sdwannabe1

My new grad program was ok with less than one year experience. I had 2 paid RN jobs prior to my new grad position. Some of the reasons for not having paid experience are because these hospitals want to mold a new grad from start to finish. They don't want an RN with bad habits or have to re-teach skills or ideas. My particular hospital liked that I had some floor experience because I transitioned to the bedside easier than those who didn't have prior experience. It did in fact give me a huge advantage. It really does depend on the culture of the hospital. Taylor your resume/letter of recommendation to each individual hospital application. It would be difficult to track previous experience without self disclosure, but not impossible. An employer could run a background check to verify employment. Most hospitals do RN verification and background checks through independent contracted companies who find all sorts of history.

If I were you, I would look at the job market for an LVN first then decide if this is the route you want to take (hospital vs community setting). You want to make sure you are employable first and foremost. Do some research...call local hospitals, clinics, skilled nursing facilities, etc to find out if there is a demand for this type of nurse and what the projected market will be like once you graduate.

No problem! I get irritated when the 20 something students roll in with their heads in the clouds about the job market...like they are different from everyone else then they sit on the computer all day with no drive or motivation to get the most out of their experience. I have to remind them that we have 4 clinicals rotating on our unit each semester (that's 4 classes of 15 students x 2 or 3 semesters a year!). It's ridiculous how many schools there are out there.

I might be able to add some insight. I entered a new grad program locally in Oct of 2011 after 10 months of searching and hundreds of applications later. I can attest that the market is getting worse. We rarely hire RN's without experience and many of our current RN's are no where near retirement with maybe 1 out of 55 retiring in the next year. So the comment about RN's retiring soon is untrue as most of our unit has 3 to 15 years experience average. Also, it is very untrue that new grads are hired if they know the director (or are participating in other unsavory acts for employment) as another commenter suggested. A lot of existing nursing assistants turned RN's are hired, but many are not. It takes a lot of persistence and maturity with some luck to land a new grad job in San Diego if you don't already work for a hospital internally. I would suggest as others have, to either volunteer or find employment with a hospital that you did some clinicals at, network with friends who have positions or walk your resume in to meet hiring managers.

Generally, Sharp is the lowest paying in San Diego by $1-2 less per hour. Scripps and UCSD are roughly equivalent in pay rate. You have to take into account the benefits though. I know someone who gets paid more at UCSD, but they also pay more in benefits than an RN at Sharp would. It evens out the pay scale somewhat. Try to find a hospital that matches your core values, commute, etc. instead of focusing on pay. Sharp is unionized so your pay matches a scale for number of years experience. When applying, don't put a number value, but maybe a range (I think 5 years would be $39-42/hr).

Nursing is a highly impacted field right now. Layoffs and budget cuts are keeping staff levels at a minimum and retiree aged nurses are putting off retirement (I work with 2 in their late 60's and they are long past due for retirement!). Palomar just laid off nursing and other staff this past week. UofO no longer exists. They were in talks to sell the program to SDSU, but that fell through. National has a wait list several months long, so retaking the classes is not a bad idea. You might be able to take the classes through the local community colleges (labs are included in the prereqs).

I'm just writing from one person's point of view...one who is very close to graduating with really no prospects and not from my own undoing - just the reality of things. We are paying a LOT OF MONEY for these degrees from a school that can't take the time to organize this class that gives us the competitive edge we need to find jobs in this market. Take it with a grain of salt because it is my OPINION. I'm encouraging others to ask questions and get answers because those of us who are students currently can't get any!! My options now are to work in housekeeping with a part time job to get my foot in the door because no hospital will hire a new RN grad with 0 years experience. It's plain fact. There are applicants from all over the U.S. applying for jobs here in San Diego. Thousands for only 30 spots. I agree about the wait time with other schools and yes, NU is fast...but, fast for what reason? Every student I've known who has applied for an externship has received one, so that hasn't been a problem. What I'm saying is we now don't even have the opportunity. This decision being made by the BRN on behalf of SWC is moot because other schools do offer the class and it still doesn't answer why NU doesn't have a preceptorship instead. I would be more than happy to have made that as part of my cirriculum than floating around to different units without any kind of consistent training. It's just another issue on top of the countless trials and tribulations one must face when attending this school. Their motto is "you have to be flexible!" because times and dates change sometimes at the last minute, no one can account for the "fees" we are paying, hospital clinicals recently have been part time in a simulation lab because NU can't get placement (forget about having clinicals at Children's for peds), etc. Take these posts as vents or take them as issues that you might want to consider. I really wish someone could have given me some tips or pointers before heading into this new career path with naive excitement.

