fsv1024

HI everyone! I'm about to complete my first year as an RN and I would like to update my resume. I'm looking to apply to higher acuity units so I'm not sure if I should altogether delete the internships and clinicals from nursing school. Any advice? I'm also having trouble filling out the objective portion. Anyone out there good with resumes or know of a website with really good examples? Thank you!!

Hi everyone! I'm a new nurse (working in both surgical/trauma and med surg for several months) but with plenty of medical experience prior to nursing (I've worked at a cancer institute and an ed for several years prior to this since nursing is my second career). I've gone on several medical mission trips and my goal is to eventually apply to work with Doctor's Without Borders (unfortunately one needs 2 or so years experience in order to apply). However, I'm really interested in going again but now as an rn. My main setback is that I can't really afford to spend the money I've spent in the past. Does anyone know of any organizations that charge a reasonable fee to volunteer and who wouldn't mind sharing a bit of their experience? Thank you!

I'm still orienting and during the first week that I switched to the night shift I had my very first rapid response and first code--in one night. The next night I had my second rapid response and second code. What a week!!! The codes were handled excellently by the staff and I was really proud of the team on my floor. I was able to get in there, start compressions and help out as best as possible even though it may not have been much. I admit I still felt useless even though I was able to lend a hand. I wish I'd known a few things. I was told to hang up a bag of saline "wide open". I felt like the biggest moron for not realizing this meant that I should take it out of the iv pump and let it run on its own. I'd never heard of this before! Thankfully I did as I was told and asked one of the experienced nurses what that meant. Still, in a chaotic setting this just seems like a nuisance. Anyone have any pieces of advice or any other tid bits of info that would be helpful in case I experience my 3rd code in the near future? I'm crossing my fingers that it won't happen anytime soon!

Hi everyone! I'm in NJ for this week and I wanted to look for a comfortable pair of white pants to go with the scrubs I have. Does anyone know of any good places in Northern NJ (Bergen County area)? Thanks!

Sorry to hear that Dawn! I know it must be frustrating. What state/ area do you live in ?

I figured I'd ask. A few of my friends and I were chatting about this: Do you keep your nursing shoes in your car, bring them into your home, or clean them after a shift?

Unless you're forced to sign a contract for a year - I would very much start the clinic job and keep looking for a hospital job in the meanwhile!! What part of NJ are you from? I'm from JErsey myself although I now live elsewhere.

Also forgot to ask.. How are you liking the ultrascope you purchased? I was considering getting that rather than littman. However, everyone seems to say its best to try different stethoscopes prior to purchasing.

Thank you very much! Everyone has been very helpful. ITs funny but you're the second person to mention different colored pens. I hate to sound dense but what did you change colors for? Anything particularly important that is escaping my mind? My preceptor and I would carry out own pen (regardless of color) and often everyone would just steal them from the nurses' station :)

Hi everyone! What is the difference between the Littman Lightweight SE II and the SE II? Is it just that one weighs less than the other?

Thank you! Yes we were given a stethoscope in nursing school but it certainly wasn't a quality one! It is pretty much along the quality of the disposable ones you put together that some hospitals have in their supply rooms in case a nurse forgets or in case they need it for the isolation rooms. I know Littman is a good brand but I'm not sure if I need to shell out for the really expensive one or if the basic will work just fine. I'll keep the pens in mind! Thanks! :)

I really hope that you DO NOT give up! You spent so much time and effort into getting your degree and I promise you that your experience is NOT the norm. There will be good/bad in the future... of course... but I do hope that you continue on and try to obtain a position in another facility before giving up on nursing. Have you tried hospitals in your area?

Hi everyone!! I just took the nclex, passed and can now officially begin my job in about two weeks! I'll be working on Medical floor and floating to a surgical floor eventually. Does anyone have any advice for things that I'll need to buy before starting? I have the scrubs down.. I have NO idea on what stethoscope to purchase.... support hose? Anything else anyone would suggest that I'm forgetting? Watch? Thanks!

