**All Heart RN**

I work at a large medical center in the midwest and all salaries are posted online along with job description. New NPs at my facility begin at $71,400 and max out at around $114,000.

Have you tried applying to OSU Med Center? They hire the majority of their new grad RNs through the Internship/Residency Program. If you google the hospital, and click on Careers, you'll be able to gather all the info you need to apply. The Internship/Residency program has several tracks (Cardiac, Med Surg, Critical Care, Mother/Baby). On the application you'll be able to select which track you want to apply. The Internship is held a few times a year. I believe one may begin in August. Good luck!

Nursing is my second degree...graduated with my first degree at 22 and graduated with my BSN at 28. I'll be 30 in a few wks and cannot believe time has gone by so quickly!

I feel fortunate to work for a facility that will pay my tuition for a graduate degree and I did not have to sign a contract. In addition, there is no cap on how many degrees my facility will reimburse for tuition...so I'm wanting to get back to school soon before the policy changes!

Hi Joe, I currently work on a Cardiac Unit that takes care of patients pre and post heart cath. I work at a hospital that is unionized and so each nurse only receives a max of 4 patients. It's a busy floor that has a mix of ICU and Stepdown patients. In order to work with the ICU patients, a nurse has to receive specialized training and work alongside a preceptor for several weeks caring for ICU patients. We also care for patients on IABPs and CVVD. I've been on the floor for about a year and have learned alot. I work night shift and the pace is still steady, if not busy, most nights. I'm actually thinking about transferring to a Renal Med Surg unit and have an interview on Tues but am hesitant because I'm not sure what my patient load would be and am concerned that it may be a mistake to transfer at this point... I'm wondering if I should have started on less of a specialized unit. On my unit we have patients who are in A-flutter, V-tach, A-fib and have also just come back from a cath, with Acute on Chronic renal failure, and Diabetes, on an Insulin gtt(with several other gtts)...it's alot! I'm also planning on going to NP school and think that working on some type of a Med Surg floor will give me a good overall view of the pathophys of various disease processes...do you agree? How has your experience been in Med Surg? What is the patient load?

My situation is very similar to yours...I, too, have a BA in Psych and also have my BSN. I've only been a nurse for a year but have begun to loathe floor nursing. I knew in nursing school that floor nursing would not be a good fit for me but I pursued it because I wanted hospital experience and the skills that come with it before moving on to Public Health Nursing. At this point, I can't stomach another day on my floor but I'm fortunate to work for a good Hospital that will pay for my graduate degree 100% (minus books). I'm looking to obtain a Dual Master's Degree in Nursing and Public Health. My dream job would be a Director of a program at the CDC or even the World Health Organization. For now, my goal is to transfer to a less demanding/less specialized floor, or at least a floor that I can tolerate while I study for the GRE and go back to school. So, i'm not sure what your interests are but Public Health Nursing offers so many opportunities. TeleNursing is also a popular field within Nursing. My aunt actually does this from home part-time. Don't give up hope. There are so many options out there within Nursing...I know both you and I will find our niche!

I graduated in Nov 2009, passed the NCLEX Feb 8, 2010, and started working in Columbus, OH, at a large teaching hospital as a Cardiac RN one week later on Feb 15. I absolutely cannot believe it's already been a year... I started looking for a position one year before I graduated and contacted the Directors of the Nurse Residency programs I was interested in but waited until two months prior to graduation to begin applying. I was only interested in working for 2 hospitals: One in Cleveland and one in Columbus...had 2 interviews at the hospital in Cleveland and one interview in Columbus.

I appreciate the replies!

