Do Or Do Not

Well, at least she was honest with you.

I can't really answer questions 1 & 3.....it's a real shot in the dark to find out which hospitals are hiring new grads at this point, so just keep applying and making calls and hope for the best. I graduated last fall and started work at Grady a few weeks ago on the med-surg unit. They pay me $23.40 base. Hope that helps :)

I wish I could say there's some magical way I managed to get on the floor at Grady. I had a small leg up b/c one of the nurses on the floor (who just started a month ago and is also a trainee) knows me and made a good reference, but other than that I just applied online and they gave me a call like a week or two later. I work in med/surg at night, though, and it's something that a lot of new grads would pass up....I think of the 20 or so students in my class that I keep in contact with, I'm the only one who actually works in med-surg now. So the competition for med-surg is a little easier than, say, the ER or ICU, especially if you're applying towards nights. If you have the spare time to work as a PCT while in school, I HIGHLY recommend it. It really gives you an advantage at the hospital you work at. Applied on their website as a staff nurse. Grady doesn't really make the distinction between "new grad" and staff nurse. They treat them as one and the same....so if you have like a gazillion years exp on a different area (like you're ER going into ICU), they'll treat you the same as a person fresh out of nursing school. Most Atlanta hospitals require new grads to sign 2 year contracts. Grady requires this too of all nursing specialties EXCEPT med-surg. But yeah, you're totally right. for the next 2 months they're pairing me up with a preceptor and we're doing the same patient load, so that's essentially at least some $10,000 of effort they're spending on training you.

I didn't really apply for the residency program, but they asked me if i wanted in it after i started work. for med-surg nurses it's optional b/c there's not the mandatory 2-year committment. So, to answer your question, i'm doing both

Hey just to update on what I wrote at the top (2 months ago...seems like forever), I got hired by Grady onto a med-surg unit, and they hired a whole bunch of other new grads too! They didn't require me to sign a 2-year contract, but that may just be the policy in my unit and could be different on other more specialized units like the ER. Also, most of my colleagues from nursing school now have jobs. Actually, I only know of one of us who doesn't, and she's doing a pair of interviews next week. :)

I'm glad to know that this hasn't spread to Baltimore! Northside called me a few weeks ago asking me if I want to interview for their residency program, but like you said, they wanted me to sign a 2 year contract. 2 years is quite a long time to be tied down to a job, especially if you're new, so I ended up turning them down. Don't quote me on the exact figure for breaking it, but it's quite a bit....like mid-to-high four-figures! Those hospitals are doing residency programs but not all of them go that way. I actually live in the boondocks of northwest Georgia (Rome), and none of the hospitals here have a residency program. Also, ATL isn't an easy market. New grads are having hard time landing jobs here. Of the 20 or so people I'm keeping touch with who graduated with me last December (BSN), only 3 have a job locked in. I wish I can say that rural north Georgia is easier, but I'm having the same problems there too. Good luck!

Funny you should say that! I'm in North GA and just passed the NCLEX! Any hospitals you can recommend I apply to???

UPDATE: I got the word this morning that I passed! Yaaaay!

Thank you! The exam was loooooong! I about pooped in my pants once I answered question 75 and saw it go on to question 76. I kept thinking "this has gotta end soon....cmon now!", but the exam kept going and going until it went all the way to question 265. I was soooo tired by the time it got to question 150, that I still don't know how the heck I made it through another 115 of them, but somehow I kept myself together. There were tons of priority questions and "which statement does the patient understand the teaching" questions, as well as a couple side effect questions on medications I've never heard of. Sadistic little exam, it is! When I got home, though, I did the pop-up trick and got the "good" pop-up! :w00t: I just thank my lucky stars that I don't have to take this test again. I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, and it's only 11PM *headdesk* Best wishes and prayers to you too, jabwemet!

I'm taking the exam tomorrow (2/9). I don't feel like I studied as much as I should have, but I did three comprehensive practice tests (Mosby, NCBSN, and Kaplan), all of which range between 60-65%. I also spent some time reading the sections I was sketchy on, starting about 3 weeks ago. Wish me luck!!!! And good luck to everyone taking it this month!

There are a couple female students who got in with lower GPAs then mine. I'm not completely naive and I know that being a dude got me a few brownie points, but the admins at KSU keep a tight lip on how exactly they do their methodology. But hey, good luck at North GA! ^.^

I got in Fall 2009, into the accelerated program. I mean, shoot, if you can quote me from back in time, my friends heard me say nothing but "I'd love to go to KSU, but with my grades it's pretty much impossible", and I kept on hedging my bets all the way up to the moment I got the letter in the mail (yes, it was a physical letter) saying I got in. They really do look at the big picture, for which grades are just one component. Also, even if you don't get in there, GHC has a pretty cool program too (I have no less than 4 friends who went there, one of whom is my mentor), especially if you get into the Marietta one, but the Rome one is pretty nifty too. Plus, traffic is not nearly as much a headache there as it is here in Kennesaw

I did my clinicals there a few months back. Most of the nurses there know their stuff and will help out for anything you need, but there were a few bad apples who were more concerned with looking at wedding dresses than doing actual RN work. To be honest though, every area and every shift is different, so I only got a snapshot of what it's like to work there. Would I go there if offered a job? Yes, in a heartbeat! And no, I don't know the starting pay there, but they do pay more than their sister hospital, Redmond Regional

Oh please. I got into the KSU nursing program with a 3.2. GPA isn't the only thing they look at. I did pretty great on my TEAS as well as the interview and I think those are what made me qualify in their eyes, so don't sell yourself short by saying you can't make it into KSU with a lower GPA. :)

