Cherry2000

My instructors have told us to send out our resumes to places we would like to work even if they do not have any openings listed. I know that for myself and at least one more student, we have been offered jobs by doing this. Are you able to relocate? Other parts of the country have significant shortages but moving can be daunting. For myself, I looked at areas outside of the location of my schoolmates. Luckily I live further out than they do.

Ugh. I'm stressing over this and I'm hoping that I can get some help putting it in perspective. I just graduated from my FNP program in May and have a couple of lines on some positions. A big thing for me is to have my student loans paid. Here are the places I've been talking with: Cardiology: most likely not going to pay my loans but definitely in an area that I love. They've been slow getting through the interview process with me so I'm not really entertaining them. They do keep calling though. Primary Care 1: Yes, I do want primary care. So this place; love the staff. The $$ is not great, but more than I'm making as a RN. Perk: federal loan forgiveness. I could have them all paid off within 5 years and be free to move on because the non-compete is minimal. Contract is for 1 year. Primary Care 2: Further drive. Interviewing next week. My friend is going to work for them and gave them my name. They are very interested in me. Also qualifies for federal loan forgiveness and non-compete is minimal. Contract is for 1 year. Much more opportunities to make more $$ at this office. My problem. I verbally told PC1 that I was accepting their offer. This was before I learned of PC2. PC1 is supposed to me sending me a contract and haven't signed anything yet. Is it awful of me to back out of PC1 (as long as my interview goes well?) How unprofessional does that make me look? Guilt and a sense of responsibility are killing me!

Wilson Hospital in Johnson City (Binghamton area) is a level 2 trauma and has ICU, CCU and a neuro suite. I can't speak for the type of people that work there because I am on a different unit, but I really like the hospital as a whole. Critical care units are the only ones there that have 12 hr shifts. We do our share of open hearts and the CCU probably would be a good fit for you. It is also one of the better paying hospitals. Cayuga Medical Center would NOT be a good fit for you. It is a small hospital and although it is very beautiful, on the end of the lake and everything, the acuity is very low. No open hearts there. They don't even put cardiac stents in at this point. Sounds to me that your best bet would be a hospital in Syracuse, Rochester, or possibly Wilson if you choose to come south. Good luck!

SUNY Binghamton has a good accelerated program if you don't mind the gray, dreary winters.

Clove oil on a toothache works really well. Saved my husband's behind one weekend. :) Strong black coffee for an asthma attack. I don't know if it was just the placebo effect or not, but it got me through until I could get to my inhaler!

I took ACLS before I graduated and it helped me get my job. If you don't have any interest in working telemetry, ICU, CCU... then it probably isn't necessary. It is a very intense course and you must know your cardiac rhythms before you go. It isn't something that you can walk in without preparing for. At the end you have to be able to run a megacode successfully.

My husband and I are in a similar situation. He works a weekend shift and I'm training on days but going to nights in a couple of weeks. I hardly ever see him because I work on the days he has off and vice versa. I'm looking forward to when I get some say over my schedule because I plan to work same days as he does...at least Monday and Friday. That way we can spend time together. My advice is to try to figure out how you can afford a sitter. Otherwise it will be very difficult to rearrange your schedule. Good luck!

I definitely agree that you need to tailor your resume and cover letter to the position that you are applying for. Each resume you send out will need to be tweaked. Also whenever you are applying for a position try to find out the nurse recruiter's name. That could be as simple as just calling up the hospital (or whereever) and asking. Second, I know you want to play up your customer service skills but I think you are putting a bit too much emphasis on your previous employment. See if you can simplify that part to maybe just job title, company and dates of employment. When you interview you can stress your people skills. If you got any awards in nursing school or have a good gpa that could go on there as well. I would focus more on your clinical rotations. Talk about what you did during clinicals. Employers know that not all GNs have extensive hospital experience and that's why they train you. Good Luck!!!!!

We were told they could pull hair from anywhere... arms, legs, back, whatever you have. So unless you plan to shave EVERYTHING, I'm sure they can get what they need. Btw, in my facility, this is only if you miss the urine screen...

I just graduated in May and as a new grad I was given $5000 tuition reimbursement for my degree which pretty much amounts to the same thing as a sign on bonus. The way they do it is each paycheck you get an equal percentage so, mine is roughly $100 every two weeks for 2 yrs. There was no contract and if I leave I don't owe anything. They also paid for my review class and gave me a Littman. Not bad! :)

I am graduating from TC3's nursing program this May. If they changed your major I would think that is definitely a good sign but I didn't notice that when I was applying. I really enjoyed my program and like the instructors. I think that they are really fair when it comes to everything. Good luck!

