Purkinje

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The St. David's system expects to hire around 150 new grad nurses this summer. They are developing a GN residency program as well; I didn't go through it, but some of the nurses who were hired after me did. Austin is very competitive for new nurses. Outside of the big hospital systems, we have the usual opportunities like rehab, SNFs, etc. ASH, which is a state psychiatric facility, hires new grads as well. There are also a couple of pediatric home health agencies in the area who love to hire nurses right out of school. South of town, there are smaller hospitals in New Braunfels and San Marcos, but I can't speak to their hiring practices.

Austin is ridiculously liberal -- very LGBTQ/GSD-friendly and diverse. The fact that we harbor tons of ex-Californians is sort of a running joke. Our city's rallying cry is "Keep Austin Weird" and we're the live music capital of the world. Check out the Austin Chronicle (Austin News, Events, Restaurants, Music - The Austin Chronicle) for a good idea of what we've got going on. Things are crazy this week because it's SXSW, but in general, there's always something awesome to do. I work for a St. David's facility and am very happy with my job; I started as a GN nine months ago, and I intend to stay with the family of hospitals for a long time. We are frequently very high on "best places to work" lists, both healthcare-specific and citywide. I prefer working for a secular/for-profit hospital, because I disagree with some of the practices of Catholic hospitals. (The other big hospital system in town is Seton, which is Catholic/non-profit.) As for diversity, I work with people from many different countries, which is reflected in our awesome potlucks! Two bits of advice: visit before you make a decision, and don't move without a firm job offer. We do have a lot of nursing schools here, so there are lots of new grads who are hungry for hospital jobs.

You do have to continue working for the system for a few years, but I'm not sure how long. Since St. David's is part of HCA, I believe that as long as you're with an HCA facility, it counts. I know that if you go from St. David's to another HCA facility in another state, you keep your benefits going and everything -- it's basically like a transfer. That's a nice perk if you plan to move somewhere totally different in the future. To be fair, Seton does hire ADNs through Versant, but it's dependent on a lot of factors. When I applied for Versant, the only facilities hiring ADNs were Seton Main and Seton Hays. The cohort they're doing now seems to be taking more ADNs. For their magnet status, they have to maintain a certain ratio of BSNs to ADNs. So there's no telling what your situation will be. I think St. David's gets overlooked as a GN employer because they don't take applications in a big bulk like Versant does. It's a shame, because a lot of my graduating class from ACC got hired into the system. And many of us are doing very well! The St. David's system was my first choice and I've been very happy there. I really love where I am, but I can also see a LOT of options for growth and change in the future.

St. David's provides tuition reimbursement, which is available to employees after six months. I believe it maxes out at $3000 per year. Seton requires ADNs to get their BSN within five years of hire. St. David's does not currently have any requirement about it. Most of the nurses I know are doing UTA, which is my plan. I took a break from school after finishing ACC, so I could recover and get used to being a new nurse. Now that I've got into a groove on the floor where I work, I'm feeling ready to tackle school again.

BotoxBaby: since it was Hays, they probably just don't have any GN openings this time around. I doubt it's you personally. Even for people who didn't get offers, their application isn't rejected. Heck, after I emailed them specifically and said "please remove me from consideration," my application was still active on their site. ktlam: the Seton system requires all ADN hires to sign an agreement that they will get their BSN within 5 years from their start date. If a facility decides they are only taking BSNs (like they did before), then being enrolled doesn't count for anything. And if a facility still has its rule about not hiring ADNs who don't already work for Seton, you aren't getting around it even if you've been an LVN before. I don't know if any of the facilities will do that this time around or not. Hopefully not. They lost out on some primo GNs because of those policies in June. When you meet the UMCB Versant contact at the career fair, get his contact info and use it. He is a truly amazing guy and he strongly advocates for ADNs. He helps GNs in any way he can, and not just for positions at UMCB. So, this is the thing about the St. David's system. They're interviewing people and they're hiring people. I truly don't understand why their application process is so daunting, considering what a great place it is to work. (And believe me, it really is a great place to work.) How SD applications work is that you apply for their general GN job bucket online -- that's for all jobs, all facilities. Then you pretty much work your connections ... friends, clinical site contacts, etc. Or you can contact the recruiter who is on the auto-email that you get when you apply. Their auto-email is really discouraging-sounding, but SD system hired a bunch of my classmates for June start dates this year. Last year SAMC did its own GN job fair, but I don't know if they will again.

