JerseyGuy2

Hi there: Just got off my night shift, and before I sleep, checking into latest allnurses.com.....so I didn't read all the other comments. So someone else may have already commented in a similar fashion. But in case ur not aware, NCLEX pass-rates for a school are NOT INDICATIVE of much. And the reason is: schools all want to SHOW a high NCLEX Pass Rate, so most (if not many) schools require some type of "standardized exit exam", before they will allow you to take NCLEX. For example, the HESI, or the ATI exams are 2 much used such tests. And the specific nursing program REQUIRES grads to reach a certain test score on the HESI or ATI, before they will "sign off" and permit you to file for the NCLEX. Doing so pretty much ensures that their grads will then pass NCLEX. Hence, they show an "artificially high" NCLEX pass rate. Grads whose HESI or ATI score is not "high enough to likely pass NCLEX" never make it to NCLEX where they might fail. So, plz be aware of this.

Hmmm....now I'm a relatively new RN, career-changer. And I've done a year of med-surge on a VERY busy floor with 5 specialties, and pretty much got "run-ragged". However, I refuse to "be" or remain a "victim". (And I'm not calling you a "victim", and maybe you're just venting----which is fine.) But I'm curious as to why you'd choose to remain in a nursing environment like THAT? One of the GREAT things about nursing as a profession is that you---and you ALONE---have the ability to "change your work place" (eg: work environment) SOOOO much easier than 90% of the workforce out there. In other words, if your current unit/specialty/work-place "isn't for you" (and from the way it sounds, it ISN'T for you/isn't HEALTHY for you to remain there), then take a deep breath, bond with other RNs and explore what ELSE is out there. I'm not working in a psych ER and LOVE it!! Plus, I do some per-diem work in a jail setting, and LOVE it. No where NEAR the hassles, in either place, that came with med-surge nursing. I feel fortunate that I am able to "change" my work environment, if it's not right for me. So, I'd like to say you're already taken the first step: reaching out and posting your feelings. Evaluate the input from everyone, and TRY another area of specialization. You can't go wrong, and probably can't do any worse than your current work setting. Good luck! And most of all.....HANG IN THERE!! It CAN, and DOES, get BETTER!!

YIKES....STAY AWAY from the Seton Hall Accel Program for several reasons! First, the COST, double the NJ-State supported UMD annual cost. NEVER worth the kind of money that Seton Hall (or another northern NJ private college, Fairly Ridiculous a/k/a Fairleigh Dickinson) charges! $60k a year, vs. $30k a year...for same degree, you do the math. Oh, second reason to STAY AWAY from Seton Hall....its Accelerated Program is a Master's Level program....you graduate with a MSN as a "Clinical Nurse Leader". A LAUGH, and a HALF----to everyone except the Ivory Tower Academic Types (Deans, etc) and instructors teaching it. Now JUST THINK ABOUT IT....WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would hire a NEW RN, right out of school, with NO WORK EXPERIENCE and a Master's Degree to work on a hospital floor? No one would!!!! IS THE ANSWER!! Hospital hiring folks realize: "he/she won't stay". It's so IMPRACTICAL, it's almost laughable. Regular ol' ADNs and BSNs are having trouble in this job market....so WHY would a hospital hire a MSN "Clinical Nurse Leader", with NO REAL EXPERIENCE? PLEASE don't waste your money----talk to RNs in the field, and most will tell you the same thing.

It's a VERY SMALL, eg: less than 150 bed, community hospital in a "youth-oriented" community, close to NYC. If it's the only place you can get a job, well then...."hire on". But it's reputation is "unremarkable", and probably NOT a good idea to seek out as an employer....unless you are "already there/invested" in the place. It's days are surely numbered, regardless of the "laughing-stock of NJ" name change a few years ago, from "St. Mary's in Hoboken" to "Hoboken University Whatever". It basically provided a "soft landing" for the new-ish CEO there....who lives in Hoboken and is at the end of his career, longevity-wise. Not a "bad" place....but don't break a sweat trying to get in there. Again, NICE caring nursing staff.....but NOT the type of place you'd want to "hitch your wagon to"....if you follow me.