There is no wait list for TC3. You do have to apply every year and they only take 60 students each fall.

Google new grad resume and cover letter... that should help some. That is what I did.

What everyone has forgotten to mention that along with it being time consuming, it will also depend on your support network. Do they understand why you are so busy? Does your significant other understand? If not, you can do everything right, and your relationship will be strained and could possibly end. You can't control everything and nursing school becomes your number one priority. I can't tell you how many times I've said "When nursing school is over I am going to ...." Luckily for me, school comes easily to me and my husband is amazingly supportive. So for me, that means that even though things suck at times, I know that it will be ok in the end. Not everyone will be so lucky. I don't want to scare you. I just want you to look at it from another perspective. I have really good friends that I only see once or twice a year because things are just too busy.

I went last year and I graduate this year. It gave me an idea of what to expect and what kinds of jobs were out there. We also had 4 yr schools there recruiting transfers. It was interesting and an opportunity for local places to sell themselves to you.

My nursing instructor explained it a little differently...so actually you did better this time than when it shut off at 200 questions. That time the computer "knew" that you couldn't possibly pass the test...so it failed you. This time you made it all the way to the end of the test, right on the border of passing. The only reason that you got all of the questions was because the computer couldn't decide if you were over the cutoff or not. Essentially you did better on the second test. Hope that makes sense.

Actually they give you 3 or 4 topics that you must address in your essay. I still haven't done it! I am working on it though. I have to write different essays for the schools that I am applying to and I am trying to get my resume out plus my first test of the semester is next week. So I'm juggling lots of stuff...but hopefully I will make all the deadlines!

You will forget things. That is part of life. BUT the second time you hear them it will be easier...and the third time, even easier. You will hear the really important stuff over and over. Eventually you will be able to pull it out of your head as you need it. Ask a practicing nurse if she (or he) remembers everything taught in school and you will hear no way! Once you are working you will be very knowledgeable (sp?) about your specific area of nursing. We aren't expected to know everything as nurses, but more to know where to get information we need and to be able to recognize the fact that we DON'T know everything!

As long as you are doing ok, don't worry about it! My first semester wasn't that tough and certainly did not bury my head in the books. I got an A. Second semester is much more difficult and will require more work and studying. You will know how you are doing once you take your first test. If you are doing well then keep on keeping on...if not so well, step it up and work harder. Not everyone has to study non-stop...it all depends on the individual.

I had a hard time reaching anyone to tell me if I could apply or not. Finally I got an email stating that yes, I can apply but passing the NCLEX would be a requirement of admission. I just wanted to make sure before I spent all the time finishing the application. The admission "essay" is recommended to be 3-5 pages long! wow.

Just remember that you are at clinicals to learn. Be ready, willing and able to do anything that comes your way. Really they want to you learn "their way" of doing things and they will show you what you need to know. In the beginning you are focusing on all of the personal care aspects. Changing beds, taking vitals, baths, cleaning incontinent patients. Become comfortable with getting into people's personal space and learn how to communicate with them. Act confident no matter how you are truly feeling because if you act nervous you will make your patient nervous too. You will be fine!

Older editions are great. The only drawback that I've seen so far is that sometimes things are on different pages and you might have to do a little more searching for specific tables and whatnot. If you really need a certain page or something you can always copy it from someone else's book for 10 cents! Our instructors actually encourage people to use the older editions and not waste their money!

I did it with my A&P book and it was the exact same thing...just soft cover. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Our school uses the ATI books to reinforce the material they teach. They simplify everything and outline it and are wonderful as a quick reference. Saunders questions get you in the mindframe that the instructors are looking for when they are testing. Pay attention in class and note which things the instructor are stressing and make sure you know those. It will get easier as the semester goes on because you will begin to apply the info you are learning and that alone will help you remember it. Good luck!

Whether you burn out or not will depend on a few things. One, are you a good student? Does learning come easily to you or do you have to put in a lot of time and effort? How difficult are your programs A&P and micro classes? Generally speaking those are two pretty hefty classes to take together. They both usually require significant lab time. Two, what kind of personal life do you have? Do you have kids? Are you willing to give up pretty much all of your personal life? It sounds like you would be to me. Is your boyfriend understanding about it? This is a tough call because volunteering is a great opportunity. BUT don't throw your health away. Is there any way you could work fewer hours to compensate?