I'm hoping I can at least receive a few responses from Forensic Nurses... I'm a new RN and have been working on a Cardiac unit for the past year. I'm ready to leave my unit and pursue what I've always had an interest in which is Forensic Nursing. I was first introduced to Forensic Nursing 10 years ago as a Rape Crisis Advocate on my college campus. I've always been intrigued by the SANE's role and have plans to obtain the SANE-A certification, possibly a Master's in Forensic Nursing, and will definitely go back to school to become a NP. Unfortunately, I have to wait one more year before I can take the SANE-A certification exam since it's a requirement to be a nurse for 2 years prior to certification. I am lucky enough to have an informational interview scheduled with the ED Nurse Manager on Tues Mar 8. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to be able to ask all of the questions I have about being a SANE in the ED...the only problem is that I have a great fear, knowing my strengths and my weaknesses, that the ED is not the place for me. The HR rep informed me that the ED at the hospital I currently work for is shying away from hiring new grads because of how other new grads have struggled in the ED over the last several years. I've never really had the desire to work in the ED due to the overwhelming amount of stress that comes with working in such a hectic environment. However, I've always had an interest in Forensic Nursing and also have a B.A. in Psychology and feel that this specialty will be a great fit for me. Where else can I gain some experience? I work for a large teaching hospital in a fairly large city but there are no stand-alone SART clinics...the only one that exists in my state is more than an hour away. Where else, besides the ED, can I gain some experience as a SANE?

I'm in the Midwest, work in the hospital, and am also a New Grad. Working day shift, I earn $23.07/hr. Night shift, which I will begin permanently in a few days, is 28.07/hr. Weekend Nights is 33.07/hr. I also get "Double Pay" after 52 hrs (so after an additional 12 hr shift, I'd receive double pay). I guess I'm not too disappointed by what I'll be making working night shift...

I"m also curious to know why some people have discouraged you from pursuing an internship program. If I had it to do all over again, I would still go through an Internship. The program that I'm in now is absolutely priceless. I've interned on 3 different cardiac floors and have learned sooo much. I've also taken classes regarding various Cardiac issues...these classes have covered topics that were barely covered (or not at all) during nursing school. Most teaching hospitals have Internships (I think alot of non-teaching hospitals also have them). I'm not sure when the next Internship class begins (I think there might be a group that starts in May and in August...however, I believe they've stopped interviewing for those tracks). When in doubt, just call HR. Again, I would highly recommend going through an Internship program...The support that these types of prgrams provide new grads can really make a huge difference in the difficult transition from nursing student to new grad Nurse. The pros greatly outweigh the cons ; ) **As far as advice for getting into a program--I sought advice from a professional in putting my resume together. I also made sure that during my senior year I attended conferences that were geared toward my area of interest (Cardiac Nursing). I also put together a portfolio that included letters of reference from Nurse Managers and Clinical Instructors, special presentations, papers, my best care plans from throughout my nursing school experience. I then had Kinkos bind it up...the finished product looked great. The Nurse Managers that I interviewed with loved it. Good Luck!

Yikes:down: My "lack of knowledge"...hmm well, you're right! I'm a new grad RN. Passed the boards on Feb 8 and began a Cardiac Internship on Feb 15...two months tomorrow. I begin my final rotation on an Open Heart floor tomorrow which will last 3 wks. The purpose of the Internship is to prepare new nurses who don't roll out of school with all of the knowledge/experience that they will need. Not that I need to justify myself to you, especially since you seem extremely...um, well, I won't go there but I have been preparing myself, I've been studying, working my b-u-t-t off and asking questions...which brings me to the point of why I posted this question on Allnurses. I ask tons of questions to people who have experience, to people that I work with and to people online (in this case, experienced Nurses). You've made alot of assumptions about me. I have several that I can make about you as well but I won't go there. Relax a bit, take a deep breath....now, take a few more....maybe go on a vacation. Thanks to everyone who was helpful. I appreciate the feedback guys and gals:)

I'm currently in an Internship Program in Columbus. It is a full-time paid staff RN position that lasts 16 wks. The Nurse Interns at my hospital rotate to 3 units for 3 wks each (where we work alongside our Nurse Preceptor and are expected to grow more and more independent). At the end of the rotation, we interview once again for a permanent position for one of the 3 units we rotated to and are guarenteed a position. Before I began interviewing I absolutely knew that I wanted to go through an Internship program. So far, I have not regretted the decision. We have been taking specialized courses (that are also paid) that relate to our specialty. It's almost been 2 months and I've learned so much! If you have any other ?s just let me know. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for all of the replies. I really appreciate it!