inProgress

hey everyone! i am about to graduate from an adn program in a few months and i haven't had an interview since my last job in high school! does anyone have any tips or words of wisdom? would really appreciate if any nurse managers out there would give advice and let me know what you look for. also, there's a nasty little rumor going around that some hospitals are looking at "personal fitness" as a hiring factor!?! what's that about?? thanks and good luck to other new grads!!

There are tons of all-online RN-to-BSN programs that have no pre-reqs or co-reqs except for the fact you have to have an RN license in good standing. My research has found that most of them cost two to three times as much as traditional classroom programs. I don't know if its the flexibility of time you are looking for but I think it might be worth it for you to reconcider an in-class program. Good Luck!

I know of one hospital in southwest FL that hires new grads by the dozen and are currently hiring.. (charlotte regional in punta gorda) small town 45min north of fort myers. I personally dont know what the work enviroment is like but they hired at least 8 students from the last graduating class of my school. Pay is low around here though.. maybe $21/hr for new grads. Plus side is once you get your 6mo-1yr the hospitals in Fort Myers are willing to look at your resume. And I hear they are much better compensated and its a bit bigger city. Good Luck!

I made a mistake. I shouldnt have called out for studying but my rationale was that my passing and getting a good grade on this exam was more important than work that weekend. I really wish it didnt turn out this way. I should have made the professional move and resigned before the semester started. I really thought I could handle school, work, family, and caring for my aunt. Guess not. I am trying to make the best of a bad situation. There are different views on this: as a student I have to pass, as an employee I have to show up for my shift, from a manager's point this isnt her problem but from my future career stand point I need to pass to get my license and I need to not burn bridges for a good reference down the road. I faxed my resignation to HR with a fwd to my manager but am going to hand deliver my resignation to her as well in the morning. I just hope that a future employer will be willing to hear me out on this and be understanding of my situation.

I NEED help!!! I am a nursing student working as a PCA right now. I've been with this hospital for 2 years. My new manager scheduled me to work the weekend before my exam (even with R/O on those days). I explained to her when she first came on that this was the arrangment that I made with the previous manager and I would like to keep it that way so I can have a clear mind and study all weekend the weekend before exams. I assumed she agreed when she said ok. So I had to call out. Because it was for three days I need a Dr's note to come back. Problem.. I have clinicals/class all week and cant get into see a Dr. to get a note. I was originally going to hand in my two weeks notice this week anyway to take time off for this last semester and help take care of a sick family member but now I'm stuck with two options: 1- quit without 2 weeks notice and risk future employers seeing that or 2- get fired for not having a note. They said if I call off Thursday I'll be fired and I can't get into a Dr until Friday. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm really not sure how to handle this professionally. I want to give my two weeks but in this situation I don't think it's possible...

I felt the same way! The second semester was killer...buuuuttt... the third and fourth were easy.. and now that I'm at the end it's like a week by week count down!! Hang in there and enjoy your breaks... Stay strong!

I am about to graduate in a few months and want to put in application out in SW Florida and in the Chicago area but most hospitals wont even take the app without their state's license active. I live in FL now and have heard that I can ask my school to apply for IL license when I test instead of FL but can I get both??

I've been working night for a few months now and love it! The only complaint is from my SO about intimate time. Because he works 5a-5p and I work 7p-7a the block of days that I work we don't get personal time but the four days I'm off its great. We have both gotten used to the schedule and it makes for a very good four days off . Good Luck!

my best friend and i are in nursing school together and at the start of the program my daughter was 2 1/2 and she was pregnant. she worked full-time and was in the nursing program full-time. she delivered over xmas break and she is doing great still. it was hard for her to leave her baby with a sitter or daycare but her daughter will be 1 1/5 when she graduates and she'll have a great way to support her daughter. I on the other hand have a toddler/preschooler who wants to be with me all the time. its harder when they are 3-4 because they are more aware of how much time you are or arent spending with them. my advice is go for it. you can do it!

Hey there! I'm going to be graduating from an RN program in May and I haven't decided where to move. I am looking at Tampa, FL, Ft. Myers, FL and Chicago, IL. Can anyone tell me how much new grads make in these areas?? I do have hospital experience as a PCA/CNA (2yrs) and I don't know if it matters but I'm a member of a honor society.

