wendalin920

Hi all, I'm looking to move to OK at the beginning of next year (currently in NC). I currently work full-time as a floor nurse and am contemplating applying for PRN positions only. Can anyone speak to what PRN requirements are in the OKC hospitals (# of shifts required per week or month, must you work rotating weekends, etc)? Also wondering if PRN positions in the hospital pay more than full-time employees get? I know this is typically the case. As a PRN employee, are you still able to put in towards a 401K at the hospital? Lastly, if you work for a specific unit but are PRN, how often have you floated to other units? Thanks in advance!

I'm a new grad on week 6/12 for my orientation. Yesterday I had my midpoint check in on my progress. My preceptor met with the educators and manager before me. During my meeting I was told that usually they see more progress than they see in me! Not great to hear and I'm feeling down and discouraged. I was told that I'm good on my charting, patient care, time management but am lacking in the hard skills area. I have been getting confused with the IV pump and when to scan the pump for IVPB meds versus when I need to type in the rate, vol, etc. Sometimes I remember and sometimes I get confused on which direction to turn the stopcock for the EVD and art line. It's hard when not every patient has the same equipment to use and I can go multiple shifts without seeing it. For example I think it's been 5-6 shifts since I worked with an EVD. I've watched an art line setup once but haven't done it myself. I'm getting a new preceptor next week and my day orientation has been extended two weeks before I transition to nights. Does anyone have any resources, videos, etc that I can help to prepare with? I'm a hands on learner and need to do something multiple times to get the hang of it. I try to take notes when I can but it's difficult when there's a lot going on.

Thank you so much for explaining that to me! I'll start looking into the FL BON page and seeing how to get my license that way. Thank you for the help!

Hi everyone, I'm in my last semester of a BSN program and I received an offer from UAB today! I accepted and am looking to start in the Summer. I currently live in TN, but FL is my residency state for tax purposes, ID, etc. How do I apply to work in AL? I looked on the Board of Nursing website but am kind of confused and looking for some guidance! Does anyone have experience getting an AL license but claiming residency elsewhere? It seems like according to the BON info, I am only eligible to apply for an Alabama license if I have a residency there. I won't have this prior to applying for my test or taking my NCLEX. FL and AL are compact states but then it says something about not being able to hold a multi-state license if I'm not an AL resident. I also saw something about a temporary license but having to have someone at the hospital oversee me (that's not the exact terminology but that's what I gathered). I was okay with applying for just an Alabama license but now I'm unsure how. I'm wondering if I need to apply for a FL one and then once I have that, apply for an AL one? Not sure how to do either option. Thanks in advance!

I think your experience will help! In the Summer you'll take Foundations and Health Assessment. I found that I was able to understand some things easier because of my previous experience. It helped during clinicals as well (even though you're usually always with either a nurse or instructor doing stuff during clinicals). I'm not so sure the experience helped for fall or Spring. Maybe if you worked in a specific floor or clinic you will understand some of the disease processes better, but at least for me, I'm not so sure my experience helped me understand stuff for those two semesters more.

Congrats to getting accepted!! I am in the program at the moment. Cannot wait for May to get here!! Everyone takes the program differently of course but I think everyone at some point has freaked out about a test or assignment we've had. There are a few people who work PRN jobs. I can't speak for all of them, but I know a few are not getting As or sometimes even Bs on their exams. I am not working and have been able to take time here and there for myself. I have a friend who because of the Sabbath takes Saturday off every week (when she's not in clinicals) and that works for her and she's still able to get As. I took a whole day off one day last semester and felt super anxious. I ended up not doing as well on the test the next week. So everyone is different!! We hit the ground running at full speed. Things seem to change here and there for every year. Our orientation was an all day affair and the next day was intense because of the short program there was no real easing into things! A lot of us felt frazzled by that and I wish there was a day to digest things in between. I study my notes a lot. I can't say I have time after every class but I try to review my notes each week. I've bought the paper copies of the textbooks as well as the online editions. I barely have time to read them so I felt as though the paper copy was a waste of my money. I also use Simple Nursing to help me study. And the Nurse in the Making flashcards. I think the only class where none of those really were needed was Mental Health. Those two resources really helped me understand things better. FYI the Nurse in the Making lady graduated from UTK. Parking in the Summer is lovely and then the worst thing ever fall and Spring! Med Surg was by far the hardest class. But each year is different. I asked at the beginning of the semester how many people failed the year prior. I was told 1 person. We lost 4 in the fall. Study your notes, do practice problems, listen to videos or whatever helps you learn best, and ask the instructors about all you don't understand! I wish you the best of luck! ?

I've been in touch with recruiters from all three of those services but like the previous comment mentioned, I had to keep trying. I Googled medical or nurse or health recruiters. And mixed that phrase up with several cities I thought I'd move to when I finished school. As far as submitting info to the recruiting pages, I believe I only heard back from the Air Force when I did that. I'm pretty sure one of the Navy Recruiters I spoke to was because one of my Google searches resulted from a LinkedIn account. I also called a few random recruiting stations and asked who the health professional recruiter was and if I could have their phone number in case it was a different recruiting office. It was a lot of trial and error! I spoke to a Navy Recruiter in CA and FL and FL people for the other services. If these two locations interest you I can give you their contact info. If you're wanting to speak with offices in different states then I'd suggest Googling random combos like I did. Hopefully it will turn up something!