I'm working there now. Starting hourly rate for 1 yr of experience is around $28.00 an hour....plus a $3 hr shift diff. Tuition reimbursement in area of $5000 a year. Orientation is VERY well done. Am not on a med-surg unit, but med-surg is 6-7 pts. Nice friendly place, completely NON-UNION, with good benefits and good employee relations, from what I can see. If you can get hired there, nice place to get some starting experience. Good luck!

There is obviously a WIDE range of opinions here, which, overall, is good. However, you really need to look at the labor market in the area of the country where you ultimately wish to live and/or work. For example, if you are in the New Jersey area, FORGET about a doing a direct-entry MSN (or Clinical Nurse Leader) if you WANT TO FIND A JOB!! The job market for entry level (regardless of academic degree preparation-level) is TIGHT. Who would hire a MSN/CNL with no experience......almost NO ONE!!! The regular ADN/BSN type RNs are having a hard enough time finding a job in an acute care setting (if that's where you wish to get your initial nursing experience). These MSN programs, direct entry CNL, are in my opinion, "selling a bill of goods". With the emphasis on cost reduction (read me = watching salary levels), why would a hospital hire a MSN/CNL type?? In fact, THEY WOULDN'T. So again, you need to research the area of the country you wish to work/practice/live in....and I can tell you for sure.....the MSN/CNL types from Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ), and UMDNJ (Newark, NJ) ARE NOT FINDING WORK!!! Sooooo.....that's all from me, for now. Comments, please?

I too was invited to join PTK, but at the time money was extremely tight, as I had been laid off and attending local community college via a State Unemployment Program "Tuition Waiver". My local PTK chapter (and you may wish to check into this) had a special "arrangement" that if you could not afford the $75 fee, you had to write a letter of hardship, explaining your personal circumstances, and if approved at the local PTK chapter level, they WAIVED my $75 fee. I do believe PTK is worth it, and it IS a legitimate, recognized honor society, and not an outfit that wants to sell you a "book" called "Who's Who" or anything like that.

JFK Medical Center in Edison NJ starts new RNs (no experience) at $28.10 an hour, plus $4 an hour for nite shift differential.

I agree with the first poster....there is very little "negotiation" for Staff RN positions in NJ (at least at "decently-run/"fair" hospitals). Salary practice for Staff RN (bedside/acute care) in NJ is to pay on "years of experience" as an RN (or 1/2 yr credit for LPN). In other words, whether Union or Non-Union, there is generally a "starting new grad RN BASE HOURLY rate", that really doesn't deviate (at all, or much) from one person to the next. That said, there ARE add-ons, such as shift differential, weekend diff (at some places), perhaps a BSN differential. But any hospital worth "it's salt" isn't going "to pay Joe one rate, and Jane a different rate" if they are both new grads coming out of nursing school.....or else they'll have chaos and an unhappy workforce on its hands. There are USUALLY, and I say USUALLY some general rules with Staff RN compensation: inner city, very large or MAJOR teaching hospitals usually pay more, than smaller, community non-teaching hospitals. Unionized hospitals GENERALLY, NOT ALWAYS PAY MORE. (Non-Union hospitals near a unionized hospital will usually try to pay a competitive, eg: "close to", rate, bkz they want to keep the Union out. Plus, at a Unionized hospital, it is COMMON to anywhere from 1% to 2% of your ANNUAL SALARY in union-dues, by payroll deduction.....you have no say in it. North of the Driscoll Bridge (Woodbridge Garden State Parkway Bridge near GSP Exit 127), hrly rates are GENERALLY higher. Below that bridge, rates generally lower....until you get to the Camden, NJ area, bkz those hospitals in South Jersey compete with Philly for Staff RNs. Also, when "peers" quote their "hourly rates", very often they are (incorrectly) ADDING IN, things that are NOT part of the "base hourly rate", such as shift diff, BSN diff, etc. I hope this helps. And I'm not going to say there will NEVER be differences in new grad starting rates, but as a general rule, you can take the above info "to the bank". (I used to help set RN rates in a past life......)