Thanks everyone for sharring your thoughts. Much appreciated. I found that I understood the concepts better because I previously had a child (w/o complications) and my best friend -who i was pretty much her only support- had been preg and given birth with every complication you could think of. I got the material but after reviewing the test w/ my prof. I realized it was all "picking the best of two answers." I'm going to do more practice/NCLEX questions before the next exam. Thanks again everyone!

I just took my first OB exam and got an 84... how is this possible with 92-96s in med/surg! Any tips, help, websites, studyguides I can use to pull through and get my A in OB???

@jimmy- I am in ESC nursing program and its fantastic. I absolutly love the standard they hold for their students. The pass rates at all three campuses are over 96% and you will deff take pride in the college. NCH is a fabulous hospital and they offer new grad internships. Good luck with everything! @shawn- there is a point system sheet you can get from the secretary in the nursing building.

I am about to graduate from an RN program in SWF. I'm originally from Chicago and need to get back to a BIG city. Tampa is the area I am looking into. I was wondering if anyone knows about any internship programs that might be offered at Tampa General. If so could you let me know how I can get the contact information. I have been to the TGH website but they do not advertise any internships. I called the recruiters office and left a message. Also, I need help finding an area of Tampa that I can move to with my family that is clean. What are some nice areas with really good public schools or private schools? Thanks!!

It really depends on you. If you are a self-motivated student with good time management skills it is possible. I work 3-12hr shifts at a hospital and am doing the RN program full-time. I do have a fantastic spouse that does almost everything around the house and keeps our daughter busy while I study. It is very tiring. I would not be working FT if I didnt *have* to. It will be hard and there are times when you realize that you have done your careplans, medsheets, and studying-- its 6am-- you have clinicals in 45min and you forgot to wash your school scrubs :) lol. In all seriousness I wouldn't recommend it but its definitely possible. Good Luck!

Ok. Ususally I am very good with my careplans but I am stumped this time. Pt 17yo/F presented to ER with SOB, crushing chest pain and cold s/sx. Xray confirms dx of pneumonia. I have the pt 3 days after admit. She is now completely non-symptomatic. She had good fluid intake. Ambulates without SOB and maintains sats at 98%RA. She states feeling much better and wants to go home. Her only complaint is of pain in the LL region of her back and her hips. I suspect its from sitting in bed for 3 days and not getting up and around much. I need three nursing dx & I have acute pain r/t friction in the pleural space (i also need help wording her pain r/t not getting oob), impaired social interaction r/t hospitalization, and I need a third. Im at a loss. Can anyone help?

That was my initial reaction, to take it as advice on how to improve. It is just hard for me to sit there and be called a liar when I know the truth but she doesn't see that. I'm trying to be positive here. I really am.

i love being a cna, i'm a adns (associate degree nursing student) right now and i work at the hospital. it's great experience. i love taking care of people and this is a great way to start while i'm in school. i look at it as, if you want to be at the top one day... you have to start at the bottom. i'm having trouble dealing with other cnas who are just there for the paycheck and don't care about patient care. it make me upset. : ( i work on tele floor right now and i'm trying to get onto the med/surg floor (much better experience). after i graduate in may 2011 i will do my bsn bridge. i'm sure i'll have my mind made up by then on what i want my master's in. i'm thinking nurse prac. for peds or midwife or family health nurse prac. good luck everyone with there adventures!

