shippoRN

Agreed nurse1959 why would they keep our applications down the last minute if it wasn't some sort of lottery system. But if that's the case why not tell applicants that? On the other hand myself a coworker in my unit and someone else from my hospital applied not sure if it was just the three of us or other people applied too. Either way the third people (who I don't know) got the award. So did they compare all of us, and gave it to the person with the highest DTI ratio? Very frustrating and what's worse next year the applicant pool will be double or triple.

grandpaj me too. It's discouraging.

Sorry grandpaj :-( just chin up and reapply next year

I guess they are sending out the rejections now :-(

Still under review. I've already accepted that I'm going to have to reapply in jan. :-(

Been watching this thread for awhile. I found out that someone from my hospital already got accepted to the program so I don't think I'm getting it. Just wish they would tell me I'm denied and put me out of my misery.

Thanks to everyone for your responses and your support. So if you had told me four and five years ago when I went to nursing school that nursing would change so drastically i would not have believed it. Right now experience doesn't matter anymore. Hospitals in my state especially are not accepting associate nurses anymore, mostly because they are trying to increase their BSN quota due to the emergence of more hospitals applying for magnet status and the whole BS in 10 situation. There are a lot of hospitals in my state that specifically are not looking at ASN anymore and make it known, and every day it seems like more and more hospitals and making decisions not to accept ASN's. Unfortunately a lot of us ASN's are getting caught in the middle of this. As far as the whole BSN completion program goes. I have only have 6 classes left to take to get the BSN ( unless they ask for something additional) i have a ton of classes from previous degrees plus my nursing degree, so nothing was stopping me other than lack of motivation and money. I submitted an application and my transcripts and am just waiting to hear, if all goes well it should take me 6 months if i stay focused, and just do what needs to be done. Its such a disappointing thing to happen to me, but maybe it was the motivation i needed to get off my butt and get it done.

Tomorrow i go back to work after a well deserved vaca, and I dread it. During my break I got to interview with my dream hospital, for a dream position after two years since graduating trying to get an interview at this place I finally landed one. I prepared for this thing like my life depended on. Bought a new suit, got my hair done nails done, paper work organized, drilled myself on questions over and over and over. I was passed over because I didn't have a BSN. Devestated. Angry. Frustrated. are only a few words to describe how i feel. Going to work tomorrow knowing that I'm back at square one. I am so angry with myself for being to lazy to apply to a BSN completion program I made several attempts to, but never had any motivation to get it together. Now my motivation comes to late because I lost out on a job that I have dreamed about FOR YEARS. Wanna hear what's even more infuriating....all i need is 6 classes to get my BSN. I can't stop kicking myself over my stupidity. Now it's back to work, feeling the same anxiety and dread. The crying, the depession. Knowing i can't up and quit because I have responsibilities. how could i have been so stupid?

what i wish i could say would get me banned from allnurses

Not quite sure if you will need a scientific calculator, but i'd say to plan as though you'd need one. Start saving so that when class starts if your professor says you will have to get one you will already have the money to go buy it and if you don't need you'll have money to contribute to something else. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

Thanks for the replys, i have friends in other hospitals trying to help me out. All i can do is hope something comes through. It's tough having an associates (or BSN) with no experience in my city. I really appreciate the support, my family doesn't understand, especially since it took me an entire year post graduation to find a job. Until something happens i just have to suck it up since I can't quit with nothing to go to. Yes its a med/surg unit. I would just like to go to work, and be happy going to work -- although I think nursing ruined me, the other part of me know it hasn't. I enjoy interacting with my patients, i enjoy getting to know them, I absolutely love love love patient teaching, I enjoy comforting them, making sure they are okay while i'm taking care of them, I take pride in it, i really do, but how can i give the best care i can when i have half the floor at times (with my preceptor of course) with no help from the support staff and so many patient's its impossible to keep track. I don't like going to work with dread and fear in my heart, i really don't. My orientation is a joke to say the least. I'll just leave it at that. Hopefully i'll be making a newer happier post in the future. cross your fingers I find something soon.

