puresass

i have about 15 months experience as an RN & i've been looking for jobs in LA for the past two months non-stop & JUST got my first call from a recruiter the day before yesterday. most positions there require a minimum of a year experience in acute care (at least for hospital positions) but you might be able to find something in long-term care.

i'm thinking about moving to LA from san diego at the end of summer, by which time i'll have a little over a year of experience in med-surg/orthopedics. can anyone give me some info about the best hospitals or hospital systems in LA? i'd be looking to move somewhere around echo park, silver lake, los feliz or glendale, so hospitals within commuting distance of those areas would be the most helpful. also, what is the job market for (semi) experienced nurses looking like in LA right now? thank you!

i haven't lost any sleep during nursing school. i agree with 'noahsmama' that sleep is a higher priority for me than studying & i've maintained straight A's as well. it's not the amount of time that you spend studying that gets you the grades & helps your understanding, but the quality of studying that you do.

i think it really depends on when the recruiter for the program/hospital/floor where you applied is looking at applicants. i know that if you're out, they'll probably email you & let you know, so you're probably still in the running. good luck!! :)

san diego $30-31 + $4-something night differential at sharp not sure of wages elsewhere in san diego

here's a way to solve these problems... go into class just before the exam. maybe go in, drop off your bags so you can save yourself a seat, then go outside & relax off by yourself. don't sit in class before the test & expect everyone else to discuss anything but the test. after the test, if you don't feel like discussing the test, go off somewhere by yourself or with other people that don't want to discuss it either. there's no way to control other people's actions, only your reactions to them. i know these things can be annoying, but now that you know how you react, you can change your behavior to make your experience better for yourself. good luck!

thank you! is LA not as competitive as san diego right now? trying to find out where else in CA to apply for new grad positions. i heard there were 580+ applicants for about 30 new grad positions at sharp.

if you've got a job offer at either, i'd take it... if you received offers at both & are just trying to decide between the two, i guess it would depend on where you want to live? both hospitals have great reputations. good luck deciding! :)

i do go to school in san diego, but i didn't have a preceptorship with sharp.

they must have had a lot of applicants for those L&D positions & not many L&D positions to begin with. two girls i know at school got a rejection email quickly after applying to L&D. i got a call today for a phone interview with a recruiter for PCU @ memorial. if i do well there, THEN there'll be an interview with the unit's hiring manager. excited! :)

i just got an email from lisa saying that she has a preceptor for me in the ICU at kaiser, so it's set in stone! so excited!! congratulations on the step down unit!! do you know if you're days or nights yet? have you done rotations on that floor?

i was told that i'd be in the ICU at kaiser, but it's not set in stone yet, so i'm just crossing my fingers (i actually had a dream last night that i found out for sure that i got into the ICU at kaiser & i was SOOO stoked.... haha). i think it's funny how they're having us write our objectives already when they're so clear that we might not get placed until the day before the preceptorship starts. but i'm thinking of just doing general stuff that could apply to med-surg or ICU, like doing an admission or a transfer/discharge from start to finish...? adding to what you said about being a CNA, i would definitely recommend that everyone going into the nursing program try to get a job as a CNA or a unit clerk because the job market for new grads in san diego is completely saturated, so any "in" that you have in a hospital will definitely help.

you definitely need to get in there & take control of your learning experience. if you want to be shown how to do a head-to-toe assessment, ask your instructor to show you or ask your RN to let you watch his or her head-to-toe in the morning & explain what they're doing/looking at. it can be disappointing if you feel like your instructor isn't showing you everything you want to see, but you also have to take responsibility for it & actively look for learning opportunities.

ooooh, after 5 years of CNA work, you definitely deserve a spot! :) i hope you love the program! keep us updated about how it goes for you.

i wonder if the scripps students are going to be in an entirely different class all to themselves? i can see the short wait that the scripps people had causing some bitterness among those that were on the list for 2+ years... not that it's your fault that they waited longer than you & if any of them had the opportunity to get into the program right away you can bet they'd have taken it, but i can tell you that that's just how some people will think. anyway, just curious.