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The problem with the whole nursing shortage situation is that it is based on the current and future need for nurses because people are living longer. It does not address the situation with HMO's, Medicare, mismanagement, and the overall economy. Basically, just because we need more nurses, doesn't mean hospitals are willing to hire more. Many hospitals are closing in New Jersey, some of which have been open and operating for hundreds of years. This makes it difficult for new grads to get a job. Out of nursing school, you will not have any real nursing experience, but with these hospitals closing - you may have to compete with a nurse who has many years experience and now has to look for a new job because their previous employer shut down. I know many of the new grads from my cohort still don't have a job. We graduated in January and many have been licensed since as early as Feb. Many can't even get an interview. I was extremely fortunate, I passed the NCLEX and got a job in less than 3 weeks. But that was because I was referred by an employee. Also, I'm licensed and working for New York because I wanted to work in NYC. I don't know for sure if NYC is any better because I know some people who are still looking for RN jobs in NYC for over 4 months. There's also nursing schools and colleges popping out ADN and BSN's all over the place. It seems that there's a hospital in NJ closing every month - and yet many more students are becoming nurses. Where are all these new nurses going to go??? I remember when a close friend of mine graduated nursing school 7 years ago, he told me he was getting dozens of calls every week to come in for interviews. He even turned down many oppurtunities. I believe those days are gone. My advice is that you still try to excel both in and out of nursing school. Get an externship at a facility you have your eye on, keep your grades up, pass the boards, wear your best suit for an interview, and stay positive. With so many new nurses applying for positions, many facilities have raised the bar on who they're willing to hire.

ZeldaJane, if you feel that you were prepared for the exam and yet failed again, you may have anxiety issues that are making it difficult to take the exam. In addition to studying for the exam, maybe take Yoga or meditation classes. After failing the exam the first time, I took a review course that included relaxation and meditation techniques. I did utilize breathing techniques during the exam and I feel it did help keep me composed during the test.

I was very ill prepared the first time, but I took the NCLEX anyway hoping for the best. I failed the first time. I just took it again last week and passed at 120. For those who have failed, DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED. Learn from your mistakes. It is most important to construct an effective study plan and stick to it. I took a review course after failing, but for me the only effective thing about the review course was it got me off my lazy @ss to studying. I used the NCLEX 3500 and a Kaplan book I got from Barnes and Nobles. The Kaplan book has 2 practice tests. I did the first practice test before taking the NCLEX the first time and totally bombed it (should've been a hint not to try to take the test). I did the second practice test after completing the NCLEX 3500 questions and studying my butt off and did quite well, so that helped my confidence going at it the second time. I'd have to say the NCLEX 3500 was the basis of my studying. You can use Saunders, Hesi, ATI, for content. I would study, do questions from the 3500, and study again the key points I was weak on. I was averaging 65% on the NCLEX 3500 questions. The only topic I scored higher than 70% was psych, and I did even worse on OB (60%). It's important to note - you're not doing questions in the hopes that the same questions would be on the NCLEX. That is quite unlikey and even if it did happen, surely it wouldn't be enough to determine if you're going to pass or not. Your doing questions to help identify your weaknesses, give you confidence in taking NCLEX style questions, and develope strategies to answer them correctly. Again, if you've failed the NCLEX before - DO NOT LOSE HOPE. I know the emotional stress you're going through. Take a day or two off to enjoy yourself. Then sit down and really figure out what went wrong and how you're going to fix it. Make a plan and stick to it.

Hello everyone. Congratulations to those who just got into UMDNJ ABSN program. I just completed the program. As previously mentioned, most of us weren't/aren't happy with it. In hindsight though, I was fortunate enough to have had great clinical instructors while there. But a lot of things are very disorganized there. In terms of clinical rotations, we didn't have much of a choice in that dept. UMDNJ loses sites at the last minute, and students get juggled around a lot. This was a big issue in my 2nd and 3rd semester (all 1st semester clinicals are at UH). By juggled around, I mean you may have registered for one site, and they might reregister you for a site that's miles away, in another county even. You can go through the headache of trying to switch, but if no one is willing to switch with you, you're outta luck. I have all my old books I'm trying to sell. If any of you have your syllabus - pm me the info and I'll check if they're the same books (I think they are).