pengoo2008

also, it is worth checking out new hospitals or hospitals that are expanding. My unit just expanded last year and we hired like crazy. Based on some of our hires - you'd think they just hired anyone that walked through the door! I think the new Palomar hospital is opening soon?

I moved to San Diego from another state but I had secured a job prior to moving. That was in April 2008. The job market was tough then, but it has only gotten worse. The best advice I can give you is keep on trucking! You need to find out when hospitals are hiring new grads to their new grad orientation programs. Hospitals in this area DO NOT just randomly hire new grads. You have to get in on a program. If you moved in June you probably missed most of them. There will probably be another batch of programs for those who graduate in the Winter. Call recruiters and ask when they will be looking to hire new grads.

I work on an ICU step down that the hospital has not "coded" as an ICU step down so they do not have to follow ICU step down ratios. We are technically labelled as a telemetry floor but that is sooo not what we are. We have stable vent patients and generally during the day the ratio is 1:3 if you have a vent and 1:4 at night. But there have been day shift RNs who have been assigned 1:4. I think 1:4 with an a stable vent is doable at night, depending on the acuity of your other patients and also how good of a nursing assistant you have as they often require a complete bath, q2 hour turning etc! Trach care and all of that takes me about 10 minutes, so that is not bad at all. We also have respiratory therapists who really are "in charge" of the vent and are excellent resources.

I currently work on an ICU step down unit but it has always been my dream to work in the SICU. At my hospital I originally interviewed for the SICU position as a new grad but did not get the position. Lack of experience was cited, as I had never worked in a hospital setting prior to that and had no critical care clinical time. The manager told me she liked me and I should keep in touch. The SICU only hires a few times a year for new grads (I've been working about 6 months but they would still put me in the new grad program). I have attempted to contact this manager many, many times and have not gotten much success. I am attempting to get into our new program starting in April but am afraid of appearing too pushy. Currently I have been told to speak with our ICU recruiter and not to the manager directly. I feel as though I have been lead on, and the lines of communication do not seem direct and honest. I can understand if for some reason the manager does not want to hire me but I feel she will not let me know until it is "too late". The manager in our MICU seems willing to hire me. She is a lot easier to approach and even told a friend who works there that I should contact her directly and it would be no problem to get a position with her. I am starting to wonder if I should just go for that position. I have always been drawn to critical care and my busy ICU step down is driving me crazy because of a lack of structured education. This program starts the same date as the SICU. With either of these positions I would receive 3 months orientation (or more if needed) and a structured approach to education. On my unit, I barely got 2 weeks worth of education and we take care of ICU level patients all the time! (With a 1:4 ratio too...). So in short, do you think I should hold out for this SICU position or just go for the MICU? Is there that big of a difference? I just love the blood and gore post surgery and find post cabg patients to be especially interesting. The other hospitals in my city DO NOT seem to be hiring in their ICUs unfortunately. What do you guys think?

1. How many questions did you take on NCLEX? 75 questions 2. What materials did you use? Did you take a test review course? Hurst 4 day review, Saunders comprehensive book and CD (the CD questions were kind of easy but good for learning content), Davis which I won in class and for the most part didn't really like (except some of the charts/graphs were useful) and the Davis CD (kind of easy again, but good for content). I really focused on knowing the hurst stuff and supplementing it in areas I felt it was weak with Saunders. I used Lippincott for more challenging questions during the last week. I didn't actually buy it ahem...I just went to barnes and nobles and kind of used it there. don't know if that is technically a good thing to do, but I did spend a lot of money on coffee/other books so I didn't feel too bad. 3. Did your SON offer any testing (ERI, HESI)? We did ATI. I got a 98 % pass chance or whatever when we took the comprehensive in Feb/March 4. How long did you wait for results of the test, or are you still waiting? Took it Tuesday the 8th and found out this morning! 5. What were your thoughts coming out of the test (total disbelief, certainty you had failed, confident you had passed)? I felt certain I had failed. Some of the questions seemed SO easy and some seemed SO hard. I didn't see much of a middle ground. I felt like I was bombing or for sure I was getting them right. Getting 18 SATC questions was also discouraging and they were all very difficult. 6. Was this your first attempt at NCLEX? Yes.

