wabashcannon

I didn't do so well on the Teas, but I got into an RN program at my local community college anyway. It wasn't really hard at all. I just studied off of the Teas book they sold at the school bookstore. When I took the test, I had been out of school for two years. My strongest area was in English because I've an English degree from my previous life. Scored quite low in math and science to be honest...down in the 80s, I believe, and I'm probably being generous. Just study hard. Mind you, a lot derives from common sense, so if you've got that, you've already got an advantage. Good luck.

Hello there. Thanks for your help and insight. Lemme ramble on a bit again, just to clarify... I've had three interviews thus far: one at a nursing home, then a psych hospital, and lastly at a NICU unit that's only three, btw OK, the nursing home interview went pretty bad...I knew it myself that I wasn't showing as much enthusiasm as I could have, but bear in mind, this was my very first nursing interview and I was quite stupid then (heh, just a few months ago and taking things for granted too). As they were describing the position, I admit I was really turned off...it just seemed like I wouldn't be able to handle the workload and that there wouldn't be much training or support either...so I think I did betray my feelings in that interview. OK. That's one. Second interview at psych hospital, I think, went alright in terms of my performance. I did show enthusiasm and interest and the interviewer seemed for the most part to be receptive to my answers. She did comment in the middle of the interview however that I "looked young"...and asked me how I would be able to control my staff and clients with my appearance being so "young"...and I'm not even that young. Now, I know that that is not an unreasonable question to ask, but I do think now that her eventual reason for not hiring me was based on just what she said, as well as experience, economy, and luck...but anyways, that's not to say I broke during the interview just cause of that, but I do think she betrayed some of her feelings. So, as absurd as it sounds, maybe I was not imposing enough for her...or more realistically, not "adult" enough and that could mean many things. Oh well. OK, third interview, I think was my best. I got interviewed by two people, and was even told afterwards by one of the ladies who interviewed me that I did great. I even got a tour around the unit...so the whole process took about 2 hours. There was really no reason they shouldn't have hired me except for the factors I mentioned above...those which are I guess, of my control: economy, experience, luck. Thinking back however, the only bad feeling I get from the interview was from the nurse who gave me the tour around the unit. I know this sounds lame too, but I just got the feeling she didn't think I'd fit. These things happen, I know, and I didn't write all this to make excuses for myself. I just don't think it was my dreary persona doing most of the damage. And I have lots of experience in interviews, especially in high end retail, and if anything, those jobs may be crappy, but there they really care about personality and appearance to the point where it makes a nursing interview seem almost laid back in some aspects. Nonetheless, I'll definitely try to improve myself for the future. Just need to get some more interviews.

Thanks. BTW, I do know some people I graduated w/ who are working in some of the hospitals I've mentioned, but they do usually advertise that they are looking for BSNs. I did apply to some HHC hospitals, bellevue, jacobi, etc...I will look into those hospitals that you mentioned. Nursing home...well, I've applied to only three so far...I got one interview, was rejected there. Just visited one today, and couldn't get past the front desk, though they did give me an application to fill out.

Oh man, good luck on your NCLEX. After graduation, I studied for about 3 months, hard time at the library, mainly w/ my Saunders review book to guide me along my dense pile of notes. It never came naturally to me, but the one thing I had going for me was a lot of time. Good luck.

Thank you. Agreed, it's very difficult to "fake" all that confidence and what not...but I think in that department I've been doing alright, at least when it comes to interviews. I've worked retail for some time and I surely know how to act peppy when I need to. Anyways, when the main reason for not being hired is the economy...that surely is a hopeless feeling....not to end on a downer.

Thanks for the tip. I have a very hard time, however, speaking to the folks at Human Resources. They just act like they have no interest in you. Even when I go to their office in person, nurse recruiters are usually off limits. At least that has been my experience.

Hi there. I'm actually in Westchester, so from here, the commute to NYC is about 40 minutes from the train. I've heard of one person who got a job in NYC...but then again, I don't keep in touch w/ too many people from school. Oh yes, can't relocate cause I haven't enough money.

AH ha ha ha. That's crazy. I crochet too. All the time actually. Lots of antique bags right now. I learned it about 10 years ago and I pick it up from time to time, especially when things get rough.

