mllogy

I just started at Sloan. I can't say the nurse to patient ratio as I am still in orientation but I was told depending on the floor 5-6 pts per nurse. Current salary is 72,100 and if you work overnight (which most undergrads wind up doing) there is a 10% shift differential...so your salary would nearly be 80,000. They offer several medical plans (too detailed to get into), dental, LTD (i believe LTD is mandatory but don't quote me), and much, much, more. There is a 403K which works the same as a 401k. They explained the reason they have 403K is because they are a nonprofit organization. They don't match though. They also offer the pension plan which everyone is enrolled in after a year and vested after 5 years. So far my experience has been great. My understanding from most is that as a new nurse you would want to start there because they really teach their new nurses. Hope that helps.

I promised myself once i got my results I would post my opinion about the NCLEX on this board because it helped me when others did the same. I am happy to say I passed the NCLEX and I really have to thank this board. First off, I passed with 75 questions and honestly I felt I had failed. I spent 2 days sick to my stomach with no sleep but in the end when I logged onto Pearsons it had STATUS: PASS. I thought I was seeing things so I refreshed the page to make sure and there it was. ADVICE: 1. What helped me a lot was understanding the logistics of how the test works. I got a lot of that from this board. If you go in with the understanding that you are starting off passing (50/50 rule) it's a matter of you answering the questions correctly keeping in mind degree of difficulty. The first question is the most important IMO because it determines whether you'll be scoring up (>50%; the degree of difficulty of the questions get increasingly higher) or scoring down the curve ( 2. I did Kaplan and used Saunders for review of content. The Kaplan questions IMO are harder than the NCLEX questions but the most similar in terms of structure (Who would the nurse see first, etc). i had a lot of priority, delegation, safety & infection control, and signs and symptom. I had maybe 6 pharm questions (beta blockers, statins, etc) 2 math (mcg conversions), about 8 SATC, and 2 drag and place in order questions. 3. The key to NCLEX: Breathe, pray, and take your time. My strategy was to end at 75 questions. I did but still wasn't sure I passed because I made the mistake of checking some of the answers I wasn't sure of. I left there feeling confident until I checked and found 5 or 6 questions I knew I got wrong and that killed my high. The worst part was that they were EASY questions. I was sure I failed because getting easy questions wrong meant I wasn't performing at even the basic level. Boy, was I wrong. You can't assess what questions the NCLEX considers easy or hard questions so you have to go in there prepared: Spend a good amount of time doing priority questions (who will the nurse see first?), doing delegation type questions (who would you assign the mental health nurse on a medsurg unit?), safety & infection (what type of precaution for this type of disease...airborne, contact, etc) and KNOW signs and symptoms. You better believe these are the beef of the first 75 questions. After question 75, I assume everything is fair game. Hope I helped a little.

I haven't taken my NCLEX yet. I take it in 2 days and I've been using Kaplan. How did you use Kaplan before? Did you do all the questions?

i actually was just told the other day that the rent comes out of your check. don't be discouraged by the non response...i think they hire in cycles. they started orientation for new nurses when i started the extern program back in may and my friend (who is interning as well) just saw her friend who took the nclex a few weeks back starting his orientation this week. i really want to work at mskcc after i graduate but if i don't get it right after college i have a plan b....i'll probably work at ny pres or lennox for a year or so then apply to mskcc again if i don't get it the first time around.

they do hire bsn and diploma/associate graduates.

i am currently interning at sloan kettering for the summer (i'm going into my senior year of nursing school). the hospital is unbelievable! what i noticed about ny hospitals: to differentiate the good from the bad...find out how long the nurses have been at the hospital. it seems mskcc takes care of their nurses. most of the nurses here have put in years (20+) these nurses are making well over 100k. for 2007 new grads started at 70k. next year, i heard it will be raised to 72 o 74k. their reason: "we want to stay competitive" i asked why the hospital isn't unionized and almost all the nurses have said, "the hospital takes care of their nurses." the do have a pension plan and you become fully vested after 5 years. their benefits are top of the line: 20 sicks days, etc the biggest upside is that mskcc is a teaching hospital. most of the nurses are the nicest you'll ever meet (you meet the mean ones too) they also subsidize housing...so they will pay half your rent in the buildings they own. the set up of these apartments are beautiful...doormen and everything. i asked about cornell and it seems the nurses go back and fourth. i haven't heard a lot of great things about cornell. it seems mskcc and cornell compete a lot but mskcc by far seems to be winning the battle. i am considering both when i graduate but my experience has only been at mskcc so obviously this is my first choice.