(xposted..) I had 75 questions...about 18 SATCs, two math questions (that took me entirely too long, I was so nervous!), maybe 10 meds? (didn't count those) Lot's of priortizing and lots of infection control. I think it is very important to get infection control downpat and as I was taking it I was thinking "wish I had studied this more" because it helped you find the "safe" answer in many, many questions. I took Hurst review and I really liked it except I thought the coursebook could be a tad more organized (I can see images of my notes in my heads and that often helps me internalize stuff, but their notes were set up somewhat poorly...lots of grammatical errors, bad formatting...but the content was good). I also used Saunders and Davis books and CDs to do questions out of and went to Barnes and Nobles and did about 500 questions from Lippincott the week prior. Saunders was also good to clarify content with, its very organized and clear. Hurst really helped me organize the key concepts in my heads, particularly Fluids and Electrolytes, different diseases like Addison's etc. It was not as good for drugs IMO and I used Saunders concurrently to learn the drugs of each system or at least somewhat familiarize myself! Hope that helps someone!

:yeah:I passed too as you can see from the other thread. Way to go!!! This website is wonderful but sometimes it instills a bit of paranoia! I was not going to even look online for four or five days and then after visiting here I was checking twice a day. So if you are waiting, try to chill out! I took mine on the 8th out of state and just found this morning despite the board updating inbetween thoes dates. I had about 18 SATCs, two math questions (that took me entirely too long, I was so nervous!), maybe 10 meds? (didn't count those) Lot's of priortizing and lots of infection control. I think it is very important to get infection control downpat and as I was taking it I was thinking "wish I had studied this more" because it helped you find the "safe" answer in many, many questions. I took Hurst review and I really liked it except I thought the coursebook could be a tad more organized (I can see images of my notes in my heads and that often helps me internalize stuff, but their notes were set up somewhat poorly...lots of grammatical errors, bad formatting...but the content was good). I also used Saunders and Davis books and CDs to do questions out of and went to Barnes and Nobles and did about 500 questions from Lippincott the week prior. Saunders was also good to clarify content with, its very organized and clear. Hope that helps someone!

I PASSED!!! I stayed up until three AM last night checking every hour or so and basically convincing myself I did not pass since the website had been updated without my name. I took my test out of state though so that may be the reason. I took my test July 8th and it didn't show up until this morning just to give any of you who are waiting out there an idea... I am so relieved I don't think I have ever been so relieved in my life!!! I was changing out of my pajamas into jeans as the results uploaded and I actually tripped on the leg and fell over in surprise hahaha :chuckle:yeah:

I was wondering the same thing as the above poster. I tested on the 8th. I saw that the website has updated on the 9th but my name is not up. If you fail, does your name just not show up at all? In some states I know it says "pending" once they processed your application and then they give a perm. ID number once you pass. Oh I am so nervous I know someone who took theirs last week and saw their name up a week later. Not sure if the websited had been updated in the meantime because she didn't figure out where to find the website until the day her name was up.

I took mine on the 8th and I do not feel confident at all about it I had 75 questions and took almost 2.5 hours taking it ! I took some very long breaks and even sat and had some fruit and juice during one. I had EIGHTEEN SATCs. I was really losing it. 2 math probs that took me entirely too long to do...and just ugh...did not feel confident at all. I took the california board out of state...it took someone I know a week to get the results updated on the website...so hopefully I will know in a week. I guess if I do pass, my advice to all you out there is you will probably feel kind of dumb while you take it so try to focus on what is infront of you not the last question on a, b, c, d or e that you didn't know enough about!

I take mine a week from today, July 8th. I am having a minor (major) heart attack.

Most of my instructors/profs have been great...however to some of them... 1) Please, please do not lecture me on professionalism when you are the least professional person I have ever met. Mocking the doctors with accents in front of our clinical group, wearing jeans to clinical (when you yourself have told us to dress professionally, mentioning explicitly that no blue jeans would be tolerated), and generally being an *** make it difficult for me to keep a straight face when you speak about professionalism. 2) Don't tell lies. I learned that one in kindergarten...I wonder when you will stumble upon this important lesson. 3) Don't discuss who you think has "shifty eyes" in the cafeteria at the school of nursing for all the other professors to hear. If you really suspect a student is cheating, address it appropriately not in the most BS manner possible that gets NOTHING accomplished except shed suspicion on an unsuspecting student. 4) If you don't show up to class one more time, we are not going to call YOUR office to remind you when class is (and inform you that yes, we are sitting in it, waiting for you), we are going to call the director..ugh.

I was a well fed and well rested prior to being a student nurse permalink

There can't possibly a "too ugly for nursing", especially when we have to get up at the buttcrack of dawn to take care of people If that was true...most of us would be out of a job!! I know I look *you know what* when I'm at clinical anyway... But in all seriousness, that comment was way out of line...hopefully that family will learn to not view people so superficially.

thank you!