I took the nclex on the 17th and I just received mine in the mail about two days ago. So they were rather quick (surprisingly!). Congrats to you all!

Hi Happy day ! Thanks for mentioning this. I just received my new license in the mail (I passed the nclex last week) and my birthday is in October. I just noticed that the license will expire then and so I practically need to start applying for a new one next month! This is rather silly. So are you saying that I must obtain another finger print/background check etc??

Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone could share a little bit about their experience at Suburban Hospital particularly their new grad program? As a soon to be new nurse there-- please feel free to share any advice or tidbits that may be helpful! Thank you!

NY dreamer ..that doesn't mean anything. It usually takes longer than 24 hours to show up on the BON. Every state is different. Mine showed up exactly 48 hours after i took the exam.. the same time that the pearson vue website had the quick results ready. So I skipped out on paying the 8 dollars and just looked at the BON website.

But are ultracopes really good stethescopes? I'm a new grad and am in the market to buy one. I know nothing about which to get! However, I was hoping to get one that would be easy to spot if it did get lost :)

You're welcome!! I know it can be daunting as I mentioned before. I recall sitting in front of my computer screen and seeing one particular hospital's job openings. This one in particular had several jobs available. However, next to each one in big fat red letters it said "EXPERIENCED NURSES ONLY. NO NEW GRADUATES". I honestly thought I'd be jobless after seeing that! :) If you're relocating, I'd suggest you contact the nursing recruiter for each hospital you're looking at. Tell them that you're relocating, the date, and keep in touch. If you can't get a hold of any or if they redirect you to their website I'd suggest you making it clear that you're relocating (and the date you plan on moving) on your cover letter. Best of luck to you!

I'm pretty sure the "trick" works Its most likely less a trick then it is just common sense but since it isn't proven its tough to believe it! Plus you don't want to get your hopes up either since nothing is official at that point! However, I'd like to be yet another person in this 960+ thread to say that it worked for me! I took the exam on Thursday, June 17th, received only 75 questions and of course I firmly believed that I'd utterly FAILED. I gained the courage to try the PV site and wasn't allowed to register again. So I received the "good pop up". Two days later I woke up and rather than going to the PV site to see (& pay) for my quick results, I went to the Board of Nursing website and the license showed up next to my name! This was free and came up at the same time that the quick results were supposed to so I'd strongly suggest that those in states that post relatively quickly try this out and save themselves the 8 or so dollars to buy a margarita and celebrate! So the "trick" worked and I passed the exam with 75 questions! Good Luck to everyone who recently took the exam, to those who just passed and are to begin their new career and to those that already practicing because its a challenging (though rewarding) career!

Hi there. I would strongly suggest you go for a BSN program rather than an ADN program. I have absolutely nothing against an ADN program however so don't get me wrong. The reason I suggest this is that I was in your shoes and it makes more sense to go the BSN route specially when you already have a previously bachelors degree and can apply for an accelerated BSN program. If you want to go for a CRNA program you'll need to complete your bachelors beforehand anyhow so I would strongly suggest you go straight for the highest degree you can get at this time. Also, the person that posted above is correct regarding hospitals now making a point to try and encourage nurses to go for their BSN degrees and are preferring to hire BSN prepared nurses. You'll come to learn that this is a huge debate in the nursing community. You will encounter amazing ADN nurses at almost every hospital (they comprise the majority of rns out there!) but some hospitals are now leaning towards hiring bsn prepared nurses over ADN. I would suggest the ADn and then the bridge program for someone who doesn't have a previously bachelors and doesn't have the money or the time to complete a bachelors degree at the time. However for you, already holding a Bachelors degree, it makes more sense to get your BSN degree because you're eligible for the accelerated BSN. I have a BA is Psychology and I made the decision a little over a year ago to go for nursing. There are 12 month and 16 month accelerated BSN programs. I believe some of the ADN programs around my area take about the same time to complete. So it made no sense to come out with an ADN degree instead of a BSN for approximately the same amount of time. I would take your prereqs as soon as possible and get them out of the way. Look carefully at some schools and see what their prereqs are. For me it was a toss up between two schools in my area... one had more prereqs than the other and they were both equally strong programs. So you may not need to complete extra courses if you don't need to. Also pay attention to the passing rate for the programs you are looking into. Mine kept stressing that their passing rate was around 97% I believe.. and I didn't think this important until we I took my nclex recently. Lets just say that no one in my class has failed the nclex the first time around (yet at least) and it made me realize we were well prepared going in. Also... if you're looking to work while studying, which is incredibly difficult to do in an accelerated bsn (until perhaps your last semester depending on the courses) then you are eligible to work as a CNA after you've completed your first or second semester. I don't recall the exact details but you have to complete your first round of clinicals and some particular beginning level nursing courses. Each state differs of course. If you have any questions I'd be more than happy to answer them for you! Feel free to pm me anytime. Best of luck!

