"Hello Fellow Nurses: I am an "old new grad" (May 2011) and I wanted to gather some further insight/advice with regards to my current situation: (please excuse the long post)
General Timeline of events:
June 2005 - Obtained my BS in Animal Science, with minor in Psychology
October 2006-March 2008: Worked as veterinary assistant
Aug 2008 - Dec 2009 : Took prerequisite courses needed to apply to nursing school
March 2009 - Sept 2009: Hospital volunteer on postpartum unit
June 2010 - Began accelerated BSN program
May 2011 - Earned my BSN degree
Sept 2011 - 1st attempt to pass NCLEX: unsuccessful
Sept 2012 - 2nd attempt to pass NCLEX: successful
Dec 2012 - got married
Jan 2013 - pregnant with 1st child
July 2013 - unexpected preterm delivery
July 2013 - current : stay at home mom to 3 amazing children
My passion for nursing began in 2008, when my grandmother became ill with various chronic ailments and needed daily assistance from family. My passion was further solidified in July 2013, when my son was born prematurely and spent almost 2 months in the NICU. Thankfully, he is now a healthy 5 year old boy without any complications. This experience guided my personal interests towards the areas L&D/NICU/Pediatrics.
I have been having difficulty trying to figure out how to write my cover letter and resume at this point with regards to what type of info I should include. I am now already 37 years old and unfortunately have zero nursing experience under my belt because I have been a full time stay at home mom to my 3 children (ages 1, 3, 5). Since I am an "old grad" with no experience, I need to figure out how to avoid having my application thrown into the "blackhole." In addition, my resume is not all that impressive. I do not have any recent work or volunteer experience either. I am currently in Northern CA, but am willing to relocate if necessary to jumpstart my career.
So, I wanted to ask for some insight/guidance from other fellow nurses:
What info should I include on my resume? (are my clinical rotations relevant anymore)?
What info could I include on my cover letter?
Should I apply to "new grad" programs at this point that I qualify for?
Should I try to volunteer somewhere? (Briefly looked into Rock Med & Rotacare)
Should I take a refresher course? (graduated May 2011)
I am trying to remain positive.
Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
Thank you!"
