Troublant RN

Not sure if you are interested in pursuing a degree in this specialty. There are a few online programs from accredited universities such as Walden University. Not sure how much computer charting and other applications are being used in nursing where you work. Best of luck to you,

emmanewgrad, You can also check with Kern Medical Center. It is the county hospital, it is also a teaching hospital with a residency program. There are tons of students (nursing, NP, PA, RT, you name it). It is a great place to learn and grow as a nurse. It is also a trauma center, so lots of sick people and great experiences. Tons of doctors as you can imagine, and you don't have to put up with rude doctors the way you do in private hospitals. The doctors are always around, they sleep in the hospital so they do not mind if you call them in the middle of the night, if it is something to be concerned about they'll just walk over and take a look. Check it out.

I am not a big fan of Bakersfield because of the weather mainly, and people are a bit backwards (hill billy types), but the cost of living is very reasonable. I came here to attend the CSUB BSN program and ended up staying. I graduated three years ago and new grads had no problems at all finding employment. My class had close to 75 grads, and at least half were hired by a single hospital. Here there are three CHW (Memorial, Mercy, Mercy Southwest) hospitals, San Joaquin Comm. Hospital, Bakersfield Heart Hospital, and a lot of Kaiser clinics. Good luck with your job search.

I highly recommend the Kaplan NCLEX review. It has been two years since you graduated so I am not sure if you will need some content review as well. Keep in mind that Kaplan is an NCLEX Exam strategy course, which will help you decipher the questions and eliminate obviously incorrect choices in the answers. You must have good content knowledge to then make a decision between the two last choices left if you haven't figured out the answer after using the Kaplan strategies. It worked for me, their text book had good, relevant content information that also helped me out in passing the test on the first try with 75 questions. If I can do it, so can you. Take the class, relax, and do your best.

This used to be the case in California, not any longer. First of all, upon discharge, all hospital discharge documentation is place in an envelope, sealed and handed to an officer that delivers it to medical staff where the inmate is assessed as soon as he returns to institutional grounds. Pain management will be based on those recommendations, and what is available in the formulary (Tylenol #3, Ultram, Methadone, etc.)

In California PHN is an actual certification obtained through the Board of Registered nursing. To get a PHN certification you must graduate from a BSN program that includes a community health rotation and meets the requirements set by the BRN for this certification. You have to fill a separate application from the RN license, and verification of education is done through the BSN school. It not until then, that in California a person is able to use the tittle and work as a PHN.

I have sat on interview panels in CDCR and I recommend you do not go heavy on the make up. Dress semi formal to formal wear (no low cut tops, not mini skirt, no jeans, not tight clothing). If you wear scrubs, wear"grown up" scrubs (no cartoons, etc.). If you wear scrubs, dress as if you were going to work, so look professional ... no distracting jewlery, no fake nails, etc. Make sure you take your time to answer questions, ask questions, be yourself. Don't be nervous, as mentioned by another post, CDCR nursing hiring process if very competitive which is not something California RN's are used to. You will be interviewed by a 3 - 4 member panel. Do not let this discourage you. Good luck to you,