tinybabynurse

Well, it can't hurt to investigate this other opportunity a bit more. I'd go for the interview, tour the unit, ask lots of questions and then decide. Until you're actually offered the job, you don't need to make any decisions. I am just a firm believer in doing what you love...so if your interview goes great and you get a really good vibe from the people you meet then I say go for it. As for nights, I have a toddler and teenagers and nights were much better for me and them. I found I had much more time with them...yeah, I only got about 6 hours sleep the days after working but I did just fine on that. I think you'll always wonder "what if" if you don't look into it.

I personally know 3 people who took NCLEX this past month who got 265 and they all passed! If you got the pop-up, you did it!! Congrats!!

Just wanted to wish you good luck tomorrow! I also graduated in Dec and am starting in a level III NICU on monday. So excited!

I would definitely change the objective to fit each job. I actually had a manager tell me that if the objective doesn't state "entry level _______________ RN position" (fill in the blank with the area such as ER, med-surg, etc) she trashes it. Seems like a wierd thing to do to me, but I guess they'll find almost any reason to move on to the next resume.

I don't know if this is an option for you or not, but one of my instructors from nursing school works at a hospital that I was very interested in, and she contacted the nurse recruiter and told her about me. The nurse recruiter actually then called me. Don't give up!!

I agree a lot with what a previous poster has said about focusing on getting through school. However, I also felt as you did at the beginning of Nursing school that NICU was probably what I wanted to do. As you know NICU is a specialty, and as such, is often harder to get hired into as a New Grad. I did some things during school that helped me get my New Grad NICU job. 1. I did my peds rotation at a hospital with a large NICU. It was not an option to do this rotation in the NICU, but my clinical instructor was able to get me an afternoon in the NICU where I met some influential people. I told them of my desire for NICU, and my hope to be able to do practicum there. When it came time to request practicum placements, I requested this hospital. In my request I mentioned some of the people I had met there and how impressed I was with the facility/nurses. I got my practicum there and loved it! 2. In my OB rotation, there were some days that I was assigned to L/D when it was just dead quiet. My clinical instructor knew I had an interest in NICU and arranged for me to spend the day there. 3. I did not have the opportunity to volunteer/work in a NICU while in school b/c I did accelerated and simply didn't have the time. However, I worked my tail off in school and got steller grades. Some will tell you that grades don't matter...we all put "RN" after our names once we pass NCLEX, but in this market when employers have their pick of pretty much whoever they want to hire, it is certainly a plus to have those grades. As for ASN vs BSN, it is probably a little different everywhere. You may want to do some investigating into what hospitals have the largest NICU's in your area and whether or not they hire ASN's. If they are magnet status, you probably will not have a chance. I know some magnet status hospitals that will hire ASN's with lots of experience but never New Grad's. In my area, even the hospitals that normally hire ASN new grads are saying "BSN preferred". The fact is that they can be picky right now. Honestly though, as you know your focus right now is school. I would go into every clinical placement you get acting as though that is where you want to work. You never know when you may need that job, even if it isn't your first choice. For example, I hated med-surg. I can guarentee you that the nurses I worked with on my med-surg rotations and my clinical instructors would never have guessed that.

I primarily used Saunders to study for and pass the NCLEX (just this past week). I also used Saunders to study during nursing school but I had the 3rd edition (the 4th is the most recent one) and it didn't have the CD...someone let me use her old one. So, when I started studying for NCLEX I actually purchased the 4th edition mainly for the cd and the only difference I could see between the 3rd and 4th editions were more pictures in the 4th edition. My point is that if money is an issue for you, I would recommend looking online for a used 3rd edition with the CD. The cd is really necessary because you will be reviewing a lot of content by doing questions. As far as Saunders being too detailed...I used to think that too...until I took the NCLEX. There were these certain two questions that I guessed on during my test and when I got home I looked up the info in Saunders and actually Saunders didn't get detailed enough~~it didn't include the info I needed to answer the questions! However, after taking the NCLEX I would definitely recommend Saunders. You gotta know your content to pass.

WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will never have to take that evil test again!!! Congrats, you're an RN!!!!

Way to Go!!!!!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, just got back from taking NCLEX and if the PVT really works, then I passed!!!! I got 75 questions What did I do to study? Well, I graduated a month ago and did not take Kaplan. I used NCLEX 3500 and Saunders. I did 1500 questions on NCLEX 3500, mainly over each of the med-surg areas. Next I used the Saunders CD and systematically went through each content area and did 100 question exams. After I took each exam I reviewed the questions and made little study guides for each content area, focusing on things I didn't know or thought were important to know. I scored in the 70's and 80's. Then I used my study guides and the Saunders book to clarify portions I felt weak in. I also did all the SATA questions on the Saunders CD...I wanted to feel a little more at ease with those before taking the test. During the test, there were questions where I felt the answer was obvious, questions I had to think a little on, questions I could sort of reason through even though I really didn't know for sure (could usually get it down to 2 possibilities), and probably 5-7 questions that I honestly had NO IDEA how to answer. I didn't study a ton of Pharm, and the Pharm I did study only helped me on a few questions. So although there was a lot of Pharm, I don't think I would study any differently. Good luck to everyone studying out there!! It really isn't as bad as I thought!!

It may be difficult to be accepted into Regis or CU with a 3.0 in pre-req's...not trying to discourage you, but the competition is very tough. I would apply, but in the meantime see if you can retake a couple of classes that you didn't do as well in so that you can bring your GPA up and be more competitive the next time if you don't get in. I have a friend that had 3.2 in pre-req's and applied 3 times to CU and couldn't get in...she retook 2 or 3 pre-req's for better grades and got in the next time. But wasted over a year by the time she applied 3 times, and THEN decided to retake those classes. I don't know a lot about DSN, but I have heard that it is very expensive and the graduates are having an extremely difficult time finding jobs...I mean, everyone pretty much is right now but it is even worse for them. Children's is not the only hospital that won't hire DSN grads. Bummer to spend that much money on an education and then not be able to find work. Good luck in whatever you decide!!

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear about all that you're going through! I agree with the previous poster that you need to focus on your FUTURE...and that is what this test will give to you. Think of how much you have to look forward to, and the new path you are on which will lead you to many great opportunities! I take it on Weds, and am looking about the same as you with scores...although I've only done about 4,000-5,000 questions. Wow, 10,000! You've got this thing!! Can't wait to hear how it goes!! Good luck and Breathe!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I hope I'll be saying the same thing on Weds (1/13) when I take the test. How nice to have it over with!!! Way to Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats!!!!!! Thanks for sharing your great news and advice!!

I lost 20 pounds the first 15 weeks of nursing school. I had heard about people gaining a lot of weight and it scared me to death because I needed to lose some from having a baby anyway. So I committed to myself to working out 1-1.5 hours 5 times a week. It REALLY helped with my stress level to work out. I brought my flashcards/textbooks a lot of the time to multitask while on the eliptical. If I could do it, anyone can. I am a big time stress eater.