BotoxBaby -- was it DCMC that rejected the app? If so, it might be because you're an ADN. For the June cohort, they only wanted BSNs (which was also the case for UMCB, and Seton NW). I know that each of those facilities hired at least a few ADNs in June, but all the ones I know of were people who were already employed by the Seton system. I'm not sure if that's still the case. Another possible reason for a rejection is that they don't have any openings for this cohort. For June, neither Seton SW or Shoal Creek was hiring, and Hays only had one or two positions total.

I did the open house in the spring (graduated May 2012). It's like a big career fair -- a big room with tables for different floors/departments at different facilities. You jostle your way to the front for a few minutes' worth of conversation with the hiring managers. 1. Bring lots of copies of your resume. I think I gave out at least two dozen. 2. Get the contact info (email especially) for everyone you talk to. 3. Be able to summarize your interest in the SPECIFIC floor/position and your SPECIFIC qualifications in 30 seconds or less. Make a strong impression but don't be conversational quicksand, because the managers will totally tune you out. 4. The day after the open house, send emails to everyone you talked with. Thank them for their time, make reference to specific things you discussed with them (i.e. "I really appreciated how your floor uses self-governance to accomplish its goals, and I'd love to talk about it with you in more detail.") Be specific and be memorable. In the past, "routing" your app to facilities didn't necessarily mean anything. They basically all just sat in no-man's land there. I'm not sure if that's still the case, but it wouldn't surprise me. The key to getting an interview is impressing people at the open house. After the event, the different hiring managers will pull the applications from people they liked and want to interview. During the open house, you might catch people putting stars on your resume or making notes to themselves -- that's a good sign that you'll be getting a call. In the end, after interviewing for a Versant position, I chose another system/facility. But my friends who did Versant have been very happy with it. Sorry to give drive-by advice, but I've gotta get to work. ;-) Good luck, y'all!

I rode a scooter when I was doing my pre-reqs, but sold it before I started NS. My campus and several clinical sites were highway accessible, and my 50cc scoot wasn't about to go on I-35. And I would've had trouble getting my big rolling bag and lab pack on the scoot, but it's not like I needed that every day. If you can ride comfortably with a heavy bag, and you don't need to go on highways, go for it! My husband has a 400cc Yamaha that's great on highways with a HUGE hatch (big enough for two full face helmets). I would've loved to take it to school/clinicals, but my legs are too short for me to ride it! Which reminds me, I told myself that after I graduated, I'd get myself a nice pink Stella scoot to celebrate ...

The open house is sort of a big cattle call and it's important to attend if you want to get into Versant. They do different start times throughout the day, so it breaks up the hundreds of applicants into 3-4 groups. There is usually an introduction from the different facilities before you get started. There are tables set up for the different facilities. Each one has representatives for the different floors that are hiring -- generally the nurse manager. You're vying for face time with them. It kind of reminded me of a convention, where you're waiting around just to get a few minutes with someone at a table. Have an "elevator speech" of your qualifications and interest in the facility/floor ready to go. You don't want to stammer and stutter when you finally do get to talk to the managers. Practice it ahead of time. Bring 20-30 copies of your resume to give out. Business attire is appropriate. You need to present yourself very well to stand out among the applicants. The day after the open house, email each and every person you talked to at the event. Keep it brief, but be sure to reference something specific from your conversation -- like if the oncology floor told you about their self-governance, mention that. It helps them remember who you are, and shows that you're interested. Follow up! The hiring manager for one of the facilities told my class that he wanted to hear from us each and every week. I'm not sure if you are ADN or BSN, but for the June 2012 cohort, we were told after we began the process that some facilities (UMCB, SNW) would not consider ADNs unless they were already employed at the facility. I'm not sure if they are continuing that policy for future cohorts. Good luck! I interviewed for Versant but ultimately decided it wasn't for me. Seton is a great system, though, and I know many people who are happy there.

You use the Evolve case studies in level 4, for management. I think they might also be part of the remediation plan if you don't score over 800 on the exit HESI, but I'm not sure about that. When I finally accessed them, I realized I should've been using them to study all along; they were great for applying knowledge.

Protip -- Lab Tests Online: Welcome! is the same sort of info as the lab values book, but free. I used to access it on the computers at the hospital or on my phone during clinicals. And it's great for homework.