Can't comment on Bayonne's School of Nursing....but as far as the HOSPITAL ITSELF....FORGET IT!! 1) They are in BANKRUPTCY (why associate yourself with a "potentially" unstable place?) 2) The State of NJ Dept of Health JUST RELEASED (within last week/early October) a ranking of NJ hospitals on 4 key "quality indicators"----and Bayonne was AMONG THE LAST, if not THE LAST in the heap, as far as quality. As they say: "where there is smoke, there is FIRE". STAY AWAY!!

Hi Steve: I'm a new RN/career-changer who has read allnurses.com for several years. AND, I must admit, your posts/comments/replies in general. I always find them very enlightening, accurate and balanced. Soooo......LOL, you have a reader-fan club out here, and perhaps don't know it. I've also always been impressed with the photo of the "2 gloved hands" holding a preemie....very special. And finally, I MUST ask you about your "ending quote signature" on all your posts, about "have fun playing with the Angels, Baby Girl", and the initials "CS", etc., after that quote. Can you plz enlighten me on where that comes from?? Is it a biblical quote? Thanks steve and keep on writing and moderating....I learn from you, whenever I read your replies.

YIKES: hate to say it, but I was in an NCLEX Review course with LOTS of FDU Accel BSN grads.....and almost without exception, they HATED their time at FDU. Besides being OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive, they said the program was terribly unorganized, the Dean/Admin structure was completely UNRESPONSIVE to student concerns. The other ABSN progams nearby might not be THAT much better....but they only cost 1/2 as much, eg: UMDNJ and Rutgers. Just be FOREWARNED.....Accel Programs give you the LEAST amount of clinical experience....but you prob already know that going into it. Really though, reconsider spending $55k-$60k on a program (FDU) that treats you like doggy-doo!!!

JFK Medical Center/Edison did NADA=====NOTHING AT ALL!! A poster taped up on the wall, with some balloons. Oh....they announced a free breakfast, and guess what time it was set for: 7am to 8am!!! What a laugh!!! Guess they didn't want to serve many breakfasts.....everyone is in report then. Just terrible!

NJ does NOT require completion of a 'child abuse' program before licensure (or even after licensure). And no, there are no other "certification" requirements for a NJ RN license. Anything more you'd make in NYC will more than be "eaten up" by the NYC income tax. As far as the NJ State Income Tax vs. the NY State Income tax, I don't believe there is THAT much of a difference. The commuting cost, however, into NYC is easily several THOUSAND dollars a year. Depending on where you want to live in NJ, and the size hospital you work in, you can easily make more $$$ than down in the Texas area. In NJ, basically if you are "south" of the Raritan/Driscoll Bridge on the Garden State Parkway (eg: south of Perth Amboy), your salary will be quite a bit lower than northern NJ. Again, that's a general rule....there IS a difference between teaching vs. non-teaching hospitals, as well as "urban" vs. "suburban" NJ locations. Good luck.

My only comment is DO NOT pick a school based on their "NCLEX pass rate". Most schools require a certain score on a test, such as the HESI or ATI, BEFORE they will "permit" you to sit for NCLEX. So whomever in this thread claims/toots Holy Name's nclex pass rate is, I hate to say: "full of it". That said, I would def NOT to go a "diploma only" school. I would only consider Associate and above (eg: BSN) programs. But try and see if you can attend a class by shadowing a student. If the school won't let you do that, well, that tells you something. But again, do NOT make a decision based on "nclex pass" rate.