Durable

Hi All, I'm three years into my nursing career and I feel stuck. This was my first job so I have no previous boss or job contacts to use for references. There are no managers at my current job who would not fire me or take serious umbrage if they received a call or letter revealing that I was looking for work elsewhere. I wasn't that close with my professors at nursing school, except 2. One is no longer there and besides, I haven't kept in touch with them and feel funny asking them if I can use them as a reference since I have not gone back to visit them. I have friends at work but is it possible to use coworkers for job references? There are possibly some clinical coordinator level staff who would do this for me but I am afraid it is a mistake to let anyone at work know I am looking to move on. I am stumped on who to use for references. Did this happen to anyone out there? What did you do to get what you needed to keep moving forward in your career? I very much appreciate anyone's thoughts on this subject.

I graduated in August of 2008 with a BSN and I'm jobless. New grads are backing up - This downturn got bad in Oct 2008 but now it's worse. Up until this spring nursing homes were hiring. Now they seem not to be. Hang in there everyone - things have to get better. I'm writing a letter and sending it to NYS and city elected officials. I have noticed there are plenty of nurse manager jobs and jobs requiring 3 - 5 years experience. If they can't hire and train new nurses where do they think all these experienced nurses will come from in the next decade? The shortage will come back with distastrous consequences. I don't think the industry as a whole realizes that they haven't handled new grad to first job transitions very well in the past and that needs to change. Anyhow, remember, you aren;t alone. There are a lot of waiting for a break in this economic tide. Hang in Nurses! - Durable

I am in the same situation. I think that nurse managers deal with their insecurities this way, by picking on a designated person. I think you should definitely talk to your boss and tell her you do not like the way you are treated and ask her what is the reason for it. If you don't she (and others) will continue to pick on you. I am looking for a new job for this reason. The rule where I work is to pick on or humiliate any body with credentials that threaten others like a BSN or pick on anyone who is a nice person, as opposed to an evil troll which most of the nurses there are encouraraged to be if they aren't already. Why are nurses so unfair and emotionally immature? I thought this was a profession but it works more like an army platoon.

I thought the hardest course by far was Med Surg 3. Patho was hard but we got a good teacher so it wasn't that bad. The Summer courses are short so those can be tough. A lot depends on who the teacher is. some are great and some are a drag but it should even out. - Durable

If it's the same as it was in 2007, I used every one of those books with the exception of the Leadership course - no exams in Leadership - just tons of papers, a group presentation (lots of group presentations in that program) and a clinical and mandatory class time. But in everyone of the other courses you will have to crack everyone of those books. The exam questions are often obsure - I had to read them with a fine tooth comb. In Patho, the study guide really helped me - it saved me actually cause I could not finish the indepth text book reading - that was a summer course and very quick. You dont really need the clinical handbooks they have in the bookstore. The pych course is the second summer. Hope this helps. Oh, and even for the Nursing Today course - you've got to study the book to pass the exams. Or I did anyway. And in Nursing Assessment - the exams are harder than you may think. Be prepared. I failed the midterm and had to break my behind to catch up! - Durable

Hi KDRose - Yes, what you described is perfect. It doesn't have to be medical - include exactly what you wrote here in your application essay. This is very good even for your resume after you graduate. - you have a wide range and all of it is community minded and helping others less fortunate - giving to the community - you sound like a natural-born nurse :)

Hi JCazburgs - Don't worry - I'm a big baby and if I could do it you can. It's well worth it. I can't believe I'm working as a nurse! I imagined it for so long and now I'm doing it - yippee! :) all the best to you!

Hi Lena, All the best to you. Enjoy the experience - I miss school to be honest. I have a B.A. in English literature. Math and science were never easy for me - if I can do it anyone can.

Quilter - I think that was very wrong of them to insist you resign or be fired. It sounds like they botched your orientation and made you pay for it. I think that happens a lot because management does not want to take responsibility for mistakes. The only consulation is that you're out of that place - it sounds like a below par place to work, although, being a new nurse, I'm not sure what's more common, facilities that have good training practices or lousy facilities running like chaotic circuses and treating new nurses badly. I hope you found a better job with a better facility and got a good preceptor. They are hard to find!

Also, They often turn down people with high averages who sound very self assured, but have no altruistic-socially responsible history. You need to be a little humble when you write your essay, express a desire to help people who may not have money or insurance, be willing to take on boring, no-glamour roles, be part of a team. If you have a high academic average, but never volunteered for anything community minded, have no proof that you care about health care and people and not just a good salary and employment prospects, that will turn them off. The school is located in a community that they are committed to serving - visit the neighborhood - read the bulletin boards, it's a very good school but it is inner city and it does not have an Ivy League following.