I don't know where to begin, I don't like to sound like I'm a complainer especially since things are soooo hard for other new grads out there especially in my state. But my frustration is beyond human limits. After one year of struggling to get a job in a hospital post nursing school graduation -- I was finally hired. But it's like I've walked into my worse nightmare. While I am not off orientation as yet, I feel like I'm still left on my own to figure things out, and thrown under the bus most of the time. My orientation experience itself is down right horrid. Due to the hospital's style of nursing practice and the constant understaffing one nurse could end up with between 14-18 patients that's typically half the floor. Even though i'm suppose to be with my preceptor i still feel overwhelmed by it all. I can't tell you how many times i've cried in the bathroom and locker room. I fear for my license every time I go there. I don't feel safe practicing. I don't feel like i fit in. I can't leave because I have no where to go and no other options available to me. I've taken financial blow after financial blow since my decision to go to nursing school. I feel like nursing has ruined my life. I dread going to work when i'm scheduled. I can't believe that after all my hard work this is where I've end up. I know nursing is not easy and I am surely not afraid of hard work, but when you work with people who don't want to do their job and don't have a license to lose you have to pick up their slack AND do your job to, its frustrating. Even more frustrating that administration doesn't give a crap. I don't feel like I can go to my supervisor or manager with my concerns because I'll just end up with a scarlet S on my forehead. I've seen an administrator talk to the RN staff like they were children, didn't even look to find out what the issue was first just talked down to them. I've been yelled at so many times, people forget that I am on orientation, but it's still my responsibility to do things I don't know about that my preceptor hasn't told me about. The staff gets annoyed at my preceptor and take it out on me. I've worked at other hospitals in different capacities and have seen how the RN staff work, seen them practice, seen how other new RN's have been precepted. I've heard their complaints and frustration over things but I've never seen anything like I'm seeing at my current place of business. Due to the absurd nurse to patient ratio, how am I suppose to give quality nursing care?. Sadly its only 1 month since my being there and I'm absolutely miserable. I worked so hard for this and yet I still feel like a complete failure.

Be honest, tell them what happened, don't put the blame on your preceptor nurse, but just give your side of the story and then follow it up with what you learned from it so that you don't make the same mistake twice. You can either rise and meet this challenge or let it beat you down, and I don't think you are the type to let anything beat you down.

I didn't think i'd be waiting a year to start working in a hospital setting and getting my career started, but it took exactly one year. It was the worst year of my life but i prevailed. I didn't think i'd be spending six months of my job hunt working part time in a clinic making absolutely no money but gaining amazing experience and an equally amazing mentor. I didn't think I'd be working at a city hospital in a poor and dangerous neighborhood serving an underserved population. I didn't think I would be so humbled and humiliated after nursing school either. I learned a lot of lessons. I don't regret my career choice because I know there is so much out there for me to explore now that i've got my foot in the door. Follow your dreams, nursing school was the hardest thing I ever did in my life, but I did it. I had classmates who were mothers and wives and made it. It's a huge sacrifice, you'll cry a lot, laugh a lot, scream a lot, cuss a lot and wonder why the heck you put yourself through this torture, but it's worth it when you are chasing your dreams. Good luck to you.

I empathize, I also spent an entire year post graduation looking for a job, I only just got hired to a city hospital last month and began my orientation the other day. I suggest looking at craigslist see if you can get into a clinic, home care or LTC. Its not ideal but its a start. That's what I did. i worked in private practice for 6 months before my hospital spot came up and will continue to work there once my orientation is over. Try HHC, go to the corporate office and show up at their individual hospitals and hand in your resume. It can't hurt. It really really sucks in NYC and it doesn't help that st. vinny just closed to, that's the third hospital since june 2009, and then its graduation month to so more new grads are out there. I don't know about NJ. Best wishes and good luck to you.

I am so sorry this has happened to you and I am humbled by your story. I am starting my very first job as a new grad after a year of unemployment and i am not sure how it will go especially since i will be working with a tough population at a tough hospital. I will surely keep your story in mind. Again I am sorry this happened, was there no union at your hospital to offer you some kind of protection? Keep your head up, you aren't a bad RN, it was just a bad situation and I am sure you have learned from your experience. I hope something new comes to you very soon. Never accept defeat, you can do this.

