cyclone67

I have lived in Hawaii (was not a RN then), but I have enough knowledge to tell you to prepare to work in the Midwest to get experience. The only chance you would have would be to work long-term care / SNF. It is very hard for new grads that are from Hawaii to get hospital jobs, much less for an outsider. Peruse the Hawaii forum here and you will see most new grads have to work as an unit secretary / aide for a year before they can get an RN position. And consider this is happening to people who graduated from there and are known from their clinicals. L&D, nope not going to happen. Go ahead and apply, but DO NOT move there without a signed job contract in hand. You also need to decide what is more important - your goal to work in Hawaii or your goal for a DNP in midwifery. You will have a lot more luck getting the experience needed for the DNP goal by going elsewhere. Goal setting is important. But having an achievable goal is step one to success. Just my 2 cents.

Absolutely there is a difference between the military and nursing. I am retired military and there is a huge difference. The military basically has a break it, you buy it policy. If a military member catches Covid19 for any reason (work or social contact), if there is permanent lung damage the soldier will have free treatment for life and disability pay. They won’t be burning PTO or sick leave, they will just be off duty to recover. I guarantee you don’t see a military nurse wearing a bandana right now...... yes, a nurse does accept a level of risk, but our hospital leadership should be doing everything they can to decrease the risk. That includes planning and preparing. I know my hospital has been purely reacting, I still see no efforts to come up with plans for what is coming. We had Covid19 in our area and our monthly training was on bedside report! I volunteered to go back on active duty as I feel the PPE will be better, planning will be better, and compensation is surely better. I could not make myself quit my current position (but would love to) so I will likely not get called up. Probably a stupid mistake for me, I don’t know why I am being loyal at all. Solely for my co-workers....

Retired Army person here. The military is a great way to get into and test a new career area, and worst case will give you the GI Bill which you could use to make a career change later. If you are interested in that, see a recruiter, see what’s available for you and research! Since you are married with kids, you would really need to know what you are getting into to make sure you are comfortable with the fact that both of you could be away at the same time, might have a time period where one of you gets assigned away from the other, deployments, etc. You can have a great dual military career and there are some great jobs in the military that can set you up for a really high paying civilian job later. Do your research and know what a possible job would likely entail for you as far as possible assignments, deployment likeliness, post military career opportunities. Very important for you to research carefully since you are married and by user name have kids. I would also recommend to “#$&@ or get off the pot” as the later you join, the tougher it is to stay in and retire if you wish. Military life is rough on the body and being in your 30s and trying to keep up with 18 year olds can be tough and can lead to lingering injuries. Sounds like you are late 20s so now is the time. Intel has some great jobs out there - I did Human Intelligence myself. That or Counter Intelligence might be of interest since you said you were interested in crime and legal. Lots of similarities with getting to learn interrogation and other aspects of the job. Anyways, good luck but really time will fly by and if you aren’t careful you could find yourself at 45 still a LPN and thinking of what could have been......

Did something unusual happen? Usually a hold happens because you hand scan wasn't working, power outage, etc. they have to go through then and review the tapes / test before the release your results.

Things that are important to consider: Are you getting interviews? If not then your resume or experience are not making you competitive. If you are getting interviews remember You are also applying to the most competitive residencies. You need to think about applying for other specialties at this point. You can work for a year or two and then move over to those specialties. Also, have you written a cover letter specific to the residency? From my experience in talking to the recruiters in my area it mattered! I sat in on a virtual workshop and that recruiter specifically mentioned it. It sounded like this recruiter put you to the side without it. It could also just be a pure numbers game. Others may have had clinical oR worked as a tech/CNA on these units. They have a major advantage.

I had 3 months of orientation with a preceptor; oncology unit. No, 4 shifts is not enough or the norm for a hospital job. I would keep my eyes open for another residency opportunity.... And that is not flexible to your needs -- but is totally flexible to their needs for a warm body.

I agree that the math doesn't seem to work. I used my GI Bill for nursing school last year. I didn't have to pay a single penny. I completed a entry level master's program and the tuition for the 16 month program was 40K. Just FYI, you do know that you can get in state pretty much anywhere for 3 years after discharge??? Just to open up more possibilities if you fit that category. And some schools will go past the 3 year mark. I got in-state at University of Arizona and I was just a bit over that 3 year mark.

