Scrubmouse RN

GI, not the most glamorous place, but the hours are great (Monday thru Friday between 630 am until 5 pm-ish depending on the shift you work.) No holidays or weekends. Patients are generally healthy yet you can utilize some nursing skills such as IV starts etc. Free lunches from the reps that push their wares on our docs. There are cons such as it can get repetitive and there is call.

Sick and dying patients aren't going to care if you look like Gollum from Lord of the Rings or Jessica Biel. They are only concerned about good quality care. No need to give up your dream. Good luck!

GI lab. M-F. First shift starts at 6:30 am- 3:00 PM, closing shift at 8 am-closing (usually between 3:30 and 5 PM). The lab is open one Saturday a month, but working it is voluntary. Call is one week once a month. It's associated with a major health system so pay is comparable to hospital pay. No holidays

GI lab. I got in as a new grad. Monday thru Friday hours vary between 630 am until closing which normally runs the gamut of 3 pm on a slow day up to 8 pm on a "crazy" day with lots of inpatient add-ons. No holidays or weekends. However, there is call

If the victim has a pulse, I think you go straight to rescue breathing. One breath every 5-6 seconds for adults or 3-5 seconds for infants and children. If no pulse then start chest compressions

Unfortunately no, although it is something to emphasize in your cover letter

Chicago suburbs for a larger health system. Graduated with an ADN. Work day shifts $26.01/ hr. differentials exist or evening, night,and weekend shifts

I had a 22 month old and a 4 month old when I began nursing school. I was in an evening part time program. I received pretty much straight As. It is definitely doable if you do not have a job and have a very supporting partner

When you're cleaning up a major code brown and wonder what's for lunch while your stomach's growling

As soon as I could. About 4 weeks after graduation. Get it done while the material is still fresh in your memory!

After the first few successful attempts, it will become much easier and you will psych yourself out less.

Lots of NCLEX questions! Look at the rationale for the right and the wrong answer. Most textbooks provide some sort of question bank, do those. Use the text's study guides. All these things helped me tremendously during nursing school. Good luck!

ADN, GI lab, got the job within one month of passing NCLEX.

You're young and you've probably heard this before....have you considered relocating? From what I gather from reading AN is that Jersey and New York are saturated markets and it is extremely difficult to get a job there. Make sure you have a stellar resume, even with the limited work experience you have. Don't give up! Someone's going to want you! Good luck!

With a very supportive and loving husband it can be done. I have a 3.5 year old and a 2 year old. I just graduated nursing school, so they were 22 months and 4 months old when I began my nursing courses. My poor children didn't get nearly enough attention afforded to them d/t nursing school and constantly studying. However, during that period I didn't work, so I had more time with them than I would've if I had worked. Now that I'm starting work, I will see them even less. I had evening classes so my husband came home and gave them baths, fed them dinner, and put them to bed. He's wonderful!

I was one of the discouraged ones. I applied to at least 100 jobs and most of the time I got the automatic "Thanks, but, no thanks" emails. Many of the hospitals in my area require > 1 year experience, even the traditionally thought of "bottom of the barrel" jobs (LTC, hospice, etc). However, less than a week ago I finally got a call for an interview and now I officially have a job! They are pushing me down the pipe line because new grad orientation begins this monday. And you know what? Yesterday right after I accepted my job offer, I got another call for an interview for another job! Please, for those still struggling to find that all mighty first RN job, don't take this as bragging, but as encouragement that there is hope! Good luck to everyone who has a job and those still searching.

There's a sticky at the top of the NCLEX forum called " Random Fact Throwing." It is shock full of random facts, mnemonics, lab vales, etc.

As PP mentioned, each program is different. But from what I hear ADN programs do have more clinical hours than BSN programs; just a bit of trivia for ya In my program we had clinicals every semester. What changed as we went up in levels was the amount of time spent at clinical. First semester we had clinical once a week for about 6 hours, by fourth semester we were at clinical twice a week for 8 hours each day.