I graduated a year ago, and completed my first week of hospital orientation yesterday. The past year has been an absolute nightmare for me especially emotionally and financially. I thought after graduation the world would be my oyster. Boy was I in for a rude awakening when nobody was hiring me, nobody wanted to give me a chance. But that's water under the bridge and now i get to move forward in my career. In two weeks i'll be on my unit and i'm really nervous. I haven't done an assessment in a year, don't really remember meds, and just don't know how i will handle myself with my coworkers, my patients or myself. I was told that there is team nursing on the floor, something i have never done during my clinicals. I'm trying to review everything i can and no matter how much information i try to store in my head it never seems to be enough and time is ticking away. As i'm going through classroom orientation the amount of things i am responsible for keeps piling up. I don't know if there is such a thing as "new grad jitters" but boy do i sure have them.

Congrats! Sounds like my story. BS in another field, ADN, 1.5 yr of PCA work which included Bedside care, phelbotomy and EKG's. EKG certification, ACLS, BCLS. Still no dice. urgh. Hopefully, I pray someone will give me a chance soon.

Thanks! I actually got to sit in on minor and major surgeries during nursing school and I enjoyed it. I am definately interested in OR but it was something I was hoping to do later in my career. That being said, job offers are not coming in, and if they offered this to me I'd take it in a heart beat. I'm not in a position to be picky, I just want a foot in the door, someone to give me a chance and then I can go from there. I'm really nervous about it being a group interview. I was told it will be me and other candidates. I do not know how many. Sigh. This is nerve wracking. I had an OR interview almost 6 months ago, and I didn't get it I think because at the time I didn't take the NCLEX yet and didn't have my license, and I don't want to screw this one up either. Worse its an interview at a hospital where it is impossible to get in as a new grad.

I believe columbia's program is for persons with a BS in other majors with NO nursing experience or nursing degrees, so if you got your associates first and then tried to apply to them you probably wouldn't get accepted. Best to call and ask to be sure. As a recent 2009 summer grad from a NY associates program, please do not waste your time just go for your BSN no matter how long it takes you to get it, no matter how hard it may be just go for the BSN. My biggest regret was not getting my BSN (I also have a BS in another field) and even bigger regret was not trying harder to get into a BSN program. Having an associates in nursing here in new york is almost like when you're walking down the side walk on madison ave and narrowly miss stepping on a dog poop stain. Thats how I'm made to feel every single time I've gone on an interview. All I hear is "oh, you only have your associates" or "Why didn't you do a BSN program" or "Wow, associates its going to be hard for you to be placed" Or my absolute favorite was two weeks ago I went to the NY Times Job Fair, there was one particular hospital who's recruiting table had a line was literally a mile long, so one of the recruiters announced "If you don't have a BSN, then this line is not for you" They had no interest in any one with an associates degree. If you don't believe me, ask the over 100 students that graduated from my program, I really don't need all the fingers on both my hands to count how many have been hired so far. We graduated in June. Get my drift. Bottomline, my advice, get your BSN. P.S. some of my classmates also had Masters degrees in other fields such as education and psych, it did not matter when it came down to getting a job.

Hello, I am a new grad and will be interviewing for the OR in a few days time and I was wondering if anyone can give me any clues or advice on the type of questions I might expect to hear pertaining specifically to the OR. I was told it was a group interview which makes me a little nervous. Any help would be appreciated.

I'm right there with the OP, I am beginning to regret going for my ASN. I have a Bachelor's degree in a different major and a few years experience in the hospital, but it seems as though nobody cares. I'm still working as a part time nursing tech even though I have my RN now and its humiliating to say the least. I can't quit because I have bills to pay -- its why I went the ASN route in the first place. But now all every single job description I come across say is BSN preferred. All the great nursing residencies have BSN required to apply. I broke down crying last night because I've reached my wits end. Despair is the only word that comes to mind of how I feel right now.

#12 ) woosahhhhh!! Loves it!

I got 265 I felt like I guessed everything to left the testing center feeling like a failure and a loser. I tried the "trick" according to it I failed. I've been crying since 2pm this afternoon.

I'm scared to try the trick. That test is the devil.