Ok, so I'm a nursing student who got hired at a local hospital three months ago as a PCA. I am having a problem and I don't know what to do. I really need advice. Here is the situation: I work Fri/Sat/Sun. Last Friday I came into work and got my assignment. The day was going well, I took vitals first thing in the am, gave all of my pts baths by lunch time (even giving two of them back rubs) and changed everyone's linens. I took my pm vitals and had my breakfast & lunch I&O's recorded but not in the computer yet. A Baker Act came in and needed a sitter, I volunteered to be the sitter (I had a little reading to catch up on for school-- which was approved of by my director when I was hired). The floor was getting pretty busy so I asked another CNA to bring me a computer on wheels so I could put my I&O's in and tried to give him report. I told him about each pt and that was the end of it. Until a few hours later when night shift came in. The night CNA went into a room and it smelled of feces. I forgot to tell the day CNA that the lady doesnt call to tell you when she has used the commode. (I check them no matter what every hour when I do my rounding so I didn't think of it to tell him). The day CNA got mad at me and said I was making him look bad on purpose. I explained to him that I check it on my hourly rounding but he walked away mad. Saturday, I came in and the night CNA told me that a pt's wife said I didn't bathe her husband the day before. I told him that I went into the room Friday morning after breakfast to bath him and the wife stopped me and said not to touch him, that she was going to do it. She insisted that I just leave the linens in the room and she would call me into the room after his bath was done. I checked in with her two hours later and she said she was going to wait until her husband came back from dialysis because he "gets sweaty down there." I asked her if it would be ok if we washed him together now that way he would be fresh for the day and if he needed another bath later I would give him one. She said no. He went to dialysis and didn't come back until I was already sitting in with the Baker Act. I again forgot to tell that to the day CNA about the situation and it made it look like the pt didn't get made. The pt's wife told the night CNA that I didn't even offer. Sunday was crazy. I started the day with my same assignment I had all weekend. I took vitals, gave half my pts baths then got floated to another unit. Two hours later I was floated back to my unit and got the same assignment back, but nothing had been done since i left. I gave the rest of my pts baths and by that time it was time to take vitals and then lunch. After lunch I was floated yet again to another unit and most of the pts I was left with still hadn't been bathed, so I gave them baths. That is how the weekend ended. Today, my director called me and said we needed to "talk." I came in after school and she told me (short version) that my job was on the line, she didn't like my performance, my coworkers were complaining I don't bath all of my pts baths everyday but I chart it that way, I'm not honest with them when I give report, I pawn my work off on them, and I'm snippy with the nurses. All of which aren't true and I cried. Yes, I cried. I was so upset that people that I thought were good people/coworkers were saying this about me and it wasn't truthful. I have not had one complaint from a patient about me, I have however, had complaints about me from coworkers. I don't understand. When I finish my work, I ask everyone if they need help with anything, I ask the nurses if there is anything I can do for them (ambulating pt, etc). I told my director my side of the situation and that I was upset that they couldnt come to me first and let me know what I was "doing wrong". I'm lost here. This is my first experience working in healthcare and don't understand how this works. I'm used to helping coworkers out, not going to the DIRECTOR and "snitching". I feel like I have to walk on eggshells with these people. HELP!

don't give up, believe in yourself everyday and know that it was only 6 points... read the text throughout the year along with your notes. I know sometimes its hard to absorb all of that material in one semester. See it from the bright side, now you have months of prep time and I personally recommend voice recording notes/chapter summaries (i record them myself and then listen to them while I jog) and when spring comes.. record your class lectures just in case there was something you missed or maybe heard differently. I wish you all the best and from one student to another, keep your head up and always believe you CAN do it. one more thing, i leave post-it notes around the house with key points on them so when I'm putting on my make-up i glance at the note on the mirror or when i open the fridge or the front door I read that one too.

Some Student Nurse Tips: When ordering textbooks online, google the ISBN number and check out the websites that compile lots of website's prices. Usually these websites aren't the cheapest but they give you a great idea of the "going price." I have searched and searched for cheaper sites but mine is always amazon.com. Also, I'm not sure if anyone reading this has smaller children in daycare (my "bug" is 2 and daycare cost for her is $150 a week) but a lot of colleges offer Daycare Scholarships. Not necessarily for single-moms but anyone who needs help paying for daycare. Ask Financial Aid. One more, I pick up a couple hours a week tutoring students in A&PI and A&PII for extra money.

I'm a little confused... Didn't you take your 5th chance already? If you have taken it and they are letting you do another attempt because of technical difficulties then count your blessings and take it. I took my HESI a couple months ago, my strategy was to take it once to test out the questions and how they are formatted and then find out what areas I didn't do well in and fix that. The second time I took it was months later after major studying. As far as "having a case" I don't think so, like you said yourself you wouldn't sue the school if you failed the NCLEX. I don't want to come off harsh but you should have been at that level before the 5th try. : ) good luck!