Corkybabe12

Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, TX is a large, all-private room level IV NICU :)

I graduated from TCC, and I plan on completing UTA's RN-BSN program soon. Best of luck to you all- just keep following up with those apps and check the sites often for job postings... many times they go up and then down within 24 hrs!

I just want to say that I am a fresh ADN grad (December 2010), and I landed an ICU position in a pediatric hospital that is magnet accredited. Now, with that being said, that is not the norm here. I graduated from a very respected program, and I would estimate that anywhere between 1/2-2/3 of my graduating class has not found work, and I hear the same from some of my BSN friends. It has less to do with the degree, and more to do with the mass influx of nurses/GN's moving to the area. As if DFW was not churning out enough GN's, we now have people from all over the country moving here, and many people are coming in with years of experience because they cannot find work at home. The residency for my hospital hired 15 GN's, and over half of them are not even from the DFW area, but rather out-of-state and the Austin area. Plus, many hospitals have cut back on/eliminated new grad programs d/t cost... why hire an ICU grad that costs on average over $100k to train, when you can have an experienced RN? This was not meant to be a downer, just trying to provide some realistic insight for you. Bets of luck in your job search.

Greetings all!! I am in my last semester of nursing school, and I just accepted a GN position in the level III NICU that I currently work in as a tech- I cannot wait to read all of the tips and support on here!

Hey guys, sorry for the delay! As far as work goes, I actually work 2 jobs- one at a local hospital in the NICU (my DREAM RN job :) and another in retail (I know it is totally un-related, but it pays me very well lol). My hospital job is only (3) 5 hour shifts a week (some weeks more, depending on how our census is) and my retail job will be about 15 hours during the actual semester...I am working less this last semester so that I can plan my wedding that falls 2 days after we graduate, and, of course, study up for the NCLEX! The first semster, in my opinion, was the most time-consuming because of the skills class, and having to get used to the whole concept of "nursing school" and the different testing styles. So far, I think that the second semester was the hardest test-wise though. You will have 2 6-hr clinicals your first semester, 4 hours of theory on 2 days a week, and then a 2 hour skills lab once a week. The rest of the program though, you will only have theory and clinical. You can sign up for 12 hour clinicals starting your second semester I believe, and then they all switch to 12 hours in your third semester. I would advise you to always stay on top of your studying though! In my second semester, I went from bordering an A/B, to second-guessing some answers on the last test and coming out with a low C! It was a very frightening experience! You will do great, and if you have any questions let me know!

I would highly discourage you from dropping speech- I know it is tempting to only focus on your science classes, but like previously stated, people who have all classes done (with good grades and TEAS) take preference for seats. I am about to enter my last semester (studying cardiac meds as we speak!) and am SO bummed that the simulation hospital is being put in place AFTER I graduate! I think it will be great though, and the downtown campus is beautiful :-) The program has been tough, but definitely doable (and I work FT!) and I feel like I have received a great education. Good luck!

It is really hard to get into any of them right now :-( BUT, you said that you have been a volunteer in the ED dept? I would seriously use that to my advantage- be persistent! I think what helped me get my position is that I had been a NICU volunteer a few years back for that same hospital. I would find the contact at your hospital responsible for hiring ancillary positions, and drop in with your resume and give him/her some face time while making it known that you currently volunteer there. Don't give up! I had to apply 4 times before I was asked for an interview! Best of luck! :redpinkhe

Thanks! I hope your first semester was an enjoyable one- it is one of the hardest just because you have to get accustomed to the whole nursing school scenario. I had Aguilar for my clinical instructor- she is AWESOME. When I had her (prior to her divorce) she was Dr. Ray and she was the director of the program...and I was VERY nervous haha. But like I said, she is an amazing instructor. Best of luck to you! I remember thinking back in January of '09 "man, Dec 2010 seems forever away!" And now I'm like "wow...I start applying for RN jobs in 4 months!" I would highly recommend looking for a tech job of some sort now, as they are few and far-between now. I'm sure that you have heard that RN jobs aren't as plentiful as they were just a year ago, but with a "foot in the door" somewhere it can really make all the difference ;-) I was blessed to land a job in the NICU of the childrens hospital of my choice, so now I just have to pray that I can slide into an RN position there!

