aculwell

Thanks! I'm happy to say that I passed NCLEX last week and now I have a job at Johns Hopkins in the BMT unit. I'm totally excited!

Yes Pacifica is very foggy and cold....I thought it was Bracing to live there...if ya don't like gray and cold then don't live in Pacifica or in SF. That said October is gorgeous and if you like bracing walks on foggy beautiful beaches and grassy hills then you will like Pacifica and it's surroundings. California is expensive period. That's why I don't live there any more...As for me Central and Northern California beat out sunny sprawling southern California for beauty, culture and character any day. It's all about what you need in your life and what your likes and dislikes are. If ya want warm sandy beaches and tropical weather then yeah...Pacifica ain't for you!

Native californian here from Santa Cruz....If you like deserted beaches for dog walking you might want to work north of SF. That said not many beaches allow unleashed dogs. I lived and worked in Pacifica which is a little town just south of SF. The beach there was rarely occupied and I walked my dogs on it all the time. I was told a couple times that a leash was required but ignored that. Santa Cruz is a good place for beaches...although I'm not real impressed with the hospitals there. Especially Dominican....

Whenever I've been called doctor or asked if I was a doctor I always reply "Nope, I work for a living"

New grad here, nursing is my third career at 45. USCG Corpsman for 10 years, Systems administrator for 10 years now an RN and take the NCLEX in a couple days! Glad to see all the guys logging in and sounding off!

Hmm..as a male nurse myself I'm wondering why you would group all male nurses as being "interesting" Not to be overly sensitive but if I might interpet that as being an indictment of male nurses in general. Something I ran into in Nursing school were women instructors all too eager to group me in with all other male nurses as being insensitive and uncaring and not cut out to be a nurse. The remark that male nurses are interesting smacks of stereotyping and I take exception to it! Then again maybe I'm being to sensitive

Thanks for the reply....I'm also a male nurse. I am taking NCLEX next week have all my ducks in a row for NC licensure and I know NC is part of the multistate compact so I should have no trouble with licensing. I guess I was a bit surprised when I contacted the Nurse recruiter at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center and she offhandedly mentioned that she didn't even know that there were diploma schools still in existence. Anyway she offered an internship starting at 33K and lasting a year and I was a bit shocked at that. Also when I told her I had 10 years experience as a Corpsman in the Coast Guard she indicated that that didn't even matter. So I was a bit taken aback. Howeve I'm over it Interviewing at JHU in a couple weeks and hope to land something there.

I just graduated from Watt's in December. I take the NCLEX-RN in a week. I felt like Watts was a fantastic investment. To pay 23k for an LPN program is probably to me a real risk. Yes you can work in a nursing home with an LPN certification but why pay 23k for an LPN when you can have an RN in 2 years for the same approximate tuition. If you have your prereqs done you can get into Watt's pretty quickly, and like the person stated earlier Duke Health if you go work there will re-imburse you the tuition cost over three years. Sure you might get into ECPI and finish in 12 months or whatever length the program is but you will still only have that LPN. I'm not degrading LPN's but I think that most would tell you that if they were going to pay 23k for an LPN or an RN they would do the RN. Just my 2 cents. LPN's are great, it's a shame that in a lot of states they are phasing them out. That is another reason to go for the RN. If I were you I would check out Watt's....it's the oldest nursing school in NC and has a great reputation here in the state! http://www.dukehealth1.org/watts/index.asp

Great advice....that's why I'm applying to all university medcenters. It is good though to have an idea about what kind of pay we should be asking for. A great teaching hospital is fantastic but we still have bills, especially paying back student loans.

Well Bomsy I'm a new graduate relocating from NC. I hope the above information about Hopkins is wrong. I have interviews there next week. I guess I will wait until I get there to make a judgment but I'm now wondering what I'm getting myself into!

From what I can see and I'm in the process of sitting for boards in NC. As soon as I relocate to MD with my NC license (NC is part of the multistate compact) I must apply for my MD endorsement within 30 days. I'm hoping that process is not too bureaucratic but I am not holding my breath. I'm tempted to maintain my residence in NC just to avoid having to get a MD endorsement.

I'm a new grad of a Diploma program in NC. I'm moving to Maryland and am actually interviewing at JHU. I have had mixed reaction from Nurse recruiters as to my being a Diploma Nurse. I'm a bit taken aback by what seems to be an elitist attitude in Maryland and DC. My Diploma School is affiliated with Duke and has an exellent reputation in NC, and I've been actively and aggressively recruited by Hospitals in NC & California including Duke and UCSF. Is it just me or are Maryland & DC hospitals hostile to Diploma Grads? JHU is one of the only hospitals that actually responded and seemed interested in interviewing me. WHich is fine with me as they are my first choice for a place to work. I also have been surprised at seeing how many of these DC hospitals want to hire New grads as "interns" or Fellowship Bridge type positions at a lower salary. What gives?