For those deciding between Downstate or a private school...if I could have afforded it I would go to the private school, i.e. Columbia, NYU, Pace to save myself some supreme headaches associated with public schools. But if you're poor like me - Downstate is a good school, albeit a pain in the behind sometimes and you get a great yet affordable education. You have to be able to discipline yourself and to figure some things out on your own - no hand holding at this school - but that will serve you well when you start working. Nursing can be a tough job so coming from a no frills school can only help you.

Mahage - Kudos to you! You sound like a wonderful person and a very good nurse - I wish there were more Mahages where I work. And I love this "...put on your big girl panties.".. :) Thank you Mahage for your wisdom, humanity, and sense of humor! to Caribqueen12 and to us all. You are very much needed in the field of nursing and you did my soul good today! - Durable

I thought it was very hard. I went to bed at 3 or 4 in the morning and woke up at 6 or 7. Weekends and holidays were spent studying or preparing. Friends went on fun vacations and left me home alone working my behind off. I remember my first summer I cried so hard I couldn't see, my eyes were two swollen balloons. It is an accelerated program and I found it very difficult. But there were people who were not as challenged as I was. I guess it depends on your previous habits and what you're used to. I thought it was like having my fingers stuck in an electrical socket for 15 months. But plenty of people actually enjoyed it. If I could do it you can. I'm a big baby so I'm told :) But I think you have to want it badly. For me it was a supreme effort but I wanted nothing more than to be a nurse - so badly I wanted to graduate and be a good nurse helping people, with something to give back for a change instead of just wishing for it and that got me through - just pure determination - no way was I going to fail any course - my attitude was 'Just do it! Do anything, but don't fail!'

P.S. at my facility is is strictly forbidden to make copies of anything - chart pages, MARs, Kardex pages. Also, I made a schedule table and posted it at the nurses station of which patients on the floor are scheduled for finger sticks and when because they are all stacked on different days and times and it takes a 1/2 hour to go through the Medexes every day and rewrite down the schedule for myself. But the manager ripped it up and said I am not allowed to do that because it violates HIPPA - which is ridiculous. It is also ridiculous they haven't switched to computerized documentation yet.

I think the biggest mistake we make is blaming ourselves before we realize that hey... we are rushed and thrown in there without proper training or the benefit of modern tools like computerized documentation or checklists to help us since, hey! - we are only human, and then we get blamed and made to feel stupid and as if we are failures. To hell with preceptors who are irresponsible or just plain evil and to hell with facliities who do not support us or train us well. Putting pressure on you to be an experienced nurse in 3 months - or in my case when you start on day 1 is just plain stupid and irresponsible. It is NOT your fault. The best way to fight back is to stick together and participate in forums and share tips and tricks. And remember - the facility and your preceptors will blame you rather than take responsibility or be understanding. That's their game so we should have our game ready - they have experience, they are responsible for you - do not let them lay the blame on you - stand up for yourself and above all - be prepared at all times to slow down and think in small steps. If they rush you - tell them to back off and that any mistakes resulting from rushing you as a new nurse will be considered their error - don't let them push you around! You are not alone. Thousands of nurses have been in your shoes and the ones who say they never made a mistake ...I don't believe them. The current health care system is a big mistake waiting to happen and the "perfect people" make the system worse for us honest human people. - Durable

also, newgrad82, your state of california is not broke because of services for illegal aliens. that is racist crap and you shouldn't listen to it. that is such a fraction of the state budget which actually creates jobs and in no way does such allocated funds contribute to an economic disaster like the one we have now. california like a lot of other states is broke because the government entities (municipalities, townships, etc.) invest money with large investment banks or in the stock of large firms like enron that are run by greedy, out-of-control idiots, crazy incompetents who make up the bulk of our financial work force. the state of california has lost billions of dollars to charlatans and con artists because almost all of the american financial industry is full of charlatans and con artists. california, like other states, is losing federal funds because the federal government, the states, and any entity with money is strapped for cash because our banking and investment community were playing "home alone" and went wild with crazy investment and lending schemes so they could get rich quick - scary! and the u.s. government was not policing the financial industry though, clearly, they should. everyone is into making investment income, and everyone is dependent for investment income, even top dogs with lots to lose, on greedy crazy people. that's a simplified explanation but that is what it comes down to. your governor lost a lot of personal wealth. rich californians are not as rich as they were a few short months ago. it is very much like the great depression they said could never happen again. it is bad! in america, the rich get protections first and they will get bailed out before we do. sit tight, keep looking, and take a crappy job just for the experience before the good jobs come back. i took a job in a medicare/medicaid, bottom-rung nursing home, not my first choice, cause they were willing to hire a new grad. of course, the job is hell, but it pays okay - i like my patients, i look forward to caring for them - and it's better than sitting on your behind going nuts. hang in there - look for anything, temp work, off the beaten track stuff - home care agencies are now hiring new grads - if they won't train you take it anyway and ask us here for input and where to get the information you need to train yourself and we'll give it to you (or at least i will) things will get better, they always do and you will start working soon. it took me 7 months to get my first job and i'm from "the other coast". it isn't your fault. the economy is still tanking now and it may take you a bit longer but remember - it isn't you! it's the economy. hang in - we're rooting for you - you'll be alright. -durable

