bluechick112

I was hired in March in to a new grad program in California in heme/onc. So far, I love it! It has the tendency to be very emotional, which can be just as hard as the physical work. A very rewarding field to be in, though. Glad it's where I'm starting out :)

Good luck to all who are interviewing!I was hired in the last cohort, and I believe the available units are different each time around depending on funding. For us, we had positions in oncology, neurology, cardiology, and orthopedic units. It's a wonderful program with awesome support at an outstanding facility.Best of luck everyone!

I was a VALOR student in the bay area and am here to offer my 2 cents. The VALOR program was a life-changing experience. I learned all of my IV skills through this program as well as fundamental nursing skills while gaining independence. I was able to get in to a very prestigious new graduate residency program in the bay area less than 2 months after graduating, so I think it really aids in the post-graduation job hunt. Best of luck to all the existing and future VALOR students! :)

Hi nurs1ng, I was hired in to a new grad program in the bay area a couple months after graduating nursing school. I didn't have the most outstanding GPA (I think somewhere between a 3.75-3.80), and I wasn't licensed at the time of application or interview yet either. I think there are a few things that helped my application get through: 1) I reorganized my resume and formatted it differently from the typical formatting that everyone else uses. 2) I had an internship as well as worked in a hospital as a tech for 3 years, so I really highlighted that on my resume as well as my volunteer work 3) I really took time answering essay questions and taking the 100 question survey during the application. I put careful consideration in to everything I submitted. 4) I personalized every cover letter to the position I was applying for and really researched the organization and their mission statement and incorporated that into my application. Present yourself with confidence once you get that interview, and take time in practicing your interview answers so you feel more comfortable with stories you can provide. It is a tough, tough world out there right now, so sadly out-of-state opportunities may be something to look in to (although even that is difficult at this time). Best of luck! Try and keep positive.

I completed the VALOR program this month and I did not receive any questions in the application packet either. From what I understand, each VA varies greatly on the application/interview process for this program and one cannot be compared to the other because of the substantial differences.Best of luck!

Best of luck, everyone! I saw another thread that said people had their interviews scheduled a couple of weeks ago! Yeesh. I'm curious how many people applied since I received an e-mail that over 1,100 people applied to Scripps!

I also applied and was told to send the application, unofficial transcripts, a resume, cover letter, and letters of reference! However, a friend of mine applied with me and the lady she spoke with forgot to tell her to add all these extra materials and when I called, she asked me to relay the information to my friend as well. I applied late in the game and didn't have copies of letters of reference handy, so I doubt I'll get it. Best of luck to everyone!

I'm in SF bay area and I know it's offered in Martinez, Oakland and Sacramento. I'm fairly certain it's offered in palo alto as well, although I'm not positive. The program is wonderful. I've started so many IVs I've lost count, given injections, passed meds, done IV push meds (which we aren't allowed to do during school at my university), recovered patients after surgery independently, etc. You really feel like you're functioning as a nurse and you learn A LOT!

Shoot me an email ([email protected]) and I'd love to answer any questions you may have. I love the program and highy recommend it!

Hi, they mail letters of denial and acceptance in the snail mail. I've received both so I can pretty safely say that a rejection or waitlist notification come in regular sized envelopes and an acceptance letter comes in a big 8.5x11 envelope. I can't honestly say if they waited for my final grades since I don't remember what the time sequence was there, but I think the way they do it is offer an acceptance and they can withdraw it if you fail a class or something... Good luck!

I know for our VALOR program in California, we are required to do 400 hours over the summer plus 200 hours in the fall semester as well as 200 hours spring semester. This isn't optional for us; we are REQUIRED to do these hours. So even if you graduate in December, you need to do 200 hours in Spring under the VALOR program or the contract is void. I can't wait to start the program in June! I've been working at the VA as a student nurse for 2 years now and am very excited to transition into the VALOR program :) Good luck to everyone!!

Hey! I'm not sure how much I can help you as I never had to do a nursing school interview...but I have had to do several nursing internship interviews so I imagine they're probably quite similar. Questions you should prepare for are basic...Tell me about yourself. Why do you want to be a nurse? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Why do you want to attend this specific school? What makes you different from the rest of the applicants? Really make sure you practice basic interview questions like that because you don't want to get caught like a deer in headlights if you don't have a unique response prepared. Remember, they're asking everyone the exact same questions so you really need to do something that stands out. Try bringing thank you cards to the interview panel thanking them for taking the time to interview you. Good luck!

There are several scholarships that you can apply for in the nursing field. The Stafford loans are also very helpful (the school should give you a financial aid packet which will allow you to apply for these loans). I'd opt to take these loans vs private loans with banks because I've heard that some hospitals pay off (or pay some off) your stafford loans once they hire you, but not private.