Hi there! I'm from DC and just moved to Virginia (rent is cheaper!) although I'm in the Arlington area. I just graduated in May and I understand your concern about being hired as a new grad. There are plenty of opportunities even though it can be daunting. Almost everyone in my class has been hired even though we were all concerned about it due to the talk of hiring freezes at certain hospitals and the few positions available for new grads. Either way... it just takes a ton of application submissions and faith that it'll come around! I wouldn't be too overly concerned!! You may also want to apply in surrounding areas.. I'll have to travel about 20 minutes to Maryland for my job but its worth it. If you have any questions feel free to ask me and I'd be happy to help :) Good luck!!:)

Help!! I'm slightly confused. I haven't checked Pearson Vue BUT I did check the BON website. My name is up with the title REGISTERED NURSE. HOWEVER.... I don't have a license number. It says 'pending'. Underneath that it has a checklist with information and one of the things says: passed exam completed CHRC background pending Discipline pending Does anyone have any idea what this means? I believe its not giving me my license number due to my background check. I'm pretty sure its clear since I just had one completed one for my job this past month. I had to complete a background check outside of my bon state and send it in separately so I believe that may have something to do with it. Does anyone know if they would even post the "REGISTERED NURSE" title on the BON website if you did not pass the exam? THanks!

Good question! I took it on Thursday as well and now I'm wondering if we'll have to wait until Monday. At this point then I'll simply wait until the BON posts it for free! Its a horrible wait though so I understand :)

hi Neelia, Oh goodness. Don't worry about being the first or last You made it, didn't give up and that is all that matters!:yeah:If you can put this into practice as a nurse then you're going to be amazing since we want women/men that are dedicated to the profession! Good luck on the job hunt! Its a good idea to wait until after the nclex is over (i'll explain in a few seconds why I think this!) You'll find one in no time!!! I actually just took the exam yesterday morning and am in the midst of trying to make it through the remaining 24 hours! Its quite brutal . I'm equally nervous because I signed a contract at a hospital just two days ago and my job offer is contingent upon passing. So although I'm incredibly thankful to have the offer I'm also even more nervous to receive the results. The exam is tough and I honestly must say that I thought I was well prepared and felt confident going in. Going out .. completely different story!! None of the questions from the study guides I used were close to the nclex. I always felt they were easier and indeed they were. The ATI exam was pretty on par in my opinion with the difficulty level of the nclex. I never took the Kaplan prep course but I did take a 180 question exam from a cdrom a friend had and those were also pretty helpful. Either way... I was in complete shock when my computer screen shut off at 75 questions. I can't sit here and honestly tell you I felt confident about any of my responses to the questions. I was always able to narrow it down to two answers for the direct questions. However, I had about 12-15 SATAs and those were horrendous. Even my pharm questions were SATA formatted! Here is to hoping that the trick works because I tried it yesterday and today and the good pop up keeps appearing. You said you tried it as well and it worked for you?