Hi everyone, I am currently in an ABSN and graduate next May. I've been thinking about where I would like to work after graduation and I'd like to be an ER Nurse. I understand that the ED is not always open to new grads so I'm thinking of doing Med-Surg first and then transferring. Do you think there's one type of Med-Surg that is better in preparing someone to work in the ED? Last semester, my clinical rotation was in Ortho-Trauma and this semester I'm in Oncology. Both are Med-Surg but handle different patients. Last semester was more shadowing as it was our first time in a clinical rotation and this semester I get to do more things. I see the differences between the patient injuries and reasons why they are in the hospital, but the patient ratio is different as well. In Ortho-Trauma, the nurses had about 6-7 patients and in Oncology there's 3-4 patients per nurse. I'm really liking Oncology and the patients are so appreciative. I've been thinking of applying to a Cancer Research Center as well as other general hospitals, but I'm also wondering if doing Oncology Med-Surg won't adequately prepare me for the ED later on. I've heard people talk about learning time management the first year, but is this really possible if I only have 3 patients? I know the tempo in an ED will be much different! Thanks for any advice!

Hi all, I'm currently in an accelerated BSN program and graduate in May 2024. I've been browsing different residency programs (will be relocating to whoever takes me in Florida!) and am confused on the accreditation. I've seen a few boast about having a Vizient accreditation and some don't specify. Is it bad to not list their accreditation? Does it have to be Vizient? Does it really matter? I can't seem to find any actual differences between the program descriptions. It seems like they all have you meet monthly for extra training and scenario work through. I have heard some let you rotate through different units for exposure and others have you only in whatever unit you will stay with. Last question, are there any red flags I should be aware of when looking at new grad opportunities? I see myself staying there at least 2 years so the contract committment doesn't bother me. Thanks for the help!

Thanks for the offer! Did you have any experience as a nurse before you joined? I've now been able to talk to recruiters from all the branches and if it's accurate, the Navy seems to take on more new grads than the other services. One thing that attracts me to the Navy is humanitarian work I've heard the Navy does. Are these like deployments or considered as other work? How often are they available for work in underserved countries/areas of the US? In the Army, I'm used to frequent field trainings, weapons qualifications, and sometimes getting put into jobs that are open to any officer occupation. Is this similar to nurses in the Navy or are you able to really just focus on being a nurse?

Hi everyone, I will start an accelerated BSN program in TN this Summer and graduate May 2024. I have 12 yrs of prior service (active-duty Army) and am interested in completing my 20 years within a uniformed service. I've been researching the different branches and came across the USPHS. Does anyone have experience with their SRCOSTEP program? I understand during your senior year you are considered an intern. Intern for where? Are there separate clinical requirements for the program besides what my university's clinical rotations are? The application window opens in 2 months but as a prior service O-3 I'm not sure if I'm eligible. I'm waiting on an email reply from their HHS email address. Has anyone either worked with the PHS or know anyone who started with them as a new grad? The service interests me but I also know hospitals require new nurses to go through a residency program. Can I still do that in the PHS? I haven't found nurse residency info on any agencies (except the VA) that PHS works with. I'm scared of losing valuable education as a new nurse if I join USPHS and can't do a residency. I'd appreciate any information on the service and experience working with them!

Hi all! I know this is an old post now but I was wondering if anyone can shed some light on their experience with the Advent Health residency program? I'll be starting an accelerated BSN program this Summer and am wondering where to apply when I graduate next May. Is there a contract to sign with Advent? If so, does the required time start on day 1 or after you finish their year residency? How is it working with Advent?

Good luck on your decision! Unfortunately I haven't found anyone that's been to UNF. It was a bit frustrating that information sessions aren't done. That's ideal for getting to know the program better. I sent my decision to the school today and declined my offer. I think with the NCLEX changing this year having high pass rates is important!

Hi hmarya, I'm late to this thread but have been accepted to the program for this Summer. Can you provide any pointers that you've found helpful? Especially for the first semester. It's been a long time since I've been in college and I'm a bit nervous about it all.

Hey guys! I'll be going to UTK this Summer so I guess I'll see y'all there! Unfortunately, I'm missing the Meet and Greet. Are you attending that? Kck12 my stats are: previous BA in psych, been out of college since then for about 13 years so I ended up retaking some sciences. 3.6 overall GPA, 3.9 pre-req

Hi everyone, I will be starting an accelerated program in May. I currently live in South Florida and have applied to 2 FL schools (USF and UNF). Has anyone had experience with either of their nursing programs? I got my acceptance email from UNF today and am awaiting the response from USF. I did interview with USF and was supposed to with UNF but I guess they are thinking of ditching the interview process for future acceptance so my interview got cancelled and I got accepted instead! I've researched both programs and they look very similar. USF does offer more credits and I noticed UNF doesn't require pathophysiology. The class size for USF is almost double UNF. I've had great success at communicating with USF personnel but not so much with UNF (took 3 emal tries over 6 months to finally get a response about the program specifics), although Dr. Dibble has been amazing at her communication. Anyway, I'm really at a loss on which to pick (assuming USF accepts me too). I'm not pulled to living in one location over the other for school and don't plan on staying in either area for long (if at all) after school is done. If anyone has experience with either school's program, I'd love to hear it!