Don't worry! My best advice is to apply to private schools or community colleges (if you don't mind getting an ADN before your BSN) since they don't seem to be as picky about GPA as the state schools are. Also, it seems like there's a better chance to get in if you apply for the spring entry instead of fall because there's less competition. I applied to a local private school for fall '09 and was placed on the waitlist. I received a letter saying I was #11 and actually ended up being #1 on that waitlist for that semester when no one else decided to drop out! That was discouraging, but I reapplied for spring 2010 and was accepted without being placed on a waitlist! :) Now I'm in my senior year of nursing school and couldn't be more ecstatic about it. Don't give up. Make sure you do all the things that give you extra points (like apply for a job in a hospital, volunteer, etc!) and do well on your entrance exam. There is always hope!

Well, that's a pretty bold statement considering, of course, the ease of juggling a job (whether full or part-time) with nursing school is clearly different to each individual. It's also dependent on how flexible your work schedule is and how work-intensive your job duties are. I can speak from personal experience now and for me, sharing my time between my part-time job and nursing school has been very difficult, especially during weeks of exams. I suppose it's also dependent on the individual's learning style. Some students go home and read chapter upon chapter each night in preparation for lectures the following day. Some put little to no effort into class day-to-day and leave everything until the nights before exams. Anyway, clearly this issue is dependent upon multiple factors and the ease of it varies greatly between individuals. I'd have to agree that Junior II is the most difficult time to work part-time. Junior I had a lot of down time between exams (2-3 weeks?) and work was easy during those times. However, our semester had every exam for every class in the same week, so those weeks of working and studying were very intense. Best of luck to everyone.

I know this is a little late for the topic, but I just wanted to say that at the hospital I work at, we highly value Samuel Merritt nursing students. From what I hear, SMU grads are highly regarded in the workforce and job outlook for them is very good :) If you can afford it, you might as well give it a go! The instructors at SMU are very well trained and have excellent teaching skills and will pass on very valuable information for nursing students.

I volunteered in an Emergency Room and did my CNA while I waited. However, if it's classes you're looking to take--I'd STRONGLY recommend taking a Pharmacology class to prepare you for Pharm in nursing school. Some schools even accept this undergrad Pharm class in place of their Pharm class which would really help you out stress-wise in nursing school. There are a lot of places that offer it online too, so it's convenient. If not, or if you've already taken it, I'd take medical terminology. There are a lot of places that offer this class online too. :) Hope this helps!

Hey! Actually I never ended up looking for a job as the only reason I did the Cna program was to increase my chances of getting in to nursing school. However I ended up getting in to nursing school and am currently in a bsn program so even if I wanted to work as a Cna, I don't have the time!!! :) the program I used was through nightingale nursing (there's one in San leandro and one in pleasant hill) and it was probably around $700 for everything. It was expedited too (2 months). However I heard there's a program in Martinez through Martinez adult education center that is teamed up with John muir so that the hospital will hire the top graduates of their Cna program if positions are available. Hopefully this helps!! Good luck!

I never took any Biology course prior to A&P. It was also "strongly recommended" at my school. There were people in my class who HAD taken Biology, and I did better than them! A&P is hard no matter what classes you take before it. Just keep up with class and you will do JUST FINE :)

Hey, I did my CNA course through Nightingale Nursing. There's one in Pleasant Hill and San Leandro. It was about $500, maybe $600 including the cost of white scrubs and supplies and it was only 3 months, 3-4 days a week (depending on the week). There's also one in Martinez that I heard about through Mt. Diablo Adult Education and they have a connection with John Muir and the top people in each class usually get hired at John Muir after they get certified! :) Hope this helps

That's such a good point--the volunteer experience! I did volunteer experience and a CNA course and I swear those were what pushed me into being accepted at the schools I applied to! Plus the experience looks good when you ultimately apply for your first job as an RN! :) Make sure to do that

Hm... I don't really know. I have a friend who had a 3.75 (she got a B in anatomy) and she didn't get in for spring 2010 but I did. I think it really just depends on the semester and the specific applicant pool that you're competing with. But most people, from what I've heard, apply to USF because they realize they have a 4.0 there since there's only 4 prereqs. A C+ in Physio would be accepted at SMU though if you're willing to take all the other prereqs to get in there! Let us know how you do.

Out of the 4 prerequisites (Anat/Micro/Physio/Psych) I had a 4.0 and my essay was pretty good too. It's very possible to get in to that program but be prepared to get in with 2 years of prerequisites under your belt and still have to wait around for atleast 4 more years doing their nursing program. If I were you I'd apply to other places that stick to a 2 year curriculum.

Apparently they've been doing this for a while. I've seen posts on here from other people who were warning me that I wouldn't start clinicals for a while. Sucks that it's basically another 4 years of nursing program. It just doesn't seem worth it for the money it would cost so I'm glad I had other options! :)

I got in for spring 2010, but the letter said it would take 8 semesters to complete the program! Thankfully I already started the program at SMU this week! Goodluck to everyone waiting.