended up taking the step down with tele position. I do not regret my choice to this day. I honed my skills, became exceedingly competent......started doing regular weekly floats into ICU, got opportunities to put in OT in the ICU, and the skills that I started learning there made more sense and were mastered easier.....because I felt that I had prepared myself, I guess or maybe that I was just eager to learn.......anyway I am now a RN in a very small (2 bed) SICU and I am very comfortable in my own skin. I have gotten ACLS and PALS (need to renew my TNCC) and am currently in the process preparing to go for my CCRN.......I feel confident when I care for my patients, I have had the opportunity to expand my knowledge base into the ER as well as PACU/Amb Surgery.......I consider my self well rounded and very flexible.....The point of all this was that it took me a month after graduation but I got a job.....I had a fair orientation(3 weeks on days, 3 days on evenings and then tally ho! The night shift and on my own!!) and was fortunate enough to have a well seasoned, Diploma nurse take me under her wing and help show me the ropes and well as teach me some little tricks of the trade. I learned much from her wisdom and I strive to be like her whenever I am entrusted to orient a new nurse to our place......I am still very good friends with that nurse to this day even though we are 1000+ miles apart now. Keep the faith, you will do fine.

Christie

RubyRN · Sep 3, 2003

Thanks for all your posts! It's just that I would love to go into peds critical care but am not sure if that's taking on more than I can handle, since my experience is solely from clinicals.

So, I don't know if by telling a potential employer that I want to go straight into ICU makes me a weak candidate. If hired, they do offer a 12 week orientation (and, I do have strong grades) - And, 12 weeks sounds pretty substantial. But I just don't know... Should I work on a general floor first?

As you can see, I tend to overanalyze things.

Thanks again for any shared experiences!

nowplayingEDRN · Sep 3, 2003

IMHO.....and that is all that it is....I would recommend at least 6 months on a regular med/surg floor, then at least 6 mons on a pediatric floor then spend a good 6 months in an ICU/CCU setting....then go into PICU nursing. that way you have had a chance to fine tune your skills as well as gain the experience and knowledge needed to be the best PICU nurse you can be. Or you also might try finding a childrens hospital in your area and apply for a job there....then your skills will get honed specifically to pediatrics. Good luck and best wishes. Keep us posted on how you make out.

Christie

purplemania, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2003

I coordinate the externship (last year of nursing school) and graduate nurse programs in an acute care facility. I contact the externs when it is appropriate for them to notify the managers their intent to be hired (this would be an advantage to non-externs who do not get the word as quickly). Externs get priorty over "people off the street". Retention is up to 90% now, so we may not have room for all 55 externs this Dec and next May. Anyway, those who are hired go into a 6 wk internship for med-surg and 9 wk for critical care. We hire other new grads at other times of the year and offer abbreviated orientation with extended preceptorship. People who have worked here in any capacity before getting licensed know more than they think they do. As for nurses who have not been externed or interned here---we certainly consider them on an individual basis depending on where our need is. So, NO, to your question. Hope this helps.