I am finishing up my pedi/OB semester (last clinical next week!) and I took mental health theory online. I am pretty sure that we were the first group to have it, the second group at most, and it was incredibly challenging. All my friends took it on-campus and claimed the tests were easy and the tests were their only grades. Online we had 7-10 hrs a week of case studies, assignments and other random homework to complete to supplement for time not spent sitting in class. This was all in addition to reading the chapters and notes. I made the mistake of assuming all my assignments the first week were under the "assignments" tab, only to find that there were some in another tab that I had missed. I realized it 2 hrs after they were due, emailed the instructor (thinking hey, maybe I can get partial credit since it IS the first week and I'm new to this online class?) only to get a response from her where she copy/pasted the CID saying that late work would be given a 0. Sooooo...those assignments automatically dropped me to a B in the class. Sorry for the long diatribe, but I feel as if the class took over my life for 8 weeks and put a dent in my GPA :-( I have heard that they made major improvements, but I'm not sure what all changed. I can tell you that other people in the class did feel the same way though. Hope this helped some! Good luck with your decision :-)

edit: I actually went to apply 10 days before the deadline, but found they had pulled it 4 days before that. :-(

Aw thanks for responding! I actually completed everything but the online app, and went to do that 2 WEEKS before the deadline, only to get a message saying it was no longer available. I called the HR dept and they told me that they "just decided to take it down early bc they got so many applications." I was like gee, thanks for the lack of warning on your website. Glad you got in though!! I'm sure it will be an awesome experience I am just going to stay with my job at Cooks and hope for the best that familiarity and hard work will earn me an RN spot there!

Ok, so I am currently in my OB/Pedi semester, having just completed Pedi and going on to OB. I just have the fall semester left after this, so this summer is the time to start looking at summer externships. I have an overall nursing GPA of a 3.25, and I just accepted a job (a month ago) in Cook Childrens NNICU as a nutrition associate, which is where I dream to work as an RN. My dilemma is this though: as I would love to work at Cooks in their new NNICU that is opening up, I know they are heavily geared towards BSN students (I'm in an ASN program with full intentions of bridging to BSN after I graduate.) They have a summer externship, but they only accept BSN students, leaving me out. Childrens Medical center in Dallas has a summer externship that accepts ASN as well, but would it be beneficial for me to apply? I guess my question is, which would benefit me the most- talking with my current manager about an opportunity to extern for 8 weeks at another hospital (they think highly of externships), which would require me to drop down to one day/week for 8 weeks there, OR just working out my current job in their unit, since I am already employed in my "dream setting?" So, in my case, does the experience inside or outside of this hospital help me the most? I know that is somewhat confusing, but I really need some advice! Thanks in advance

Sorry so long w no response! Unfortunantly I'm on my dad's insurance since I'm considered a FT student (but only juntil I turn 23 this Nov) so I couldn't tell you how much it is. I do know that several students have gone through a contact that the school has. He deals specifically with finding nursing students affordable healthcare. Don't sweat it- it's required so they have to have some realistic options :)

first of all, i wanted to give a big congrats to all that got in! you deserve to celebrate! and for those on the waiting list, don't give up! several people apply to more than one school :) i'm finishing up my first semester, and then onto mental health this summer (i think you guys will have that your second summer). then in the fall when you start i will be in my 3rd of 5 semesters. i remember all too clearly lurking on this site from august-december of last yr lol! a word of advice: jump on your "to-do list" asap. get your immunizations done (hep-b takes a while!) and get all your required physical forms, etc turned in as soon as you can. it will make life much easier on you. the textbooks are expensive, but lucky you guys get all summer to work extra hrs to pay for them! be glad it's not over christmas break that you're trying to do that unfortunantly they package some of the books with an online component thats required, so it's almost the same price to buy the book on amazon and get the online access seperately bc they charge so much for it individually. i would just buy them pre-packaged at the bookstore and save yourself time. feel free to buy the others online though and save some cash. at camp success they will scare the begeesus out of you and leave you feeling like you won't make it if you work, but trust me, it is possible. though i don't work 45 hrs anymore, i still put in a good 25-30 hrs/wk and i'm making it. i just don't have much of a social life :icon_roll it is different and it is hard, but, at least in my clinical group, most of us that get this far ar pretty darn smart and seem to have an aptitude for the field. when you are interested in the subject it doesn't seem to require as much studying bc you pay more attn the first time around in class. i'm working on 2 a's and a b so i'm pretty satisfied. ok i'm done rambling now, so if you have any questions just ask!

Ok well I guess I will start! I had a 3.7 overall, and a 3.5 science GPA. I had also taken pharm and patho at another university, and even though we DIDN'T get bonus points, from what I understand they are bringing them back for pharm and medical terminology. I scored in the 98th percentile for the TEAS...don't remember exact score though. I had all of my classes completed (pretty much a must now!) and I only applied this once. Just focus on your science courses, do well on the TEAS (it really wasn't that hard!) and RELAX! I remember being in your position just several months ago, and now I'm halfway through my first semester and LOVING it! It is harder than any other college experience thus far but DEF doable! I am able to do it while working 25 hrs a week and I have A's and B avgs so far :) Best of luck to you and let us know if you have any other questions!