Northern Calif Roll Call

orca1 · Oct 28, 2003

Hey Stevierae,

No Ms. Westbrook is not there anymore....she left before I got there. She was the dean for awhile.

Let me see...Mrs. Little, Dr. Chang, Dr. Denham, and Ms. Lopez were there.

Were any of them your instructors? I loved Evergreen...for a 2 year program it worked my butt off

Lisa

stevierae · Oct 28, 2003

Originally posted by orca1
Hey Stevierae,
No Ms. Westbrook is not there anymore....she left before I got there. She was the dean for awhile.
Let me see...Mrs. Little, Dr. Chang, Dr. Denham, and Ms. Lopez were there.
Were any of them your instructors? I loved Evergreen...for a 2 year program it worked my butt off

Lisa

Don't know ANY of those names--I sometimes have to remind myself that I graduated over 20 years ago--seems like just yesterday!! My instructors must have long since retired, or should have!

I loved Evergreen, too. I felt really well prepared to go out into the nursing world after graduating from there. Plus--and this is NOT meant to flame any SJSU grads--at the time I graduated, there were those ("those," meaning "SJSU grads!") who felt that one had to have a BSN to be a good nurse--yet, in practice, the EVC grads always seemed to have better clinical skills than the SJSU grads did--they seemed to spend so much more time on theory then we did--we were all into mastering the actual clinical skills, not the theroy behind them. I never had any desire to go into management, nor did I want the headaches--I have never felt the need to go back and get a BSN, to this day--how about you ?

You're right--they worked our tails off; we were really cheap (actually, free!) labor for all those neighborhood hospitals! I guess it hasn't changed!

stevierae · Oct 28, 2003

Originally posted by 2ndCareerRN
I am presently in SJ, at San Jose Medical Center, working ER nights. This is a travel assignment, and will probably not extend. I was looking for something on the far north coast when this came up.

If nothing comes up here when this assignment is up, I will go home to the Inland northwest (E. WA, ID, MT) to work for a while.

Been here about 3 weeks, so far loving it, a very good place to get your trauma skills up to date. We average several traumas a shift here.

bob

Bob, I took the challenge and enlarged your avatar so that I could read the sign---huh?!!! whaaaaaa???? WTF?

I gotta send this picture to my brother, though I confess I don't get it--is this a guy thing? C'mon, share the story behind this avatar; where it came from; why you chose it...

And all this time I thought it just made you grow hair on your palms.... :rolleyes: :confused:

orca1 · Oct 28, 2003

Hey Stevierea,

I would quote you but have not masterted that skill yet

Nothing has changed at Evergreen....not to put the SJSU students down but yes we still focus more on clinical skills then theory. Many times we would be working on the floor together and from some we would get the we are better then you attitude but with many we all worked together.

All I know is that where I work there are a ton of Evergreen Grads...I feel proud to say that Evergreen prepared me to work in the ER as a functioning RN. Yes, I am a new grad and am still learning the ropes but my preceptors have said that I am doing really well for a new grad.

I guess what I liked about Evergreen is that they threw us to the lions the second week of school. I was at Valley Medical Center...what an awakening!!!

I am like you and do not want to go into the management scene either. I might go back and get my generic masters in nursing so I can eventually go into forensic nursing and such.

I can not believe I found an Evergreen graduate...I am so jazzed

Lisa

stevierae · Oct 28, 2003

Originally posted by orca1

I can not believe I found an Evergreen graduate...I am so jazzed

Lisa

Yeah, no kidding--p.m. me anytime--let's keep in touch!!

Valley Medical--what a zoo!! Everyone who works there really knows their stuff--they have to; it is so fast-paced and hectic.

A girl in my clinical group worked there as an aide--she had already learned a lot of nursing skills from her nurse mentors on the job that made her far more advanced than the rest of us were at clinical--we envied her--she made things look so easy--and we thought it was neat that the nurses with whom she worked allowed her so much freedom to learn from them and actually practice the skills she had learned, before even graduating or taking boards. She stayed there after graduation, but eventually went to Kaiser Santa Teresa, which was closer to home, after she wanted a little slower pace.

I'll bet things are really easy for you, too--working in Santa Clara after having been at Valley.

What we all agfreed on after nursing school was this: Trauma gets REAL OLD once you turn 30--and, the older you get, the more you value your free time!

orca1 · Oct 29, 2003

Stevierea,

Wow, I could not said it better myself about trauma getting old. I am an older nursing graduate...32 and I am telling you...some days I am ready to retire already and sit in my garden with a nice cup of coffee.

I am off to a class today...Have a good one!!

Lisa

cimersrn · Nov 26, 2003

Hi Folks. Another Evergreen grad here, graduated in 2002. I've been working at Valley (Santa Clara Valley Medical Center) for just over a year and I love it here! I really feel that Evergreen prepared me well in terms of both theory and clinical skills. I must say however that I work with a SJSU grad, same year as myself, who has wonderful skills. I think it probably has a lot to do with the individual, not just the school. By the way, Lazelle Westbrook is back at Evergreen teaching an intro to nursing course.

madi_88 · Oct 13, 2004

Hi all, I am a new grad who just moved to Chico/Paradise, CA to work on a med/surg unit. It has been a big change from where I went to school on the coast, way up in northern california, but it hasn't been so bad. Med-surg is as hard as I imagined it would be, will be transfering after I get a years worth of experience. All the knowledge I have gained has been mostly worth the hard work.

How is it there? Might be going there soon...

hipab4hands · Oct 13, 2004

Stevierea,
Wow, I could not said it better myself about trauma getting old. I am an older nursing graduate...32 and I am telling you...some days I am ready to retire already and sit in my garden with a nice cup of coffee.
I am off to a class today...Have a good one!!
Lisa

HI,

I'm a former South Bay resident ( moved due to high cost of living, high housing and horrible commute. I currently live up in the Sacramento area (sighs, loves living and working here.) Now I only have a 20 minute commute vs. the 1.5 hr commute in the Bay Area.

RNKPCE · Oct 13, 2004

HI,
I'm a former South Bay resident ( moved due to high cost of living, high housing and horrible commute. I currently live up in the Sacramento area (sighs, loves living and working here.) Now I only have a 20 minute commute vs. the 1.5 hr commute in the Bay Area.

Fortunately you are already up in the Sacto area. The cost of living there has grown a lot recently. I live in the South Bay but grew up in Sacto. For fun we would look at model homes up in the Roseville, Folsom area over the past 6 years. The prices have skyrocketed on some of the newer homes. Our friends bought a new home in Roseville 3 years ago for around $500,000, that home would now sell for around over $700,000. The traffic off highway 80 if really awful too. The transportation system has not kept up with the growth. It is fortunate that you are so close to your work now. I worked at Mercy San Juan as an aide while I was going through school. We were fortunate to buy our first house in the South Bay 17 years ago. It seemed really expensive even then. I don't know how anyone can afford a first house down here now.

RLL · Nov 11, 2004

Which are the best hospitals to work in near the Monterey/Carmel area?

RLL · Nov 11, 2004

P.S. How much experience do hospitals in those areas generally require for an NP?