a_damsel

Children's does not directly accept new graduates. They have to apply through a very competitive preceptorship program called "Transitions." You can find more info on it at dmc.org

Yes, this is the norm here. When I worked at HF main the norm was 5, with a max. of 6. A few of my friends work at the DMC and they can get up to 7. In fact, one of the DMC hospitals that I interviewed for told me that the norm was 7 for that floor.

I would only give information about your nursing career. Personal information (ie. marital status etc.) should not be relayed in interviews, in fact it's illegal for them to ask you directly. You can also speak about your personality traits and goals, but in relation to nursing.

Having a smooth ride through your nursing career does not mean you should discount the struggles of others. They are real. I don't feel that most of the posts on here are negative. Obviously people people come here for advice when they are having problems, but there are many positive positive posts and a wealth of information. It is what you choose to make of it.

I applied to over 250 (over 4 months) before I got my 1st hospital job. Keep looking and working on ways to improve your cover letter/resume.

$23-24/hr plus evening ($1.50+) and weekend differential ($2) in Detroit area hospitals.

No. Henry Ford CC wear navy blue. At OCC we wore a white shirt and olive pants/jacket.

Use the address of the hospital, but be sure to put the name and number of the floor she works on.

A friend got a sign-on bonus to work in a long-term care facility. My 1st hospital job offered tuition reimbursement. $1,500 (PT) and $3,000 (FT) per year.

It took me 4 months after getting licensed.

I graduated last year, but I don't believe the job market has improved since then. It's about the same or worse... All I got was rejection letters before I got my license. In fact some hospitals ask pre-screening questions such as "are you currently licensed." Answering NO pretty much automatically disqualifies you. Once I got my license I got 4 interviews. Granted it took 4 months to land a job irregardless, so be mindful that it may take awhile to get hired. It's hard and discouraging at times, but possible. Just ensure that you follow basic job-search etiquette: Fill out apps completely, always have a cover letter and a fine tuned resume, if you'd like to work in tele/icu/er etc. get your ACLS (if you can afford to, it's about $200+), since having ACLS I've gotten more interviews in those specialties and even med/surg, and send a thank you card to whomever interviewed you. When I got hired my manager specifically mentioned how she liked the card.

I agree with everything everyone has said here. Do not move to MI unless you have a job secured. As it may take months to find one, which can be very disheartening. I've heard the residency program is extremely hard to get into (as told by one of my clinical instructors that worked there). I had a few friends apply before we graduated last year and they did not get in. Children's is part of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), which is one of the lowest paying hospitals in the Detroit metro area to start. New grads make $23 plus shift differential (about $2). If you really want to work there and do not have a stellar portfolio, try to get a job in peds at another hospital then apply once you've had enough experience.

Keep in mind also that LPNs and RNs usually start out a higher pay scale because they are dealing with approximately 30 patients. As a new RN I was offered $30 per/hr [no benefits/differentials] to start at a LTC facilty. In the hospital I'm getting paid $24 per/hr with $2 weekend differential and $1.70 for evening/midnights.

1. when did you graduate? may 2010 2. do you have a bsn or adn? 3. are you still looking for work? no 4. if not, how long did it take you to find a job? 3 months, post-license. 5. if you don't mind my asking, those who are working, what type of job or floor do you work on. medical/surgical

I applied online through their website. Overall, I've applied to 250+ hospital jobs, interviewed for 4 and got a call back for 1. I've been licensed for 3 months. They key is to be persistent, keep looking, keep applying... Additionally, make sure your resume is well put together. Always include a cover letter, if there is no space on the online form put it with your resume. After the interview send a thank you note. My interviewer loved it and mentioned it when they phoned with the offer.

It took 2 business days after I had taken the NCLEX (in June) before my license number was posted on the BON website. Then I got the actual license in the mail 2 days business days later.

^ Agreed. The job market is not very good here either. I'm a new grad also and have been job hunting for a month since being licensed. No call backs, just generic email responses stating they are "pursuing other candidates." I don't believe there are no jobs out there, but finding one I will probably take a few months and may involve looking outside the major hospitals for the short-term.

When I needed one for nursing school I went to Concentra. The one I went to is in Novi, but there are other locations in Metro Detroit. I believe I paid around $75 at the time... I also got my titers done there. http://www.concentra.com/

I've had several clinicals (day and night shift) at the various DMC hospitals downtown. I've never felt particulary unsafe, but I still remain cautious. As others have said the freeway is less than a mile from most of the hospitals so you can get off the side-streets ASAP. Most of the hospitals have a parking structure/lot and there are always guards in place. I've never had any problems... Just make sure you have enough gas to get you there and back, don't leave anything out in your car, have a working cell phone etc. Pay is not the highest in the southeast area, about $23/24 per hour, but that's pretty close to the standard. Personally I liked the DMC system during clinicals, but I can't comment on it as a staff nurse as I don't work there. I know people that do and their opinion varies. I think it depends greatly on what hospital you work at and also what floor/specialty. Keep in mind that there are other hospitals in the system that are located outside of Detroit.

update: i recieved my license in the mail. it arrived 2 days after my license number was placed on the website. nclex: june 18 (friday) license number on mi bon website: june 22 (tuesday) physical license via mail: june 24 (thursday)

i'm back to confirm that the pvt does work. i checked the mi bon website yesterday and my license number was posted. i'm now a registered nurse. omg, it's so amazing to be able to say that good luck to all waiting on their results.

I'm answering my own question for those in the same situation. I took my NCLEX on a friday and by tuesday of the next week my license number was up on the MI BON website. So, 4 (2 business days) later.

Can anyone tell me how long it took after passing the nclex for the BON to post their license number online? Also, when did the actual physical license arrive? Thanks

On the BON website, you've passed after your license number is posted. It says "pending" because you applied for the license. Several people were getting the error message the past few days, but it seems to have resovled. Normally the credit card page indicates you did not pass. You should always wait for the offical results though.

Adding my imput to this thread as it has helped me so much... I took the NCLEX-RN this morning (06/18/2010). I stopped at 75 questions (1 hour), and was not too happy as I didn't feel that I could have proved my competence with the 60 questions that were counted. As with most people in the same stituation, I had a bunch of select all that apply (SATA), prioritizing, and meds that I had never heard of. There was a mix of questions from all the content areas (mostly med/surg of course). I did not get any math question, or any of the other alternative type questions. Since I already read all the other experiences about the test I understood that what I was feeling was to be expected. After the test I went straight to the movies to unwind. I didn't even feel like doing the Pearson Vue Trick as I really could not deal with the thought of not passing. I decided to try it after the prompting of my parents and realizing that there's no point in postponing the inevitable. Thankfully I got the good pop-up. Will be checking the MI BON on Monday/Tuesday to confirm everything of course. I'm extremely greatful for this thread and encourage everyone to share their experiences with the PVT.