Just FYI, I think I read earlier that one of you are using it because of cancer. If it is for nausea / vomiting check into Marinol. It is a legal FDA approved drug and with that you could turn it in as a prescription with the urinalysis. I work on an oncology floor and we give it out quite often to our patients.

This is likely the major roadblock. You cannot get a clinical placement with a positive drug test. Even in states where marijuana is legal, medical personnel cannot use it for even medicinal purposes. It all comes back to the fact that marijuana is still set as a schedule 1 drug and is federally illegal. it is kind of ironic because we actually had a lecture in pharmacology about the various known medical benefits of marijuana. If there is a workaround with testing later for clinical placement then I would say you have a chance. Unfortunately in this case the CON just can't set their own policy but they need to be in compliance with all the clinical sites / hospitals in the area. There is no sense in admitting a student if they can't get them into clinical sites. Hopefully they can make this test disappear and retest later..... Good luck!

I would run far far away from that Tampa school. I also read the comments / reviews on the school and they were pretty horrifying across the board except for some 5 stars with no comments that looked like they were probably put in by "fake" students. I noticed that many of the students complained that they were restricted from sitting for the NCLEX by the school because they refused to send their paperwork to the BON. It looked to me like they cherry pick graduates to sit for NCLEX to keep their rates where they are (which as someone pointed out aren't super great. If you notice, the person who recommended that school then posted a new thread about how she does NO clinicals in a hospital and only does 12 hours a month of clinicals...!!!! I will just warn you that if you go to this school I can almost guarantee that 2 years from now you will sorely regret that money spent. You are much better off looking for a job that can work around a school schedule. Run away now -- do not waste your money on this school!

Most schools have a 5 year period for science pre-reqs. However, do your research. I also found a program where I did not have to retake any courses. I was in a similar situation to you. I ended up going the opposite route -- a MEPN program. Mainly because I could start right away, didn't have to retake pre-reqs, and it was 16 months straight through to graduate.

I don't know about the gauges; but I can comment on missing days. They will work with you in the case of things like weddings, medical issues, death in the family -- usual things you cannot avoid / were already scheduled. If you're talking missing for traveling or something like that; I would not count on it. Let them know right up front about the issue. If it is on a clinical day then you will just make up the day with another group. I would say the only other major issue would be if it was on a test day. Anyways; as soon as you start -- talk to the instructors and let them know what is going on.

You should check with the College of Nursing at University of Arizona. When I went to school there we had quite a few nurses who just worked a few days a week helping out with clinicals and lab skills.

Just wanted to pass on that you guys will be using some different books than the last cohort. So do not buy any used books off former students until you get your book list from the CON. I saw that on the MEPN Facebook page and just wanted to pass it along because i know some people have books posted for sale.

Drug screens are always going to be a possibility regardless of where you work. Even if they don't test you at hiring (and I have never heard of anyone not being tested for a nursing job), you can face a random test for a number of reasons. Such as suspicion of drug use or a medication error. If you think smoking the occasional joint is worth it, I recommend you spend a couple of hours reading the subform for recovering nurses https://allnurses.com/nurses-recovery One positive urine screen can easily ruin your career and cause you years of trials and tribulations to keep your license. As well as a bucket load of money. And this is the same if you live in a state where marijuana is legal. Read their stories and this SHOULD help you make this choice.

Nope, they will not tell that information. Good luck, and I hope you hear soon.

This is for those of you on the alternate list. I was in your shoes 2 years ago, feeling frustrated because you have no idea where on the list you stand. I received a telephone call the very next day at work with an offer of acceptance to my choice location. Many of our cohort came off the wait list. Just be flexible and I recommend you approach this time and prepare like you are going. Get your shots and medical stuff done, just hold off on purchasing things like the uniforms. Do some research on housing, have a plan so that at worse case if you are that person that gets the call 2 days before orientation you are ready to go. I believe we had someone in the position and they even got to show up a day or so late. And just FYI, I did great -- I graduated this last August with a 4.0 and got a job in my unit of choice. So don't let it get you down. You will likely make it in and you will see that your place on the acceptance ladder will have no bearing on how you do in the program. And if you end up having to accept the other location that you wanted, be aware that you can let the CON know. We had a list of people who had gotten accepted into Phoenix but wanted Tucson. After 1st semester ended, several people had dropped or not made it and we ended up with 3 or 4 people that moved down to Tucson. So I would recommend that if you do end up in that position to take the spot and just get a short term lease and see what happens come fall semester. Good luck and keep the faith!