I think it's because even though there is a staff shortage, facilities don't hire, especially new nurses they have to train, when they are facing bad economic times. They give their experienced nurses impossible patient loads instead and force them to pretend they're superhuman. And if you don't pretend you are superhuman they tell you that you're incompetent. These are not nice people. In better economic times they still operate understaffed in order to make a higher profit. Training new nurses costs money cause you need extra staff to preceptor them (unless you throw them into working without training them like they did to me). And although facilities have a responsibility to train new nurses they shirk responsibility in favor of more money for themselves. I'm for nationalizing health care. Earning a high salary is nice but not so much fun when you have to worry about dangerous patient loads everyday. Health care facilities focusing on the wrong goals are as criminal as the banks and investment companies that created the current economy.

i agree with sshannon. while it isn’t anyone's business what you earn, the fact that a facility comes down hard on workers, and acts like it is a crime that you found out what one of your peers earns, tells me they are up to no good. like any business, health care and nursing can be cut-throat. of course if they can take advantage of a good employee with a good attitude and have them work harder and longer for less money they will do it. it is not honest nor is it good for business to keep employees in the dark about facts which impact their career. it is not good to take advantage or short change employees nor is it good for business to be just plain sneaky and dishonest. a good facility doesn't need to pit nurses against each other. and of course they know that eventually, no matter what policy they have, employees will find out by accident sometimes that salary and benefits are not standard - and they should be for employees in the same position and experience! personally i think management is the "enemy" and i never trust them. i also don't think doughertyz should leave unless a better position has been found and accepted. cool off and think - don't let them control you and your emotions. being gainfully employed in this economy is the most important thing. then think of ways to find out why there is a pay discrepancy. i found out new nurses were getting car service pay while i was not, on the same shift. i have to calm down for a few days before i pursue some information cause that really made me angry and i'd like to give them a piece of my mind but i refuse to lose control so...i have to calm down.

Hi Sue - Metropolitan Jewish Geriatric Center - Thanks!

No, you can't go to the sites without the clinical instructor and they don't go there the night before. Just your assigned day and hours at clinicals.

Hi, The class sizes vary. My class was 60 people but the ones before and after were closer to 40 people. They don't place as much importance on the GPA as other schools. Of course a high one helps but if you are form the community, or if you have a history of working in community based non-profit efforts or a social work background they'll love that. They want to see that you are community minded. Also, if you have any past experience volunterring that helps or even working in health care. It would help to have a track record to tie you to your present goal of getting an accelerated BSN. The program is hard - it's demanding - even if you are good academically it's hard in other ways - i.e. administrative red tape. The clinicals are mostly in Brooklyn, but community health clinical could be in Manhattan or Queens. Hopes this helps. - Durable

Hi Guys! I'm a new BSN grad who spent months job searching and finally, I got an offer from Metropolitan Jewish at a nursing home. The pay is okay not great and the job discription is like 10 pages long and includes heavy duty supervisory/nurse manager responsibilities. Plus they mentioned a sign on bonus before I accepted the job and after I accepted the bonus turns out to be payable after like 10 years of service. You can't take vacation for 6 months and benefits dont start right away. I have a few days of freedom left and I get a call for an interview at Calvary in Lutheran Hospital. Anyone know who pays better? Who has a better work environment, which one treats their nurses better? I don't know anything about either place, MJGC interviewed me but didnt let me tour the facility. Anyone with info on these two employers please post here! Thanks guys - Durable

Hi Guys, Well I'm in the same boat. Just got my license, it's been a long rough road. I'm a registered nurse with a BSN - I'm broke and in debt and I can't find a job. I'm in New York City and you have to be perfect and made out of gold to get into a residency program to get the first year's experience. The hospitals are packed with new nurse grads it seems. I'm 50 years old and fit - I'm mature but not an old lady - but the hiring managers barely acknowledge that I'm there. The candidates who get in are young and cute and I am so worried I feel sick. I've only been looking for 2 weeks but it just looks bad out there. So far I've been to a few open houses - have an interview at a home care agency - not much going on out there at all - I'm shocked - this is not what they told us to expect while I was in school. If I have to I'll move out of state but I am really annoyed after struggling to get through school and putting up with a lot for 5 years (part of that spent working full time while in school) I did not expect to feel so out in the cold. If anyone is hanging around give a shout out. Thanks for listening to me babble. - Durable.