soccer25

Whoever said that the waiting is the hardest part is absolutely correct! Everything after nursing school just seems to be waiting waiting and more waiting! Wait to take NCLEX, wait to find out if you passed NCLEX, wait for an interview, wait to hear back from interview...it never ends and it is always so nerve wracking! I hope you all hear back from your respective places soon and that the stress from waiting isn't too much!

I'd love to tell some of my patients that, "No, you will not die if I give you your medication 5 minutes later. Please stop ringing your call bell, your room mates call bell, sending your family members out to find me, and yelling out as loud as you can from bed!

^^^This is important enough to repeat. I myself switched majors into nursing, but my big thing was that I absolutely love helping people. I would also second the talking with an adviser at college. They will help you find all the available options for you and will help you find which path is right for you. Nursing school is hard, I am sure that if job security and a good pay check are your top priorities (and no one would blame you if they are), that there are easier paths to go down to accomplish the same goal.

I had 265 questions and I had 3 med calc questions. I passed. Good luck to all of you who are waiting!

It worked for me. I got the good pop-up and two days later I rejoiced as I found out I passed!

I agree with what most people have been saying. Go for the clinic job! You will most likely be much happier, which is truly important.

From what I understand we are in a bubble right now. The economy has caused older nurses to postpone retiring, and has put many hospitals in a bind where they are in hiring freezes for all nurses, not just new graduates, despite being understaffed. At least that's what the case here in PA. I'm in the same position as you right now, I passed boards and can't find a job. At first I wanted to stay local, but after about 80 applications all around the world (I even applied to some jobs in Australia), I've decided the first place that offers me a job will be my new home. As for where there seem to be more jobs, I've had luck out in the mid-west (Texas, Oklahoma, etc.) more so than either coast area. Good luck and I hope you find a job soon!

In the end each CRNA program has to get you to the level of being able to pass your boards and be ready to enter the profession. I'm pretty sure that each school does that pretty well or else they probably wouldn't be accredited. That's why it is important to check out the schools that interest you to gauge which school has the best program for you.

My professors told my class that the best thing to do is to get at least one year of med/surg experience to hone your nursing skills. The general consensus among them was that you would become rusty on your "clinical skills" and be less desirable to LTC or acute care facilities. I've also talked to many nurses who have made the transition one way or the other and they pretty much called BS on my professors. I'm sure people will tell you that it both can and can't be done easily. The truth is that if you want to move from an office job to another field eventually down the road, the most important thing is not your skills but your attitude in going about the process.

I too have seen many positions for these free labor new grad positions, and in my opinion it is an insult to the Nursing profession. Our profession has come a long way and seeing this just saddens me. I truly hope that no GN would even consider something like this. As of this moment I do not have a nursing job, but I know that my knowledge and skills as a nurse are worth more than working for free with no guarantee of employment after finishing.

What I have been doing is stating on some comment area that I currently am licensed in my home state (PA), and that if a job was offered and accepted, I would go through the process of transferring my license to the state that the hospital was in immediately. I would think that any recruiter would understand logic along those lines.

When I was a teen I had a doctor named Dr. Panic. I asked him if he ever was given a hard time over his name and if he ever thought of changing it. As a joke he said that he had changed his name, from Dr. Pain. haha! He was a great doctor and I wish he was still in my area.

I was one of only two guys in a graduating class of 45. There were times where it was lonely and other times where it wasn't. When we needed to group up, most of the ladies got into their groups of friends and I was usually left with whoever was left. Other times my classmates flocked to me. The best advice I can give is just to put yourself out there with your classmates and chit chat with as many as possible. If you do that you are bound to strike up a friendship with at least one other person, which can make all the difference.

I am 22 and just finished my BSN program.