newRNsocal

Canyon Villas in Summerlin is great. summerlin temperatures are generally 5-10 degrees cooler too. Also if you are looking in henderson area, Parkside villas is nice, its about a 15 min drive to NSC.

There are a lot of new graduate programs in southern california...but there is also a lot of competition. do a google search for hospitals in southern california, call their HR and ask about new grad programs, usually they will tell you to apply online, send a resume, or apply at a later time. you can also go to this website http://www.versant.org/item.asp?id=52 which is a RN residency program (sounds amazing) and you can call up those hospitals. I'm a new grad new to socal also. :typing

" would most likely start out at the VA doing med-surg" I think thats a great opportunity, esp seeing some of the other stories about not being able to find a job for 6 mo- 1 year I know you know that you will not like it, but its better than nothing and you can keep your skills fresh. And in the mean time you can look for your dream job. I would take it in a

I have a few questions about getting an RN job too :) I know they may sound silly, but in the past (I was a nurse apprentice) i was able to get jobs by applying online. I've read a lot of things that have said "go in person" to the hosptial. but when I get to the hospital who should I ask for? The nurse recruiter? Where should I go, HR? I know Chicookie said to go directly to the floor....but I moved after i graduated to SoCal, and am not familiar with the hospitals, do I just go walking around? BTW, Thats very gutsy chicookie, I applaud your courage, and congrats to you! I've also heard about the Versant programs, anyone have any input on those?! and when they take applications?

i know what you mean when you say "if i would gain my experience from a clinic or similar place i might ruin my chances to get into acute care because i wont have that "acute " care experience they require and i wont qualify for a new grad position either" i am a new grad currently living in riverside, but willing to relocate anywhere in socal. i just moved from las vegas and have applied for ca license endorsement, so i'm waiting to officially get my ca license before i go full on applying for jobs....but i've put in about 4 apps, i got one call back and she asked me what experience i had, and i said, well i'm a new grad and she said "ooooohhhhhh..." i'll forward your application to the lady that handles new grads....so i think thats a no go. i want a job, any job. just to make some money, but i feel that if i go into ltc or a clinic, i wont have options later for acute care. when did you graduate? there is a nursing fair in pasedena, i'm going to that to learn more and hopefully get some insight. here is the link to the website if youre interested. http://events.nursingspectrum.com/event.cfm?eid=686&type=expo

Wow, your post gave me chills! I thought I was the only one who felt "dumb", or like a "pushover" in new nursing situations and environment. You truely are an inspiration....for everything that you do, and for being a teacher for us :)

take it, you are so ready! esp with scores like that!

Good luck terrilynn11. You will feel like you are losing your sanity :) but when you get your pass results, you will feel on top of the world :)

you'll be great. I felt ok, after the test....like months of stressing and it was over in an hour...then i started thinking about questions i remembered, i was thinking, did i even get one question right. the night before my results i cried. but i passed, and so will you :) and then you'll never have to worry about taking it again (and its a good feeling) just have to worry about getting a job after that :) let us know!

good luck geminii8 :)

howd it go? i tried to take a nap after my exam, but it wasnt happening cuz my mind was running around. so i went and watched a movie instead. do things to get your mind off it :) keep us updated

"I am so thankful and happy that I have my life back." I completely felt that way too :) 50caliber is right though "You got another set of problems, finding a job" but thats a good thing. I'm in the same boat :)

soo...how'd it turn out for you guys?!

Dont worry, i took 75 questions and came out feeling like i failed. I ended up passing....but i think the majority of people come out feeling badly, no matter how many questions. i only know 2 people who took it with 265 and both of them passed! keep us posted.

My only option was to take it at 8am. If i could have, i would have taken it later. It seemed like my mind was better in the evenings (i would get better scores on practice tests in the evening than in the morning, duno why...) You'll be fine either way. its just really important to be awake and alert......and oriented ;P good luck studying, let us know how it goes!

Reducing anxiety is an important part of taking the NCLEX. I was having so much anxiety, but the day before my test i watched some of my favorite shows, took a long hot bath, and went to sleep. I think it helped. :)

I'm not sure if its the same test, but we took the ATI exam at the end of our program as an nclex predictor. Then i took kaplan once i graduated. one of the Kaplan instructors told me that ATI is not a good indicator, because its very knowledge based. I think kaplan has the most similar nclex questions as far as degree of difficulty.

i think those are REALLY good scores :) i was averaging a 58% on qbank and i passed with 75 questions on the first try earlier this month. the questions are very similar in structure, but i think nclex is a tad bit easier in content than kaplan. you'll be amazing!

the best thing to do is just schedule an exam date and pretend that you cannot reschedule it. you are ready, that is what your nursing school was for. we will never feel ready unless we read every single page of every single book they ever gave us in nursing school. You'll be amazing...plus youve been studying for a long time. i studied for a month. scheduled the test for the earliest possible date, and i found out i passed at the beginning of feb. like you I was sooo anxious, but when you get to the computer to take the test, forget what everybody has told you, and just take it one question at a time, answer each question to the best of your knowledge. i feel that it really did test minimum competency. you'll be great! you gota just do it!

Did you do the whole Kaplan Course? I took the whole course and they said pretty much 60%+ is good. So when i was averaging 58% I got really scared. I passed my nclex on the first time though, just this month. the best thing to do is just do the kaplan qbank and trainers....know your basic labs (k, na, hbg, hct etc.)...and when you get to the testing site, just go in and do one question at a time. the last 4 days before my test i was doing about 200 questions a day. also if you have the content video that kaplan provides on its website, go through those videos and follow along in the book, its a good refresher.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/134601.php Just trying to stay positive! Theres a more recent article. Schools may be pumping out graduates, but according to this article....many of them arent passing the boards Maybe some areas of california are more difficult than others....good luck guys!

http://include.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080505/CA02/80430025' http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112180.php http://www.kcbs.com/Nurse-Shortage-Predicted-for-Bay-Area/2503386 I cant imagine that the shortage has already been resolved. Unfortunately the economy is poor...but I feel that nurses will always be needed. So keep applying! When I attended the hemet fair, there were only about 5!! nurses there, I expected 100! Keep applying guys, we'll find something!!!

Hey NickiLaughs...I was at the hemet fair today. I was the girl from las vegas who didnt have a ca license yet. So clearly that put me at a stand still.... I'm looking to move to LA so hopefully the Pasedena Fair will prove fruitful. You sound very knowledgeable about california and the job opportunities. We should talk more :) I just moved from las vegas, to socal, so I feel completely like a fish out of water. email me at [email protected] and we'll chat :) thanks for all the info, sorry we didnt meet this morn.

I'm also a recent grad looking for a job in Socal. in addition to the hemet opportunity, if you go to http://events.nursingspectrum.com/event.cfm?EID=686&type=Expo they are having a career fair in pasedena on feb 26th. anyone know of any other opportunities?