cheezbawl2003

As a followup for the unlikely scenario that someone happens to stumble upon this conversation in search of their own answers; I took that job, moved from MS/Tele to ICU within 7 months, and 2 years later am now an ICU charge RN and PICC trained. It's definitely more important to have a good attitude and a willingness to learn than anything else, which is how I was approaching the test. So, my answer, as a now experienced nurse, would be this: feel free to take the test as a method of proving to your potential employers that you are serious and passionate about the field, but do not think that it will actually make you any more prepared for your first day on the floor.

Thanks for the thought! :) I did not wind up doing it. I forrest-gumped my way into a job; when I was taking ACLS, a classmate happened to be a recently retired CNO who passed my name and number to a unit manager who hired me just over a week later. This particular hospital also has a very open policy of mobility, so after 6 months on my own (+10 weeks of new grad/new hire) they allowed me to move to the ICU, where I am currently still precepting. I might move into the ER a year or so from now too to expand my skill set, but I am absolutely loving ICU (even with all of the knocks and curveballs it's throwing at me), so we shall see what the future holds.

Thank you for your reply. So that's kinda what I was thinking; I know getting the CEN certification doesn't stand in for actual experience. The implication will not be "wow, he studied well and knows his stuff", it'll be "is this guy kidding? he still hasn't ACTUALLY worked as a nurse", which is 100% true D: Thank you :)

Hey all; I graduated in August from an ABSN program, and I passed NCLEX a few weeks ago. For my last semester, I completed a 216 hour preceptorship/transition to practice in a very busy ER. I loved the work, I loved the environment, and I really would like to work in an ER ASAP. With that being said, the time that our program graduates is less than optimal, as most new grad programs already selected their candidates. Still, I've knocked out my PALS, ACLS, and BLS renewal, and I'm working on my NIHSS (whenever their ancient servers allow me to complete more than one segment at a time, of course -_-) My question is this: is it worth trying to get my CEN now? Will it look like "hey, this guy is motivated and a self-starter" or will it look like "this guy is a pretentious prick and way too much of a go-getter"? To that end, since I already graduated from an ABSN program, I am slightly worried that too much, too fast will give a negatively overzealous impression. Just wondering all y'all's perspective on things :) Thanks for your feedback and time!

Giggity! Welcome to the team :)

Just got my call! Good luck to everyone, and watch those phones :)

Hey all; just throwing in my hat. Still new to AllNurses :/ I haven't heard anything back from them yet. I interviewed on 1/31 and have yet to hear anything, but hopefully(?) the radio silence is good news. Fingers still crossed :) Good luck everybody!

You are correct, and that would be something I was/am concerned about. However, I communicated very clearly with both programs about this. RCC started 2/13. Final notice for CSULA isn't until sometime in April. Prior to accepting my spot in the ADN program, I asked them about dropping out or leaving the school. Their program is heavily oriented around ensuring all nurses continue to a BSN, so they agree with the end goal. Likewise, they have programs in place to allow LVNs and students who previously had to drop out (life circumstances, bad grades, and other scenarios) re-enter in my place. In my interview process for the CSULA program, I let them know that I already had admission/would be starting the ADN program, even though I'm sure that if it comes to a tie between me and someone else without another program lined up, they might lean towards the other candidate.

Hey all; First AllNurses post, but my wife is an RN so I've been lurking over her shoulder for years. Here's the skinny; I have been accepted, and have already started at RCC's Nursing ADN, with an expected graduation date of 12/18. I am also making my way through the process to gain entry to CSULA's ABSN program, which would start 5/17 and finish 8/18, with a BSN. The ADN will run about 4k start to finish, of which I've already had to shell out about 1k (coursepoints... ugh!) and will not be able to "make back", either via refund or transfer to another student. The ABSN will run about 32k or so. However, it will trim about two years total off of the path to a BSN. Likewise, true cost comparison to BSN would need to take RCC's 4k and add in another ~18k or so for an RN-to-BSN program, such as through CSUF. My gut feeling is that the ABSN is the better choice. However, I understand that RCC has an amazing program, and costs substantially less, meaning less long-term damage in loans. Likewise, while the actual NCLEX/prospective hire date is about the same (give or take a few months), there's nothing wrong with getting MORE experience as a floor nurse before looking into MSN/NP/ACNP/whatever programs. Most people in the medical field that I've mentioned this to seem to favor the ABSN, citing the pros of faster entry to practice, faster path to BSN-->MSN. However, many other people I've talked to "on the outside", so to speak, tend to highlight the quality of RCC (not that CSULA is bad, but living near RCC, it doesn't have the same name recognition, and there is something to be said about trying to get hired where you do your clinicals), the lower cost, and the longer timeline. I'm not as worried about the accelerated timeline as I tend to thrive in accelerated courses, but thus far this has been classes like A&P, Micro, or Psychology, not an entire RN/BSN program. Thoughts and advice? Thanks in advance! I should be reading my Brunner and Suddarth right now, but... Maybe a 20 minute break will be worthwhile :)