I know it's easier said than done, but try, try, try. I've read stories on AN that it took someone 9 times to pass the NCLEX, but in the end she/he passed it! Seems counterintuitive, but it seems that if you have healthcare experience, the NCLEX is harder because theory does not always apply to real life. The NCLEX world is different from real healthcare so may be true for you, being an LVN. Have you considered a private tutor? Maybe your friend who just passed it could help you out? Are you practicing NCLEX questions? I would aim for about 100 per day. Read the rationales closely, understand, I mean really understand them, and know why the other choices are wrong. I wish you much luck in your endeavors!

OMG! The Lord is good. After filling what feels like millions of applications. I get one hit! I got a call early this morning for an interview at a wonderful hospital near me that I really wanted to work at. Its for a GI lab. So to everyone out there who feels like me, there is hope! I live in a really tight new graduate market.

I'm in Northern Illinois/Chicagoland area. I've searched nursing homes and LTCs, unfortunately even those require experience. I still apply anyways and hope for the best.

I know these threads are a dime a dozen and many of you are tired of seeing them. I know..."if I only got a nickle for each thread that complains about being a new grad and not getting a job.....etc. etc." It's my turn. I need to vent and release my frustration. I cannot for the life of me get an interview. It's just so bad out here! I graduated this past May.I have an excellent GPA, have a Bachelors degree in Biology, speak two languages, and did really well in clinicals, passed my NCLEX on the first try yet no one at HR will even give me the time of day. I'm even suffering through a statistics class so I can prepare to get my BSN. I've lost count on how many applications I've turned in (must be getting close to a hundred); nursing homes, countless hospitals, clinics, home health, etc. Not one call back. Every position that is open requires 1+ years of experience. This is so frustrating! Never in my working life have I sent so many applications to never get a call back. Automated rejection emails are a common sight in my inbox. It just hurts that I worked very hard for something I wanted very badly to only not be able to get a job! My skills are going to waste as I sit here because it's been 3 months since my last clinical. I feel so useless and a failure. There is a job gap in my resume, if you want to call it that. My last job was in late 2007 before I gave birth to my first child and decided to stay at home with him. I was a stay at home mom while I attended nursing school. I feel like crying and giving up! I feel so helpless! I don't even know if I can call myself a nurse! When I started the job search I was optimistic, knowing that I am a darn good candidate, but my optimism keeps falling with each application that does not get a call back. Maybe I'm not giving myself enough time. I don't know. For the mean time, I did start on plan B and got accepted to do flu shots in the fall. That unfortunately, is temporary and I am a bit scared because as far as I know, there isn't much training or an orientation. Thanks for allowing me to vent. I know there are others like me and totally commensurate. Hope others are having better luck

I thought the NCLEX was too easy too. Mine shut off at 75 questions and then, like you started freaking out because I thought the questions were too easy which meant that I was not up to par. I did the PVT and got the good pop up. Four days later I got my official results that I passed. Relax, you must of studied really hard, so much so that the questions they threw at you were a piece of cake. Good luck with your official results!

There are plenty of opportunities for experienced nurses up in the Far North Suburbs. I've even gotten invites for them. Sadly, I am a new nurse and the email explicitly stated that the job fair was for experienced nurses only. They even conducted on site interviews! As a new graduate, it may take months to get a job. The Chicagoland area is a tight market right now.

I've heard that review courses such as Kaplan and Hurst are helpful. Personally, I didn't take any review courses instead I studied from my Saunder's book and practiced NCLEX questions on my ipad on my down time. Take time to read the rationale and know why the wrong answers are wrong. Aim to do about a hundred questions or so a day. If it sounds like a lot then do as many as you possibly can, but do not stress yourself out. Stress initiates the sympathetic nervous system and then you're in a panic mode where your brain isn't receiving information well. Good luck to you!