happymommy3, NU has NEVER had a preceptorship as part of their RN or BSN program. Those are programs that all other universities and ADN programs provide to their students. It is an unpaid position that counts as a class and is usually in an area of the student's choice such as OB, peds or med-surg. As far as I know, every other school has a contract with a hospital that allows for this type of agreement, except for NU. This is a chance for the unit to become familiar with the student and vice versa as the committment is usually a full semester. NU does not have this as part of their program. Their reasoning is that NU students spend more time in the clinical setting than other programs and there isn't a need for it. I feel this is completely wrong because while although we spend 136 required hours in the clinical setting, it is for a shorter period of time and with multiple units or nurses because we float. Never one-on-one for 4 months straight (the length of most school program semesters). The externship is a separate issue, but with the same end goal in mind...an RN job. Externships are paid student nurse opportunities provided by the hospitals...there are plenty of these jobs available right now online, just not for NU students anymore. You apply online and if selected, go for an interview and are paid by the hospital. Along with employment, it is required that students enroll in a class at Southwestern college, but the BRN recently made it impossible for all schools (NU, SDSU, etc.) to enroll in this class at SWC. NU has never had a class that enables students to take employment as a student nurse, supposedly because of liability issues (?). This was a major hit for many students currently enrolled in the class with paid employment. They now have to quit their jobs and terminate a promising relationship with a hospital that could have provided an RN job. As you can see, NU students are at a disadvantage esp. in this current economic climate and it's going to get worse before it gets better. I'm a realist, not a pessimist by nature and finding a job in nursing right now is scary. It's not a good time to be entering the field at all. I would have attended a different school, but with a degree from a major school in SD, I wasn't allowed to attend their nursing programs. Just do your homework, ask NU why they don't have these programs and be educated about the process. Good luck!

Totally agree with Sooperdooper! I too am nearing the end of the nursing program and am extremely disappointed with the faculty, Dean and Director. We no longer have the opportunity to do externships - student nurse programs outside of our nursing core curriculum. These are not the mandatory clinicals, but paid positions as non-licensed nursing students. This was a chance for nursing students at NU to network and get on the job experience in the form of a paid preceptorship with a possible job upon graduation or passing the NCLEX. These preceptorships are offered as classes at every other school in San Diego EXCEPT for NU. The job market in SD is extremely competitive for new grads. All hospitals are decreasing their number of accepted applicants or discontinuing their programs all together. There are many people from recent graduated cohorts that do not have jobs 6 months to a year out of school!! Don't be fooled into thinking there is a demand for nurses right now. There isn't. Do your homework regarding NU and then go somewhere else.

just wanted to update nu students or soon to be / wanting to be students on the latest going-ons with nu in san diego. recently a school affiliated with nu for student nurse extern programs ceased it's offer to allow nu students to take a class that would allow for these paid positions, most with offers to become hired upon graduation. as of now, nu does not have an externship program which severely limits student's opportunities to gain work experience and network. the job market in san diego for new nurses (new grads) is dismal right now and i personally am regretting my decision to forge into this new career with mounting debt and no prospects in sight. be aware and do your own research concerning this school. we pay a lot of money to become "accelerated" rn's only to be left out in the cold without any support from our school. this amongst other issues has just added to the pile of complaints many students have about nu and the way they operate. on the whole, nu students are generally accepted as good students within the hospital systems, but our visibility in the area is now greatly reduced and some of us are now opting for cna positions just to pay the bills. think twice about nu or ask tons of questions about the school's support system for students nearing graduation. i guarantee they won't have an answer for you.

misslolalady, I only received a one page "accepted" letter that listed the pre-requisites I still had to take. I was taking the classes when I received the letter as they knew I needed them both before entering the program. The orientation package was a long list of the items (stated in my previous post) that you needed to complete or have by the orientation day, which is in 6 weeks for me. I found out that the NSG class is actually the first class of the program, so technically it's not a pre-req as we know it. as27, not sure what the process is like for the other BSN programs. I'm talking specifically about the accelerated BSN for non-RN's. I was able to apply prior to finishing 3 classes and was accepted (never heard of library science). I'm currently taking the final 2. Have a BS in biology from a local school, graduated about 10 years ago. Can you meet with an advisor? They should be able to go through your transcripts with you and tell you exactly which classes you need. Hope this helps!

Hi All, I was admitted to the January 09 BSN cohort at NU and just got an orientation "packet" today saying I needed to take an additional NSG 211 course prior to starting in January. I don't think there are any classes for the remainder of the year and I'm totally panicked I can't start in January now. Also, we need to be CPR certified prior to starting classes, get all the immunization records signed off by a doctor, financial aid, malpractice insurance and a background check by mid November. Why weren't we told all of this sooner and only given a month or so to complete everything? Anyone else have a complete breakdown like I am by being so overwhelmed by the process?

Graduated about 10 years ago with a BS in biology...had a D and F and a couple of W's all in science and math classes (lower division). Still managed a 3.2 GPA and was recently accepted to an accelerated BSN program without even having completed my prerequisites. Everyone's background and situation is different. I had 10 years of work experience in the pharmaceutical industry and matured a bit since my undergrad. The program I'm in required an essay, an english/math skills test and GPA. I'd say don't worry too much about the W's...the grade you get in the class after completion is the most important thing.