GTammaro

Hey everyone, For those in hope of passing the NCLEX Hello everyone, I am looking for any advice or leads to finding an RN job ASAP! I am a male RN with an ADN from a community college in Massachusetts in 2008. After a series of unfortunate events I finally became an RN in North Carolina in December of 2009. I am moving back to CT and am looking for a job in NYC, CT, and Boston MA. Unfortunately I am seeing that a lot of places want only BSN RN's. I want to start in a Hospital setting preferably working with pediatrics (also preferred), but may be open to doing home care. I am also concerned about the gap I will have with no RN employment from the time I graduated (2008) to the time I got my RN License (Dec. 2009), to looking for a job in CT now (March 2010). If anyone has any advice or knows of any classes that I can take to keep my brain active please do share! Or better yet, if anyone knows of their employer looking to hire a new nurse please let me know so I can apply! Thanks All, -RN G

Hey, I don't know how to write a private message so if you want you can contact me at

In my opinion, I'm sure Kaplan is going to be a huge help to those who take it. I took Kaplan and am scheduled to test on Monday teh 21st. Most of my friends who took Kaplan either didn't even do all the tests or got half way through test 7 and said the hell with it....long story short....THEY ALL PASSED! I got a 62 on Test 7 and I ran out of time, I read on somones forum that a kaplan instructor stated if you get a 66 on T7 then you have a 99% chance of passing first time. I also feel as if Kaplan makes you feel dumb at times....remember there is NO-WAY someone can be a new nurse and know it all. Best of luck to all!

Yes I do get paid. I get paid regular nurse wages and differentials. The pay was much better here at REX then it was at Durham Regional too.

I posted this cause I couldn't find current ones, and why not have one big one with ALL the months included. This way everyone can talk about it to people who have taken it already, and for those who need to take it.

Welcome to NCLEX 2008 Support Group If your reading this you probably finished school, and are studying for the BIG DAY, or you have already taken the NCLEX! I graduated in May, and have taken the KAPLAN review...and am now studying intensely for my big day July 21st in N.Carolina. While studying I began to feel overwhelmed and questioned how I passed through school, let alone how I am going to pass the NCLEX. So I started searching around on this forum to help lift my spirits, however the postings are all over the place. Some positive, some Negative... ...so I decided to start the "NCLEX 2008 Support Group". You are all welcome to join, however I have one rule, and one rule only... THERE WILL BE NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS ALLOWED! This thread is for people who are feeling down, or discouraged, and is to help brighten everyone's day. Positive and motivational comments only! I don't want to read how horrible the test was, or how you told your friends to buy stocks in Imodium before you took the test. I want to hear your stories of success and what it was that helped motivate you to pass! Tell us what you studied or are studying! "WE CAN DO THIS...WE WILL DO THIS!" I was once told by a nurse..."Don't worry about the NCLEX, have you ever met someone who wanted to become an RN, but didn't b/c they didn't pass the NCLEX? Even if it takes you several tries....YOU CAN DO IT! After all you where competent enough to pass nursing school right!?!" "Just put your best foot forth and show'em what you've got! We are all going to do this! Positive thinking = Positive results!" :yeah:Congratulations to those of you who already passed! ~and~ Those who are going to pass, I will see you RN's on the other side! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I do NOT wish anyone LUCK, b/c it is not luck that got us to this point. Each and everyone one of us worked extremely hard to EARN this. It will not be luck that gets us through the NCLEX... It will be are hard work, knowledge, and devotion to become RN's. -Geoffrey

when did you graduate? may 15th when do you test? july 21st did you take a review course? kaplan what are you using to study? kaplan :thnkg: how often are you studying? too much....:typing...150 q/day i took the ati in school and got an 84% chance of passing.....that was before kaplan, and before finishing school.....so i decide to take kaplan.....and feel completely overwhelmed. i agree w/what someone else had already mentioned, and i am trying to pay no-attention to what those statistics show. after all i passed nursing school! whats one more test. i think the review courses try to make you look bad so you study harder. i do lots of questions and read everything esp. rationales. i just hope it all works. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2-year nursing school w/ books= about $6k 4-boxes of imodium to get through nursing school = about $25 having an rn job lined up 2 months before graduation = lucky kaplan's full live review = $450 studying daily furing the summer after graduation = torture but.....if i pass the nclex 1st time out = all will be priceless :plsebeg: i wish everyone the best of luck!!!! we can do this....we will do this. -geoff

I am moving from MA to NC, and have interviewed at both Durham Regional and REX, Both seemed nice, and both seem to have really good programs, Rex is closer to where I will live and does pay a little more, but I was wondering if anyone works at either of these or knows anyone who does? I just want to get more info on each, in-case I receive an offer from either. I interviewed for adult med, and was most interested in Rex's Neuro unit. Please send anything you may know! Thanks :typing