That's all great information! Thank you for your replies. I'll make note of it all. If I'm unable to get back into active duty right away, I'm thinking of doing a nurse residency somewhere to get more experience as a fresh grad. Maybe that could be what I do while I wait to have some experience under my belt for active duty.

Hi everyone! Thanks for reading and providing any information to my questions. I have a lot of questions! About me: I'm a Military Intelligence CPT(P) on active-duty Army. I've been in for almost 13 years. I will be transitioning to the Army Reserves this March and attending an accelerated nursing program this Summer. After getting my RN license, my goal is to come back to active duty into the Nurse Corps. I have a nurse assistant cert, but no LPN, RN, ASN experience. Has anyone transitioned into the Nurse Corps from another branch? What's the AMEDD board process? How did the demotion go for you (an Air Force recruiter told me I'd probably become a 1LT), how long is the process? Where do I get info for the board, when it meets, what's required, etc? So far, all I've found is info for enlisted transitions to nurse officers or civilians going to military nursing. So, I'm unsure if I'd have to do a nurse officer leader course since I did one (although it was for intel). I know the recruiters are the go-to's but unfortunately recruiters lie sometimes so I'm trying to find information in regulations, people's experiences before continuing further with recruiters. I talked to an AF recruiter a few months ago and will again once I'm accepted into a nursing program. I never heard back from the Navy recruiters. Ideally, I'd like to stay in the same branch (Army) but am open to others. I understand the AF and Army have a Nurse Transition Program, but only the AF says they except no-experience new grads. Does anyone know if the Army or Navy does this?

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some clarification on what PRN means. I've been looking for CNA positions and see some sites list PRN and some say on call. Are they the same thing? I became a CNA in March and have had one job that I applied for as PRN. My thought about it was that it's on call and I'd be asked if I wanted to work a shift ahead of time. I was asked for my availability when I got hired and I put being available on the weekends. I ended up getting put on the schedule every Sat and Sun without being asked if I could/wanted to work. In my mind this was more of part time. I made it work with my other job but now I've moved states and want to get a new CNA position. Because of my only CNA experience led to more of part time work, am I misunderstanding PRN? In general is PRN a schedule where you give availability and the facility schedules you if they need you? Or is it you giving availability and them needing someone so they call then you say yes or no to picking up the shift? Thanks!

Good morning! I've been reading different posts about overseas work/volunteering and I'm wondering if anyone can give me feedback/tips on how you do it? I haven't started nursing school yet but will be entering an accelerated BSN program. On the weekends I currently work as a CNA. I would love to do missionary nursing or medical mission trips for longer. I recently did a non-medical mission trip that was short term so saving for it wasn't too difficult. I read somewhere that certain companies frown upon fundraising and the traveler has to find their own way. How do you do that if you sign up for a 1 yr+ commitment? For those of you that have done that, do you move.out of your place, put stuff in storage, and quit your stateside job then look for another one a year later? I guess I'm wondering how to navigate the awkward talk with your boss that you're quitting or would like a year off and can they hold your spot for when you return. Have any of you experienced difficulty getting a new job upon returning because of too much overseas volunteering makes for a wonky resume of quitting jobs? Ideally I'd like to be employed by an organization like Cure, Red Cross, or Samaritan's Purse and then be sent somewhere occasionally or during disasters but it's doesn't seem like those organizations have stateside nursing jobs. And some paid overseas organizations like Peace Corps seem to be more health education related versus hands on nursing. Thanks for reading. I'd appreciate any insight!

Good luck on your applications! I'm applying to USF in Tampa but I think that's the only FL school. I think the earliest decisions will be made the same month I come off active duty. I think I'll end up having to join a Reserves unit and then transfer to a different one when school starts. I don't even know if that's an easy thing to do.

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to this site and hoping I've posted this in the right section. I'm wondering if anyone on here is currently in an ABSN program and also in the Reserves? I'd love to hear your experience if this applies to you! I'm currently Active Duty Army and will have 13 years in the military when I get out next year. I'd love to stay active duty but am not currently a nurse and transferring into the Nurse Corps as a non-nurse officer is apparently not a thing. So, I'm getting out to go to school (UNC is my first choice) and then hoping to put in my AMEDD packet so I can re-enter the Army as an Active Duty Nurse. I will be going into the Reserves while I'm in school but am leaning towards the Individual Ready Reserves versus the Regular Reserves because I'm afraid of missing class for the weekend a month and Summer training. I will also be moving to FL where I'm from until I start school. Since I don't expect to hear about whether I got into a program or not until my last month on active duty, part of my question is regarding transferring Reserve units and how easy this is? Thanks in advance for any insight!