CoCStudentNurse

I am! This original presentation is so confusing. I am so afraid I'm not going to finish on time 'cause I'm stuck. Ugh ...

RN Starting salary as a new grad in 09/2012: (weekday) $34.94, (weekend) 37.19. Hospital CA

I had clinicals at Kaiser Panorama City my first semester of nursing school and the first day was all orientation. We learned all about the hospital and also learned about how to work their computer charting system. We also got our badges and toured the whole facility, learned where everything was ... etc... We also went over all the clinical paperwork that we are responsible for during the rotation. There is no patient care on the first day. It's just a full day of stuff like so it wasn't so bad. I ended up LOVING my clinical instructor too, which helps a lot.

I'm wondering the same thing, too!! There is so much lecture material and reading. I have tried one of the review quizzes (or whatever they are called) and the questions seemed really random and seem to cover material that I don't even remember reading. Makes me scared for the exam!

I am also a new grad (June 2011). I have no experience as well. I put in my initial application early October 2011, so it's been almost a 11 month process for me.

I just got the call. I start on the 4th!! :yeah:Now I'm nervous... LOL

Congratulations on getting your start date! Take me with you, please!

Wow. I called nurse recruitment today and they said they were still waiting for approval for our department and couldn't tell me when I could start. Sigh.

For me, it was the amount of material. You not only have a lot of classroom lecture material but there is a lot of clinical paperwork to keep up with as well that requires research. I found some classes easier than others. Stay ahead of the work if you can. Whatever you do, do NOT get behind, it's almost impossible to keep up once you do because of the amount of material. Do invest in a weekly planner. Every Sunday, I would sit down and figure out how many hours per day that I had available to study and I would look at the reading/work list and split the work between the days. This worked really well for me and I was able to stay a week ahead of schedule most times. In clinicals, take advantage of every single learning opportunity you can. If you aren't allowed to perform the skill yet, take the opportunity to watch and ask questions. This not only is a great learning opportunity for you, but also scores major points with your precepting nurses. I also recommend that when you pick your patients for clinical, try to choose ones that coincide with what you are learning in lecture. This is not always possible, but helps a heck of a lot with remembering lecture information. Be prepared for clinicals. Make sure you know everything you can about your patients before you show up on the floor. We usually went to the hospital the day before to pick our patients and do research on them to be prepared for our day. I'm not sure if they still do things that way or not. Take advantage of the skills lab hours. The staff there are excellent and they are all registered nurses and are there to help you out. Sometimes they will watch you do a skill and give you tips to help you pass your practicums as well. Running through the skills with the nurses there helped me be less nervous when it came to practicum exam day. Sorry this was so long. Let me know if there are any other questions along the way.

Hey everyone! Congratulations on starting your nursing education! :yelclap: I graduated June 2011 from the program so I have walked in your shoes. Good luck and get ready for a busy two years.

Yay! Good news! I'm still waiting on for news on my start date. :-/

Yeah, I got the same letter a couple days ago also and it ended being nothing since I already accepted the position. I had to go twice to employee health due to the fact that they had to give me a TB test in addition to the one I got this year. Also, I had varicella as a kid, but they don't take that as proof of immunity to the disease so they had to take my blood for that. Still waiting to hear on a start date... they couldn't give me any sort of time frame on that.

I've been totally cleared (background check, health clearance, etc ...) and I'm just waiting on a start date. I went in for my background check on 7/13 and it was completed by 7/17. Mine was really quick but I know others that were hired the same week as me and are still waiting for theirs to clear.

I think it went well. I will know for sure how well in two weeks or so. Did you have an interview with them as well?

Hey all. I have an interview at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center tomorrow morning and I have been really busy preparing for it. If anyone knows examples of the typical questions they ask, I would really appreciate it. I got called last minute for this interview, so I'm quite nervous right now. :uhoh21: Any help would be appreciated.