This may be redundant cause I posted a similar thread some time ago, but here goes. I graduated from an ADN program last May, got my license in the beginning of September...I've been applying to lots of places and still no job. No I never envisioned that 8 months after graduation, I'd be unemployed...that I'd be seen as such a big burden, a useless tool. I feel like crap. I don't wanna call up people I've graduated with cause I don't even think they'll understand. I've already been told that I'm lazy...and well, that may as well be, when you're unemployed. I've no experience as a nurse or even a tech so I don't even think I could call myself a nurse. I certainly don't see myself as a nurse cause really I'm not. My confidence is down the drain...and it's always been low, but it's getting lower. Anyways, these are all the hospitals I've applied to so far: White Plains Hospital, Westchester Medical Center, St. Vincent's, Lawrence, Dobbs Ferry, Riverside, Montefiore, Phelps, 4 Winds, Hebrew Home, Sarah Neuman, Mount Sinai Queens, Downtown Hospital in Manhattan, Coler-Goldwater, Bellevue, Jacobi, United Hebrew Geriatric Center, Northern Westchester, St. Joseph's ...and there's probably more. And I have no preference and am willing to work anywhere. What do I have to do, apply to a prison next? Is this not enough? Obviously not. I guess I could always apply some more, I know that. To some places, I've applied more than once, just so I could remind them of ol' me, still out there, lurking in the shadows...I know sometimes they don't like this, but it's worth a try, right? Anyways, I've had only 3 interviews. Out of the three interviews, I've only been notified once and that was via a rejection letter in the mail---and , I had called these guys who sent me the letter twice for some feedback some time after the interview, but they never even bothered to call me back and all I was expecting from them was for them to humor me with some BS about my lack of qualifications or what not. Really, I don't know what to do. Most of the times, when I apply for a position, I've done so online and that's usually what HR tells me to do. I also notice that when I go directly to HR, they don't seem interested at all. I'm lucky if I get a full sentence out of them. I must have been very naive when I was in school or uninterested...I never really looked into jobs before graduation cause I didn't think it would be this difficult and of course all the faculty members in school would say "Oh you will get a job after graduation, no doubt about it. If you graduate our program, you will be employed." And I guess that's partly true...most people I graduated with do have jobs. I just don't get it. There must be something I'm doing wrong. I know the big factor is economy as well as luck. I know they hire you if they have the means and are willing, but there must be something I am lacking or doing wrong. Am I not being aggressive enough? Am I being too high brow? Should I just try to be a nurse tech or something...but then they're just gonna tell me, "You're a nurse, why are you applying for tech position?" or "We don't hire RNs as techs, why don't you go for a real position?" (I did have a dream that I got hired at a hospital, but it was as a laundrywoman, and they were providing extensive training). Should I try to get in touch with an agency? I spoke to one, but they seemed very hesitant about taking in a new grad. Just don't know how I am supposed to break into this field. Maybe it was never meant to be. I know this sounds sorry assed, but I'm regretting the whole experience, the loss of time. The truth is, I never wanted to be a nurse in the first place, but I put myself into it cause I never thought I would amount to anything. A sorry comment again, I know, but I'm just being honest. Just did it for the money and to have a stable career, and I'm sure I'm not alone here. Muscled my way through school...even though I hated every bit of it...the only thing I could find agreeable about it was that I would eventually be doing work that is meaningful and honest. I have a history of depression too, and of course it got worse during school. What contributed to it wasn't the nature of nursing school itself, but the stress it produced. Once I was bedridden for days because I couldn't cope anymore. OK. The whole experience has been pretty bad. I'll still be looking for work of course. Please offer some tips, advice, anything that might help. Thanks for reading this long thing. Think I've been dumb.