Hey Klea, I know this is a month delayed, so hopeufully you'll still drop by and read it... I'm currently in the Accelerated BSN program and will graduate this December. In short, the program is INTENSE! There are some of us who work (I don't) while in the program and they're able to manage a part-time work load while going to school, but if you can manage to not go to work, you'll be in much better shape. If you're starting Fall in Rome, the schedule is something like this: -Health Assessment lecture on Monday, 2 hours, followed by lab for 2 hours. Ms. Brown, the teacher for that class, is pretty awesome. She really cares about the students and will work with them to know their stuff. -Holistic (I think the name is changing this coming year to Gerontological. Anyways....Nurs 3209) on Tuesday, which is a whopping 4 hours of lectures. The majority of professors who teach that class are really good and they all genuinely care about the students, but there's one, when she teaches, is so boring she makes you want to bash your head against the desk just to end the pain. You'll know who I'm talking about when you see her. -Nurs 3209 lab and clinical: The lab meets for 2 hours each week for the first five or six weeks of the semester and they teach you nursing skills like turning patients in bed, medications, aseptic technique, medication administration (read: injections). A word to the Romans- the Rome campus has had a chronic shortage of equipment for nursing lab, to the point that last year we ended up doing half our labs over on KSU main. We complained about that and hopefully by the time you guys get in you'll have what you need. The skills exam (practical exam) is in October and it is TRICKY! Know your skills inside and out, b/c they will fail you for a seemingly innocent mistake. And NEVER recap your needle once you've used it (remember this, cause it can very well save your hiney)! Clinical runs the last 5 weeks of class for six hours, usually 0700-1300, once a week. Try to get clinicals at the Rome hospitals, Floyd and Redmond, because the clinical instructor there is simply the best one in the whole program. In short, class 2 days a week, lab/clinical 1 day, and studying the remaining 4 days. You may laugh when you read this, but it's true! The Accelerated program is very intense and you'll be studying at least 30 hours a week, if not more. Also if you got the time during summer, do some NCLEX or ATI style practice questions. Nursing exam questions are VERY different than what you're used to in the pre-reqs, and if you're not ready for them they'll hit you like a sledgehammer. Nursing school's a lot less forgiving in that respect, too, b/c you need to score at least a 75% on those exams (averaged) to pass the classes. Don't be a slacker. If you're in, you beat 6 other people to get that spot. The KSU staff KNOW you're smart, and will pressure you because they know you can take it. Just make sure not to get behind and you'll do okay. Good luck!!!

I'm in the accelerated program started Fall 2009. My GPA for the pre-reqs was 3.2, TEAS of 90. The interview....well....let's just say that if you were in a job interview the questions are pretty much along the same line. "Describe a situation where you...", "Have you ever had a case where....and how did you deal with it?" Nursing school is all about application, application, application, and they want to know how you apply yourself in dicey situations. The accelerated group that goes to Rome is pretty tight-knit. There are only 20 of us and we all have the same classes. Keep in mind that accelerated is like drinking from the fire hose, and you'll cry more than a few times, but you can do it if you keep up with the work. Good luck!

If you wanna come to Rome, Floyd hospital offers some work-study programs. One where you can work as a nurse tech after finishing your first year of nursing school, with pretty flexible hours: http://www.floyd.org/student/nursetech.html And if you have the summer off you can do a paid internship there too: http://www.floyd.org/student/internship.html I can't give you any info on pay. I just started doing clinicals there this week, but I have heard rumors that the nurse tech program pays you the equivalent RN salary for doing nurse tech job. Anyways, something to think about. I'm sure Floyd isn't the only one in north Georgia to have a program like that.

it depends which semester, but the wait's usually around a month for an invite.

The KSU interview isn't much different than you typical job interview where they ask you a few questions about your history and throw in a couple situational questions. There's no way to really prepare for it....just be relaxed and honest. When I went in there I assumed that it would be some sort of hardcore government type of interview where the interviewers are as cold as ice, but it wasn't that at all. They were pretty warm and nice.

It really depends on if you're a KSU student before getting into the program. I wasn't at KSU at all before getting admitted for Fall 09 so I couldn't register until the week before classes started. Don't worry though. In nursing school your classes are guaranteed, so registration is really just a formality.

my pre-req GPA was 3.2. It's been a while and I don't have the sheet in front of me, but I think my actual TEAS score was around 90, which was the 95th percentile for KSU students. Hope that helps!

I took A&P II and Micro at GHC in the same semester, and at many points it felt like the back of my head was being whacked with a 2x4! Even my professor suggested taking those two seperately! Micro's a good summer course to take, and no, you don't have to take both at the same time. If you hold a full-time job you're simply not gonna have enough time for both courses simultaneously.

Georgia Highlands College has no waiting list. You just have to apply there and fill out the forms like any other student, and the school will select or reject you based on your grades & SAT scores. I don't exactly know the ratio of students who get in, but if your GPA is above 3.0 in the prereqs (especially in A&P and Micro) you shouldn't have a problem.

I go to an in-state public uni, so tuition ain't too bad there. I applied for and got Stafford federal subsidized & unsubsidized loans that add up to about $12,000 per year. If you need any more than that other programs like Sallie Mae and private banks can offer more loans. Just be aware that the interest rate's gonna be higher, like around 11% as opposed to 6.5% for the Stafford. Most nursing schools offer grants of all kinds and loan forgiveness programs in exchange for, say, committing to a hospital or a state for a certain number of years. Also check out the Pell Grant if this is your first time through college.

Oh yeah, I'm one of the two BSN students living in Rome I tried filling out the background check twice now, but I've lived in NY in the past and they tack on a surcharge. When I click "submit" and accept the surcharge add-on the credit transaction FAILS b/c the card thinks its being overcharged. It's really annoying, and the data doesn't save so I have to input all the jobs and places I've lived all over from scratch, and by the time i got to customer service they were already gone for the weekend! I think God hates me