Usually each cohort has their own page and then there is an overall MEPN page. I believe that the admission email or an email you get shortly after will have the link to the MEPN page. Just FYI, lots of former graduates will sell their books for a nice package price on there. One of my friends just posted some yesterday. So once you get access -- keep you eye out if you want to save some $$$$$. Good luck everyone!

And just FYI, if you do get waitlisted they will call when they have a spot open up. So make sure your phone information is up to date and answer those 520 numbers! Good luck to you all; you have really good odds when you get to the interviews.

You would likely get way more notice. Literally I was off the waitlist within 24 hours. There will be a lot of waitlist action within the month of acceptances going out. And if anyone ends up in the location not preferred you can get on a list to move as slots open up. We had several Phoenix people move and join the Tucson cohort after 1st semester.

If anyone does end up on the wait list -- do not despair. Lots of people apply to multiple programs. I was waitlisted, and then accepted the next day. Just be flexible because some people will wait until the last few days to drop out. Be ready to roll if you get the word.

You should post this on the subform for Government / Military nursing under specialties!

Why don't you use your GI bill to finish pre-reqs and go to nursing school. Nursing will provide you a great career with many options and you obviously have way more interest in it.

I would go ahead and apply in the last months of your program. Start looking at the different residency webpages and contacting recruiters for information. They sometimes have dates posted for specific cohorts and sometimes not. For CHI Franciscan I did a search for residency positions -- they will actually post them as such often times. I believe they also say you can apply to just regular postings. It seems like their webpage is down right now -- I tried to go on and refresh my memory on the process. They do have a nursing residency page that told you what to do. Regardless of where you apply, make sure to attach a cover letter (even if not prompted). It's usually optional and I noticed that a lot of people who didn't get interviews didn't bother to do them! There's a ton of hospitals in the Tacoma area so I don't think you will have any issue finding a job. St Joseph, Tacoma General, Allenmore, St Clare, St Anthony, Mary Bridge Children's ......

Starting 4-5 months after graduation is not a big deal -- you just want to make sure you stay in the new grad window and get a job in that first year or it will be tough. I graduated in August and started in October but the 2 other new grads on my floor both graduated in May and started in September and October. Check out CHI Franciscan -- they have several hospitals in the Tacoma area -- St Joseph's in Tacoma is the largest, they have several other locations to include Lakewood which is very close to JBLM (St Clare). They have a revolving residency program with no set cohort dates. You get hired and they have classes scheduled monthly and you just get put into the cycle. I started a residency in October at St Joseph's and am very happy with it. That would give you more flexibility with your move and not having to worry about being ready to start by a set date. My unit manager was pretty flexible about giving me a bit of time before starting if I needed it. Also in Olympia / Lacey area there is St Peter's Hospital which is a part of Providence. That is also a very convenient area to JBLM. Located just west of JBLM; a lot of people on base live in that area also. I would really try to lock a job down before you find housing because if you ended up living on the Olympia side and had to commute to Tacoma -- that would really suck and vice versa. The traffic in the area on I5 is pretty bad; especially in the JBLM area. If you can get on post housing -- it is convenient either way. It can take a bit of time to get hired so I wouldn't wait until you get here to apply. I applied for my position in late May / early June and didn't even get a phone call until mid-August from St Joseph's. From there the process was very quick. I set up an in person interview a week later and was hired within a few days. They were very flexible about the start date -- when I was hired I hadn't even taken my NCLEX yet. If you apply at Providence they will contact you fairly quickly and you go through a process of a video interview using an online program and then an in person interview with a hiring committee from several floors. If you apply to CHI, put in multiple applications to what interests you. I applied to 4-5 different positions and 2 different hospitals. It is set up a bit differently where you don't apply to a residency cohort but you apply for the specific positions. They do hire new grads for peds and L&D. Just FYI, Providence St Pete does 12 hour shifts. CHI Franciscan has some floors with 12 hour shifts and some with 8 hour shifts. I am not sure about Multicare. The thing I really like about St Joseph's is that my unit culture is great -- very supportive to new grads and are ratios are great. We are mostly 4:1 on my floor and on day shift when it is super busy they have break nurses to make sure you get your breaks. And night shift keeps the same ratios; which is great!