Lizzie21

I would go for your BSN. Most hospitals are only wanting to hire BSN. Even some make you sign a contract saying that you must get your BSN within 4 years. I would say that most of the schools here for the BSN program are HIGHLY competitive. The ADN programs I would say are not as competitive, like I said before, most places want BSN nurses. I hope this helps.

You shouldn't have a problem finding a job here. You have great experience and that's what hospitals are looking for.

Thanks everyone. Klone, I wish I did something like you to get out of the bedside. I work mom/baby and you are right, I'm just the patients over paid server. I love the people I work with, but I just need to get out. Do you have any suggests on what I can do? You can PM me if you would like. Any advice would be great!

Hey everyone, I am feeling so burnt out right now from my job. Bedside care is really taking a hit to me. Has anyone found a job where they still did nursing but didn't do the clinical bedside aspect of it? Did you like this job? I feel like I need a serious change and have no idea how to do it.

I'm starting at Rose in April and my base pay will be $27 more than what I got from Exempla

The next new grad class at St. Joe's is in March. I don't know about the other hospitals. If they don't do one in March then for sure in June at all three.

SE_BSN_RN, Good news. I finally got a job on a mother/baby unit. I was lucky, because it's at one of the sister hospitals and I think what made me stand out was that I was an internal applicant. I'm so happy that I got this job and will not take it for granted since this is a very popular position.

I'm just going to keep applying. Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm not going to give up on my dream. I'll get it one day.

Sourapril, I'm game for anything at this point. Where do I apply?

I email the nurse managers that I know on those units and hunt them down. I keep in constant contact with them to see if any positions will open up. I'm not going to give up, it's just hard not getting into the dream area that I want to be in. I keep applying and no luck so far. Hopefully soon

Three years ago I got a job on a med/surg unit. Not my dream job, but I figured getting the experience would be worth it. I'm still at that same job. It probably took me about 3-6 months after I graduated to get my job. I don't think the market has turned around. Colorado has way too many nursing schools making it hard for new grads to get jobs. I feel it's about who you know at the hospitals that can get you in.

Hello OB-GYN nurses, I have been trying and working very hard to get into maternal/newborn nursing. I've been a nurse for 3 1/2 years on a very busy medical-surgical unit. I have great experience that I can bring to this field of nursing. I have been a charge nurse for 2 units on my unit, precept one-on-one and I also became a clinical scholar 1 1/2 years ago. I have always wanted to be a maternal/newborn nurse. I did my senior practicum on a mother/baby unit and just fell in love with it. However, I have been trying ever since to get into that position. You would think med/surg nursing would help, but I feel that no one will even look at me. I've had interviews in the past for mom/baby and NICU, but all I got was you were great, but we hired someone with that specific experience. Do I just give up on my dreams completely? Are there any other suggests or things that I could do to make me stand out?

Thanks for the advice guys. It so hard to get into these area. Some of the recruiters I've talked to were telling me to apply to med/surg positions at their facilities to maybe get into maternal/newborn nursing. I'm at a facility right now and they can't even get me in. I wish I could move and try to get experience else where, but with a family here and all that jazz its not even a choice. Maybe I should get my NRP and STABLE certifications done? That could help with the process.

Sourapril, I've tried and talked to the managers. I guess Denver Health is on a hiring freeze, because they just laid off a bunch of people. I just don't know what to do anymore. I just need that one person to give me a shot at it and then I can totally blow their minds with how awesome I can be.

To anyone who will listen and offer maybe some advice, I have been in med-surg for 3 years now. Out of nursing school I wanted to do maternal/newborn care. These past few months I've had two interviews for a NICU position and a mother/baby position. Both said that they really liked me, but I didn't have experience and that's why they didn't hire me. After I got this I was balling my eyes out. I was told in nursing school that med-surg would be good for me to have when I did apply for this specialty area. I feel like that is so untrue. Now do I just give up on my dream of being a maternal/newborn nurse? Or do I keep looking and applying, hoping that someone will want to give me a shot? I've never been so sad or upset about not getting my dream job.

Colorado is a wonderful place to live. However, I would suggest you get a job here first before you move here. The market is saturated with new graduate nurses here with BSNs.

Klone, Thanks. I can't wait to have my interview. I'm really excited about it.

Hey everyone, So I have an interview for Children's Hospital on their NICU floor. This is a dream job for me and I'm really really nervous about it. Do any of you work at Children's? Also are they accepting students from DSN (since DSN now has their NLNAC)? I'm also currently getting my MSN from Regis in Leadership, so I'm thinking that may help out? Any advice would be great! Thanks!

Hey, I don't know of any hospitals in the Denver Metro area that do 8 hour shifts, unless you are a manager. Pay, I think that most hospitals will give you either .50 cents or $1.00 for every year of experience that you have. I don't know about the language thing, but that is a huge plus especially in Denver. I know I see a lot of patients that speak Spanish and I wish I could speak it. The ratio of patients at my hospital is 4-5 on days and 5-6 for nights. I think that is pretty typical though of most hospitals.

You never know. I don't know if it's for all three hospitals or not, but its worth a try!

Hey Colorado nursing community, I have been doing med/surg for the last 3 years. I've gotten my ANCC RN-BC last year and have charged on my floor over the last year. I am ready to start my dream job of doing mother/baby. I was wondering if any of you wonderful nurses had any ideas if your hospitals had openings. Or if any of you work in the mother/baby areas at your hospitals. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I know that Exempla (St. Joe's, Lutheran and Good Sam) are having a new grad class starting in June! There will be 16 slots available. So keep an eye out for that. I work at St. Joe's and we just got the email about it sent out. So keep looking. Plus the new grad program at St. Joe's is awesome. I did it a few years back. Let me know if you need anything.

Does anyone know how the accreditation process is going?

I have not taken the exam, but I heard it's not that bad. I think if you just study a little then you should do fine.

NurseDenver, When did you graduate from DSN? I graduated in March 2010 with my BSN. I love my job and I am actually going to DU for my Healthcare Leadership Masters. I got my previous BS degree from there before nursing. I would love to get my MSN from CU or Regis, but I'm still waiting for us to get the NLNAC. Where do you work at too? you can always PM me if you want if you don't want your info out and about!