There are so many nursing schools here, the competition for jobs is very tough -- ACC, Texas State, UT Austin, and Concordia are all in town, and GNs come here from San Marcos and San Antonio, too. Austin also has a big influx of people from California, which is additional competition. The Seton residency hires three cohorts each year -- February, June, and October. The number of positions available varies, and not every facility hires for every cohort. You apply to the cohort, then attend an open house. It's almost impossible to get hired if you don't attend the open house and impress the nurse managers. Everyone I know who interviewed there, myself included, had a good showing at the open house. So if you want to work at Seton, be prepared to come for the open house. It's a total cattle call, with hundreds of people fighting to get in front of the nurse managers. St. David's doesn't have you apply to a residency program per se. You apply to the system and get put into a general GN bucket. And then you languish there unless a nurse manager interviews you. There are hundreds of GN applicants just hanging out there. That's why it is very difficult to get into the St. David's system as a new grad unless you know someone, or you work there as a PCT. I knew a lot of people who work in the system, and that's how I got in the door to get an interview. There is a new grad internship in Temple, which is north of Austin, at Scott and White. (The S&W in Round Rock/North Austin does not hire new grads.) I have a few friends who are doing it -- it is a very nice hospital, but the commute from Austin is brutal. The central Texas area has some pediatric home health agencies that hire new grads, and so does Austin State Hospital (the state psychiatric facility). I didn't really look into other options because I received a hospital job offer. We do have skilled nursing, LTAC, and rehab here, but I do not know if they hire new grads. I think not.done.yet is absolutely correct that you should get housing that you can afford and expect to commute. Housing near most of the hospitals in town is pretty costly. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but that's the reality. People come from all over to live in Austin, and we produce a lot of new grads, which makes for a tough market.

Hello! I am an Austin GN as of this month. I won't lie, the Austin market is very difficult right now. Austin has multiple nursing schools pumping out GNs: University of Texas, Texas State, Texas Tech, Concordia, and ACC. And we have lots of people coming here from other places, too. It's very, very competitive. I have a job, and pretty much all my classmates who were looking for work received offers. But our little group is a huge exception -- I did Hurst last week, and the hot topic was how everyone was struggling. Other campus groups from the same school (ACC) are not having the good luck we've had, unfortunately. I don't know specifics about how the folks from the BSN programs are doing, but it sounds like it's rough for them, too. There are two big hospital systems in Austin, Seton and St. David's. Seton does a Versant GN fellowship three times a year. Right now they are accepting applications for their October cohort: https://www.seton.net/employment/nursing/rn_residency/versant_rn_residency_form.asp Not all the Seton facilities were accepting ADNs for the June cohort. And for any given cohort, you don't know ahead of time what facilities will be hiring and how many positions there are. Oh, and all ADNs hired have to sign an agreement that they will get their BSN within 5 years of hire. The St. David's system doesn't have a formal internship program, so it can be harder to get a foot in the door. Most of people worked their connections to get jobs there -- the recruiters are upfront about the fact that most GN hires are either previous employees (techs) or they knew someone and that's how they got their interview. Most of my class accepted offers with St. David's facilities. Scott & White hires GNs for their Temple location, through their GN internship program. I don't know much about it because I had no desire to work out there, but there are some threads about it on AN. Austin State Hospital and some local pedi home health agencies will hire GNs. I didn't investigate non-hospital options, because I was hired pretty early in the semester for my first-choice facility. (I start next month.) Someone else might be able to chime in on that. Your chances will be better outside of large metro areas. If you can stand small-town living, go that direction. It also helps if you are fluent in Spanish. I feel like the GN job market here is getting tighter and tighter with every semester.

Make sure you know your 1105 skills for checkoffs, and be ready for dosage calculations. Our 1105 "checkoff" was a test on the computer, but I think they aren't allowed to do it that way anymore. If you want to work ahead, I think the best advice I can give is to get familiar with all the skills -- because there are a LOT of them at the beginning of level 1. Especially physical assessment, because that one takes a really long time. ACC switched to a new Fundamentals book, so you're going to learn skills a little differently than some of the other recent classes did. Get your hands on the checkoff sheets from the ACC site and learn 'em. (When you practice in open lab, you might hear people in other levels doing things a little differently because their group uses the old checkoff sheets. Stick to yours.) It's fun to see y'all so excited about starting the program. :-)