KimboLimbo

The more the merrier! PALS is another great certification to have.

I’m internal, so I asked and they said they would start considering people in the next couple of weeks. Good luck everyone!

First of all, congratulations for making it this far in your BSN program! That’s a huge accomplishment but don’t get senior-itis, keep trucking! I’ll share my experience with you in hopes that you can take something from it! I recently graduated from an ADN program and just accepted a ICU Nurse Residency position in a level 1 trauma center. As a ADN nurse graduate, I knew going for critical positions would be difficult considering most hospitals won’t even consider ADN graduates (BSN graduates were “highly preferred.”) By graduating with your BSN, you’ll have a significant advantage, kudos! During my second semester, I was lucky enough to score a PCT position at a highly renowned Children’s hospital. There, because I was resource, I was able to float to all of the CC units (PICU, CVICU, ED) and gained valuable experience. Most nurses are aware that a lot of PCTs are currently in, or planning to pursue, a career in nursing. In my experience, they've were extremely helpful... educating on disease process, nursing process, assessments and even allowing me to assist in procedures. This is a huge advantage. If you’re able to, I’d highly recommend securing a PCT job in critical care. If the unit likes you enough, they’ll hire you! In my case, I new I wanted to start in Adult Critical care, so while in my last semester of nursing school, I applied to an Adult MICU at a high volume L1 trauma center and was able to score that position. I believe having both these experiences had a huge impact on my resume. I also tried to set myself apart from other candidates by ramping up my certifications. By the time I started applying for ICU residency positions, I already obtained my ACLS, PALS, BLS and even random certifications such as NIHHS (stroke assessment). I made sure to bring that up in my interviews and they seemed fairly impressed. The trick is to set yourself apart. TRUST me, they’re going to get HUNDREDS of applications and interview a ton of people, especially if you live in a metropolitan area like I do. I’m a timid, soft spoken person at heart. So adjusting to the ICU environment was difficult for me. Let me tell you, if you’re not loud and confident in the ICU, you either won’t be heard or high stress situations will cause you to panic and blank. Confidence is an absolute must. One thing I absolutely love about the ICU is that it’s full of nurse autonomy and patient advocacy. You have to be confident. Show this confidence in your interviews! Sit high, answer every question in detailed, thoughtful answers. Brag about yourself, SHOW that confidence. They LOVE that. I’d make it a point to show to your interviewers that the ICU isn’t all about saving lives either. In fact, most of your patients will be terminal. Another beautiful thing about ICU is using your patient advocacy skills to have a palliative approach. This is extremely important and a good ICU team will appreciate a new nurse willing to accept a palliative mindset. Burn out is high not only because of the high stress, but for the high patient death occurrences too. Self care is huge, show them that you’re a human being outside of your nursing career. I told my interviewers that I play guitar for my child as part of my self care routine. On the other hand, be ready for a lot of rejection and a possibility of having to start your nursing career in a Med/Surg setting. I was rejected from my very own unit but ended up getting a position at another hospital. This is NOT a bad thing. You’ll gain valuable experience with patient assessments and skills on any floor. Most importantly, never forget why you started nursing in the first place. It took a lot of compassion, dedication and grit to get to where you are now! Lastly, you’ve got this! I wish the best of luck to you and hope that you’ll be able to take something from this loooong post. Cordially, Kimbolium, RN

I was offered a spot in the ICU Nurse Residency cohort today! Good luck!

Hi All! I also applied for the majority of CC positions. Seems like they just closed the applications. Good luck to everyone!

Good-luck all! It's been fun crying and biting our nails together this long, torturous wait.

I know right, me too. I've sure I've logged into yahoo a million times already.

I totally agree Knfry. It does suck that we busted our butts to make the original deadline, only for them to extend it. I submitted mine back in June/July. I'm sure that they had more than enough applicants at the original cutoff; but we are only guests in THEIR program. So, we have to put on our happy face and hope for the best.

I think 33 is a decent amount. I'm sure the cut off will be around 30. I'm hoping that not a lot of people passed the HESI with 80+, and that will cut back a lot of competition. (evil laugh)

I believe this is their second year on probation. If they do not get it together this go'round then I believe they will be suspended.

Good morning everyone! I've been following this post for a while now. I just wanted to give my two cents about why I think that the application decisions were delayed. As we all know, El Centro's Nursing Program is on Academic Probation because of the low NCLEX scores. I think that they were waiting on the new scores to come in, since another class is graduating, before making a final decision on the Fall 2018 applicants. Just a thought? Anyway, good luck to you all!

Hello all! I am looking to apply for MVC's ADN program for Spring 2018. Any pointers? Is there are points scale like the other DCCCD colleges? Thanks in advance!