RN_SD1979

I graduated this program in the 2nd cohort...less than 40 of us! Unfortunately maybe about only 50-60% or so of us have jobs. Over 600 applicants applied for only 40 new jobs. At my new grad orientation, there were only 6 of us from my graduating class. My advice if you're applying to the Sharp New Grad program is to REALLY think about how you fill out the Supplemental form they include in the packet. They ask you to rate your 1st and 2nd place areas in which you want to work. I'm sure the recruiters came on campus to talk to all of you, and since the job market pretty much sucks right now, they will only send your applications to your first/second choice hospitals and areas you want to work. All of my classmates who chose L&D, Postpartum, or anything baby-related have not received any phone calls or interviews. A couple of my classmates have not even taken the NCLEX yet because of transcript problems with OU. One of my classmates was lucky enough to get an interview in a hospital that was not one of her primary choices and my manager brought up the fact to her of why our hospital wasn't one of her first choices. In this competitive market, they want to make sure you will stay at their hospital and not move to another hospital after 1 year of experience. They have a very extensive new grad program at Sharp. Our hospital orientation consisted of 2 weeks of classroom time, 2 days of EKG classes, and various tests and competencies. They said it cost about $50,000 to train a new grad (classroom time, nurse educator time, they pay us new grads to be there, preceptor costs, etc...), so of course they won't want to waste money on a new grad who is planning on leaving them. At my orientation, they did hire ADN's, but I did notice a lot more BSNs on the name badges. It all depends on your experience and honestly if the interviewers click with you and like your personality. I also think they look at your previous degrees since we have previous Bachelors. (4 out of the 6 of us who got hired got our first Bachelor's from UCSD). The best advice I got was from Alison, our Peds clinical instructor. Her advice was to be CONFIDENT in your interview and walk in there like you KNOW you'll get the job! I did 3 interviews with my 1st/2nd choice hospitals, and got all 3 offers. One hospital found out the manager from the other Sharp had interviewed me, and called immediately for me to accept their offer before I accepted the one closer to my house. Another word of advice...I studied for a day or two researching the hospitals and what they are known for...Magnet designation, Malcolm Baldridge, etc. Also, study scenarios!!! They WILL ask scenario questions during your interview and in your answers, include the fact that you will be a new nurse and will not be afraid to ask for help from the rest of the staff. After the NCLEX, it does get a little bit easier, but it's not over just yet. Just when you think testing and studying is FINALLY over, they make you take more tests at the hospital that you HAVE to pass, such as EKG (if you plan on being on Telemetry or ICU). Congrats to all the new OU graduates and good luck to those still in the program. I see a few OU students on the floor now and I totally know what you all are going through. Ours is an accelerated program, so there is so much more information we need to pack into our brains. It is so worth it though, and it will feel so great for all of you to look up your name on the DCA website and see your name with an "RN" attached to it! I have 14 more shifts to go until I'm on my own, so maybe you'll have me as one of your preceptors one of these days! :wink2: GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!!!

Hello Artistic... To answer some of your questions, YES it is a tough market here in San Diego, especially if you ONLY want to work with children. At my hospital, over 600 applicants applied to only about 30 available jobs. At my New Employee orientation last month, only 2 people were hired into L&D, and they both already had Masters degrees. All my friends who applied to anything children-related (NICU, L&D, Postpartum, etc) did not get ANY phone calls or interviews from ANY hospital in San Diego (Rady's, Sharp, or UCSD). A lot of my nursing school friends are now trying to get into ANY openings they have out there whether it be in MedSurg or at a SNF. This girl I knew in my nursing program actually worked at Rady's during nursing school and was "promised" a job after graduation. When graduation time came, there was no opening for her. She didn't apply to any other programs because of that "promise," so sadly she is now without a job. One of my friends got a job at UCSD, and now there are rumors he may be facing an 8% salary cut. Some new grads at UCSD even got let go already because they didn't have enough preceptors for them. Can you imagine....already getting a pay cut or laid off in your first month of work!? =( It IS possible to get the day shift as a new grad, but only a few people I met at orientation got that shift. I'm a night person, so I actually requested the night shift. But, I'm currently doing the day shift for my first month with a preceptor. On the day shift you deal a lot more with the family, doctors, discharges, transfers, etc. It's very busy, but luckily the day goes by much faster! In terms of salary at my hospital, new grads can make between $65-$70 if you have a BSN and work the night shift. BUT... that salary doesn't take into account all the income taxes they take out! =( The scheduling is pretty good...I currently do three 12-hour shifts in a row per week. I actually have 6 days off next week! Time to catch up on laundry! =) It's true when they say to not get into nursing for the money. I've only been an RN for a few months so I'm still with a preceptor, and it's HARD work even with the both of us working on our patients! I don't want to sound negative, but with your stipulations it WILL be hard for you to find a job here in San Diego. Hopefully by the time you get into a school and graduate, our economic situation and the job market will have changed. Good luck!

They want you to aim for at least 65% on all the QBank questions, as well as QTrainers 1-5. For QTrainers 6-7, you aim for at least 60%. Out of the 75 questions I had on the NCLEX, I think I had 2 questions that were pretty much identical to the QBank questions! Good luck tomorrow!!!

As long as you're getting around 60% for QTrainers 6 and 7, I'm sure you'll do fine. I also suggest you MEMORIZE the infection control precautions in the Kaplan book....and yes, including the ones about bioterrorism. I took my NCLEX last Friday and passed. =) Good luck to you!

In California, you can search for your name on the Department of Consumer Affairs: Registered Nurses. http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/wllqryna$lcev2.startup?p_qte_code=RN&p_qte_pgm_code=7800 Good Luck!!!

I took the NCLEX-RN in California on Friday the 26th, but I didn't come across this board until Sunday morning. I had spent the last couple of days lying in bed, not wanting to eat or shower (yikes!), because I was soooo certain that I had failed. Like most of the people on this post, I had a TON of SATA, lots of medications, and one drag and drop. When the computer went blank at 75, I almost cried in front of the test moderator. I did the "Pearson Vue Trick" like many of you suggested, and I thought I was going to have a heart attack until I saw that pop up screen that would not let me go on the the credit card screen. I know it's not "official" until you see your name on the BON, but at least it got me out of bed to eat, finally take a shower (yay!), go out for a massage, and to do things to distract myself from checking the computer screen every hour. I actually just found out that I passed! Here's another person to put in your books that the "trick" actually works. I want to thank everyone on this board for their input and sharing this "trick" with me. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Otherwise, I would probably still be a future nurse, lying in bed with the following nursing diagnoses: Imbalanced Nutrition: Less than body requirements, Disturbed sleep pattern, Activity Intolerance, etc. =) Haha Good luck to everyone still waiting for their results!

When I was in nursing school, I volunteered to be one of the "victims" during a hospital disaster drill. As I sat in the ER waiting to be "treated" for my "injuries", one of the doctors came up to me and asked me, "So, what do YOU want to be when you grow up?" I said to the doctor, "Umm...I'm going to be 30 this year, I think I'm pretty much grown up!" As long as you maintain your professionalism, I'm sure you'll do fine! Good luck in everything!