Hey Kare, I could give you endless amounts of advice, but you will have to find what works best for you. I was lucky enough to have a really good class, all my class mates seem to be really close with one another, which def. helps, and we have learned to work together as a team. After you graduate you will be most likely working with other nurses, and you will be working as a team, so start working together as a team now, share notes, hints, and if you type your careplans share the meds! its much easier to copy and paste then it is to look up and rewrite meds you've already looked up. As you progress through you will most likely have classmates who either drop out or don't progress to the next semester. Its unfortunate, especially if happen to be one of them, but just keep in mind its not the end of the world, and there always seems to be a few repeats in each class. Also, talk to the repeats, and find out what they have to say. Talk to as many people as possible b/c you never know who will be able to help you on this journey (or Battle). And like I said before, I cant stress enough, to practice the NLCEX questions, the tests are modeled after them so the better you get at taking the those tests the better you will do. I'm not sure what semester your in but some good places to try and get clinical are: Woman and Infants for OB, St. Luke's for Psych, and St. Anne's for Med Surge. I was at these places for OB and Med Surg. and W.&Infants was AWSOME, and the staff at St. Anne's was really helpful and the units are extremely clean. I wasn't at St. Lukes for Psych, but i heard its a much better psych experience then SSTAR. As far as ped's goes, (which is what I want to do) I was stuck at St. Annes, where the pedi unit was so small we were lucky to have more then one patient on the entire unit. I'm also sure you will here horror stories about the various instructors, some true, some not. I've heard some of the instructors that come off as being really harsh, actually end up being some of the best. So don't let all of them scare you. It also seems as if the school is going through a LOT of changes, my class seemed to be the gunnie pigs for some of that, hopefully the changes will be for the better for new classes. Anyway, ever have any questions feel free to ask. Good Luck!

Well for starters congratulations on being one of the very few to have been accepted into the program, I hear last year they had over 1200 applicants. I could probably write a book, with all the stories there are to tell about the program some good some bad. However I don't feel this wold be an appropriate place to share some of those stories. Some advice: 1. Get a Saunders NCLEX book, and start practicing, one of the hardest things you will find is learning how to answer the questions they ask. Learn how to answer the questions, and read them VERY carefully as they will seem very tricky and DO NOT read into the questions. Use the CD's in the books, and remember what the instructor teaches or has on their handouts, will rule over the books. 2. Find yourself a study group (2-4) people work best. Try it, some people learn better in groups others don't, but this is not something you will want to wait to find out. 3. Do know and understand that these will probably be the most Miserable, frustrating 2 years of your life, and yes you will probably cry, and want to quit/give up...just remember out of all the students applying here your where one of the chosen ones, and ones these two years are over you will be an RN! You've worked so hard to get to this point why not put forth a little more to go out with a bang! 4. I'de be lying if I said it doesn't get much harder. It is EXTREMELY CHALLENGING, and the best thing you can do is SUCK IT UP! No matter how much you whine and cry to your instructors and the higher up people, things will most likely NOT change. And always keep in mind, that people have done it before so its NOT impossible. 5. Along with all the stress and challenges you will encounter on your journey through try to make the best of everything. Clinical's aside from the care-plans, should be a lot of fun, especially as you learn more. 6. Try Not to listen to people who are negative, and say that Med-Surg is the hardest semester, and that this is where you will loose a lot of your classmates. Yes it is Hard...BUT NO..IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE. Listen to your instructors, and read your books, note, and study every free minute you have! 7. Basically you will be devoting your life to this program, but the feeling of accomplishment as you progress through it is of no-other. And when you get to your last semester, the light at the end of the tunnel shines a LOT brighter. 8. Remember if this is something you want bad enough, and you are willing to work hard enough for... you will make it through. 9. When in clinical if you do not know how to do something or don't know what something is or what to do...ASK YOUR INSTRUCTOR... you are practicing under their license. Always try to find the positive side of things, such as.. your going to be an RN in two years rather then four, BCC costs less then any other school, BCC may be more challenging now, but you will be four steps ahead of everyone else when you graduate, No matter how bad things get...they can almost always be worse. If you have any questions feel free to ask, G

Was wondering if you ever got accepted into BCC? I am currently in my last semester there, and was wondering if things where still the same for the Nur 11/12 classes. -G

Hey Everyone, I am graduating in May 08 from a college in Massachussetts and am moving to Raleigh NC. I have spoke with a nurse manager at Wake Med but never heard back from HR. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to get into Wake med! Any suggestions? I also have an interview in March over at Duk e's GEMS program and have been getting mixed reviews. Does Wake Med hire new grads after all the fellowship positions have been filled? How can I get my foot in the door over there? I am willing to work ANY SHIFT ANY UNIT! Any and all info will help!=) Thanks, G :typing

Hey Everyone, I am graduating in May 08 from a college in Massachussetts and am moving to Raleigh NC. I have spoke with a nurse manager at Wake Med but never heard back from HR. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to get into Wake med! Any suggestions? I also have an interview in March over at Duke's GEMS program and have been getting mixed reviews. Does Wake Med hire new grads after all the fellowship positions have been filled? How can I get my foot in the door over there? I am willing to work ANY SHIFT ANY UNIT! Any and all info will help!=) Thanks, G

Hello everyone, I am very new to the forum. I am currently a nursing student at a 2-year nursing school in Massachusetts. I will be graduating in May, and plan to move to Raleigh North Carolina. I have already begun my search for new-grad positions at the various hospitals. So far I have applied to Wake Med and UNC Hospital. However I was wondering if there is any other places I can check into? I am not picky as to where I work or what unit I am on, I just want to have a job lined up prior to moving to NC and want to get my foot in the door somewhere. I am also planning on taking my NCLEX in NC (A LOT CHEAPER THEN MA). If any one has any information on where I can look for jobs as well as any other relevant information that my be of help to me, Please do share as it will be most greatly appreciated. Thank You ALL! Geoffrey