This may be redundant cause I posted a similar thread some time ago, but here goes. I graduated from an ADN program last May, got my license in the beginning of September...I've been applying to lots of places and still no job. No I never envisioned that 8 months after graduation, I'd be unemployed...that I'd be seen as such a big burden, a useless tool. I feel like crap. I don't wanna call up people I've graduated with cause I don't even think they'll understand. I've already been told that I'm lazy...and well, that may as well be, when you're unemployed. I've no experience as a nurse or even a tech so I don't even think I could call myself a nurse. I certainly don't see myself as a nurse cause really I'm not. My confidence is down the drain...and it's always been low, but it's getting lower. Anyways, these are all the hospitals I've applied to so far: White Plains Hospital, Westchester Medical Center, St. Vincent's, Lawrence, Dobbs Ferry, Riverside, Montefiore, Phelps, 4 Winds, Hebrew Home, Sarah Neuman, Mount Sinai Queens, Downtown Hospital in Manhattan, Coler-Goldwater, Bellevue, Jacobi, United Hebrew Geriatric Center, Northern Westchester, St. Joseph's ...and there's probably more. And I have no preference and am willing to work anywhere. What do I have to do, apply to a prison next? Is this not enough? Obviously not. I guess I could always apply some more, I know that. To some places, I've applied more than once, just so I could remind them of ol' me, still out there, lurking in the shadows...I know sometimes they don't like this, but it's worth a try, right? Anyways, I've had only 3 interviews. Out of the three interviews, I've only been notified once and that was via a rejection letter in the mail---and , I had called these guys who sent me the letter twice for some feedback some time after the interview, but they never even bothered to call me back and all I was expecting from them was for them to humor me with some BS about my lack of qualifications or what not. Really, I don't know what to do. Most of the times, when I apply for a position, I've done so online and that's usually what HR tells me to do. I also notice that when I go directly to HR, they don't seem interested at all. I'm lucky if I get a full sentence out of them. I must have been very naive when I was in school or uninterested...I never really looked into jobs before graduation cause I didn't think it would be this difficult and of course all the faculty members in school would say "Oh you will get a job after graduation, no doubt about it. If you graduate our program, you will be employed." And I guess that's partly true...most people I graduated with do have jobs. I just don't get it. There must be something I'm doing wrong. I know the big factor is economy as well as luck. I know they hire you if they have the means and are willing, but there must be something I am lacking or doing wrong. Am I not being aggressive enough? Am I being too high brow? Should I just try to be a nurse tech or something...but then they're just gonna tell me, "You're a nurse, why are you applying for tech position?" or "We don't hire RNs as techs, why don't you go for a real position?" (I did have a dream that I got hired at a hospital, but it was as a laundrywoman, and they were providing extensive training). Should I try to get in touch with an agency? I spoke to one, but they seemed very hesitant about taking in a new grad. Just don't know how I am supposed to break into this field. Maybe it was never meant to be. I know this sounds sorry assed, but I'm regretting the whole experience, the loss of time. The truth is, I never wanted to be a nurse in the first place, but I put myself into it cause I never thought I would amount to anything. A sorry comment again, I know, but I'm just being honest. Just did it for the money and to have a stable career, and I'm sure I'm not alone here. Muscled my way through school...even though I hated every bit of it...the only thing I could find agreeable about it was that I would eventually be doing work that is meaningful and honest. I have a history of depression too, and of course it got worse during school. What contributed to it wasn't the nature of nursing school itself, but the stress it produced. Once I was bedridden for days because I couldn't cope anymore. OK. The whole experience has been pretty bad. I'll still be looking for work of course. Please offer some tips, advice, anything that might help. Thanks for reading this long thing. Think I've been dumb.

I hear you. I graduated the same time you did and live in westchester county. Got my license in beginning of Sept. Still no job. I've applied to almost all the major hospitals in my area, and not just once.

i live in NY. Close to NYC. as yes, i would relocate if given the opportunity.

I graduated last May and got my license in August. Been applying for jobs for the last 4 months...or have I? I don't even know anymore. Only got 2 interviews...still don't have a job. I'm willing to work anywhere. I don't even have a preference anymore. I'll be your slave if you want me to. Want me to work in psych? I'll do it. Want me to work in geriatrics? Here I come. Maybe I haven't been forceful enough in my job hunt, but I know that they will hire me if they want and need to, and as a new nurse with no experience, there's not much I can do to persuade them. Anyways, this month, I've kind of cooled off on the nursing job search and I've gone back to my element: applying for minimum wage retail jobs...and even they won't hire me, though I have retail experience (course I always leave out the fact that I graduated nursing school, and downplay my BA in English...cause they just assume with more degrees come more options...and you'd never wanna seem overqualified...what a load of crock). I feel like I'm worse off than before I entered school. At least then I had some spare change in my pocket...I bought a ball of yarn two days ago and I felt guilty as hell. I know the economy is horrible right now, but what the hell? Am I doing something wrong? What happened to the nursing shortage they kept hyping up in school? Everyone told me I'd be employed once I got out of school and got my license. Course I was skeptical even then, cause I've always had hard luck in the "job market," but never thought it would get this ugly. Just don't get it. It would truly be a happy Christmas if only Michaels Arts and Crafts store hired me.

...that doesn't require a lot of nurse client interaction? I know this sounds dumb, but I'm known to be and generally perceived as a quiet person so interaction and communication is an obstacle for me.

What is the minimum amount of nursing experience needed before getting into forensics nursing and could anyone suggest a good area to work in before specializing in forensics???