nurse901

Oh and to add to the above the Magnet hospitals hire primarily BSN prepared nurses . The only difference of an ADN vs. BSN are just a few management classes and community health . There are no major RN classes /clinicals being taken out of the ADN curriculum . I have my BSN and some of the best nurses I work with are ADN . It boggles my mind when a hospital turns down an exceptional RN who has great experience just because he/she has an ADN. Then they hire a new grad BSN instead just because they have a BSN. Experience is more valuable then the letters . Nothing against new grads at all (I recently was one and it's tough out there.) My venting comes from very experienced nurses voicing their frustration over not being hired because of their degree , even with many years of great experience .

I took a job at another hospital because it was Magnet . Previous hospital was not Magnet. Honestly , after working at a Magnet for 4 years now I do believe it's just for show . I really enjoy my job , especially cause of my co -workers but in terms of increased RN satisfaction, pay etc... I would say it really lacks . Our turn over is very high! If Magnet really is what the hospital says it is then I certainly would see a way better staff retention or at least a plan for it .

Hi Crystal , I just logged in today and saw your post . Reading about your current situation brought me back to 2009 post graduation . I remember the many months of frustration and frankly feeling depressed because of no places hiring new grads and nurse being laid off. 200+ apps and 5 months later I finally got a job . We barely were making it month to month but some how we did . I say this to you cause there is hope . I know it may not seem like it but keep plugging away and eventually you will get something . In the meantime spend as much time with your family and try to do fun things too . Hang in there! Good luck and God Bless. I'm here to give you encouragement and support .

Hi Franco81, I worked at PSL for a few years 2009-2011. Hopefully I can give you some helpful information. If you are considering NICU then PSL is the best in the Denver area. PSL has a good reputation in the community for their NICU. Now granted I haven't been at PSL since 2011 but at that time most of the nurses were not too fond of the administration there. That being said, I found that the majority of the nursing staff were very friendly and helpful. I started as a new grad so that says alot. One of my friends recently had a baby on the L&D unit there. The unit is very sterile looking, non-inviting. They take high risk so you get good experience but the unit needs a major update. Swedish Hospital on the other hand was just recently renovated and is a beautiful unit. They also take high risk. I had my daughter there recently and had EXCELLENT care. The nurses that I had were fantastic. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Hello everyone, My family and I are thinking about moving to Des Moine next year. I have been an RN mostly in ICu for 5 years. How is the job situation in Des Moine and surrounding areas? Alot of lay offs? What are the patient ratios? All the info you have is greatly appreciated. Thank you. Jillian

Angel-RN1, I am not sure if you will get this message because it's about a month late. You wrote me a message regarding an offer you received from Vanderbilt after being placed on the waitlist. I wanted to Congratulate you on the news. That is fantastic. I just looked on this website because I was curious if someone had received an offer because I declined the position. I am so happy to hear the great news. It seems to have worked out for the both of us. YAY!!!!!!!! Good luck at Vanderbilt. I am sure you will love it.

Hello everyone..thanks for all your comments. This is such a great supportive thread we have going here. I wish you all good luck on your future careers. Please keep us all updated.

Hey Everyone, I received a job offer for the Critical Care track at Vanderbilt on Tuesday:)It was a true blessing to receive this e-mail. I am writing this to the people that were placed on a waiting list to give you all some hope. I understand how discouraging it can be to go through this process but to not be selected. I just received a job offer elsewhere (a few weeks ago) and therefore will not be accepting the position for the job at Vanderbilt. This means that I am giving up my spot so therefore someone on the waiting list will be able to take it. I hope that gives someone a glimmer of hope. I am sorry for all the people that were denied a spot for the residency program or will not be asked to be placed from the wait list into the program. I want to give you all encouragement during this difficult time. I was one of the last people from my graduating class to actually get a job so I understand how depressing and frustrating it can be when it feels like everyone is getting a job but you. Good luck to all of you and remember to keep up the hope.

Hi Beza2006!!!!! I would not completely go off of that information because no one really knows how it works. I received 75 questions as well and thankfully passed the test. It is a computer adaptive test so I am not sure if it makes a difference how you answer the last question. I received alot of drug questions too so maybe that is a good sign. Good luck to you and try not to think about it too much. We all try to analyze the test to figure it out but try not to as I am sure it will probably make you go nuts.

She did tell me that during the 6 weeks of rotation you have two classroom days and two clinical days on the floor.

One of my friends just went through the Summer 2009 program but I have not been able to get a hold of her to ask her some of these questions. As far as I know you go through the rotation period and then you pick your top three. The managers take your top three choices and then try to place you in one of those areas. However I am not sure what they do if they don't think you fit in one of your top three areas. I definitely would not want to be placed in an area in which I would not enjoy working. I will let you know if I hear back from my friend. Last time I talked to her she raved about the program. She said it's a great place to work.

Thanks everyone for the information. I was a little confused about how the placement works. Just to clarify.... for those 6 weeks of rotation do we go through all of the adult areas?? Critical Care alone has about seven units so does that mean if you chose Critical Care as your first choice then you go through the seven areas or do you also go through the Med/surg areas as well. I just want to make sure I understand it. Thanks so much for your help.

Hello S_Jones85 and Paintingskies!!! I have my interview in a few weeks and I am so nervous. Do either of you know if they will allow someone to go to another track if they are not selected for their first one?? I also applied for the Critical Care track but would be willing to do another track if the Critical Care one is filled up fast. They are interviewing 200 applicants which is so scary. Any advice???

That is very sweet of you:) My parents gave me a beautiful Litman Stethoscope with my name engraved and RN following it when I graduated this past May. It was an awesome gift to receive. I don't think its that big of a deal to have RN after it since no one else can really see it. The problem is if she loses it then people are going to look for a nurse with that name. It may be better to get her this gift once she graduates. Also maybe there is a way that you can get it engraved after she receives her RN. Try to look into the store Things Remembered. I don't know if you are aware of that store or if they have one in your area but they do engaving services. Good luck

SJonesRN...thanks for posting your experience of the interview. Wow that is alot of people being interviewed. Hopefully they will be able to take most of us. The information was very helpful. Good luck to you. Glad it went well.