smilinjen

Get some peanut balls if you don't have them already! They're amazing!

Working while doing your prereq's is definitely doable. Take them at a CC and transfer them to a university - much cheaper. You can't even apply to a nursing program until your prereq's are completed (so no sense applying to a university and taking them there, they're literally the same classes and most CC's and universities work together so the credits transfer). BSN is definitely the way to go. Working during the 4 semesters of nursing school depends on the school you go to. So it's still only 2 years of not working if you work while completing your prereq's.

I would also look into the CEP programs the Maricopa Community Colleges are offering now. It's an ADN-BSN program in one. Moves you up the list. ASU also has a post-Bach program that's 1 year but kind of expensive. Also, many of the major hospitals in the valley are not or will soon not be hiring ADN nurses. Just something else to think about. LPNs have been phased out by most hospitals as well and primarily work in LTC.

I meant "easy" as in the schedule is consistent - easier to plan and have a life :-) We rarely even had two days off in a row. ASU nursing is tough regardless of where you take it!

If you know how many days a month, take your annual salary and divide by 12 months, divide by the number if days in the month, divide by the number of hours per day. If you know how many hours per week, divide your annual salary by 52 weeks, then divide by the number of hours per week. That's very generalized of course and may not be 100% accurate, but should be close.

Congratulations!!!

I think mentioning your personal experience is OK, as long as you don't over share. Something like, "Having my child changed my life in more ways than I could ever imagine. The nurses I had during my labor and delivery experience showed me.... and I think having been a patient myself has strongly influenced my nursing practice by...." Also, maybe say something about how your passion was reinforced during nursing school? I also agree to smile and be yourself. I think being authentic goes a long way!

I loved the Davis Notes books when I was in school. I think I ended up with 4 or 5 of them by the time I graduated. I used either the RN Notes or NCLEX notes to study for Med Surg tests (I don't remember specifically now) and found it to be a quick way to go over everything to keep it fresh. Plus they fit in your pocket so they're easy to carry and pull out when you have a few minutes.

My experience was very similar to pugmom79's. Even down to immersion on night shift. I graduated in August and thought I had absolutely no chance to get a job in L&D. The week before Thanksgiving my preceptor contacted me and said they were hiring. She gave my resume to the manager, but I didn't hear anything back so I went to a job fair and the recruiters pushed me along, even reopened the job online so I could officially apply, I had 2 panel interviews (one with managers and one with peers), was offered a job by the middle of December, and I start in January. After the fact I learned that my preceptor continued to put in a good word for me and asked if anyone else was willing to put in a good word for me - and they did. My instructor also works at the same hospital (on days) and she also emailed the managers on my behalf. I have no doubt that I wouldn't have even had a chance at my dream job without the help of these lovely ladies, and they wouldn't have recommended me if I hadn't put forth my best efforts everyday in immersion.

Treat your clinicals like a job audition because it really can and will help you get a coveted new grad job. Show up early / on time. Look clean and neat. Be prepared and well rested. Be enthusiastic, ask questions, take advantage of any and all opportunities and seek them out. Have a good attitude. Try your best. Be humble. Smile. Laugh at yourself. Nursing is about helping others, but you can often benefit just as much as your patients. Put yourself in your patient's shoes. It's not fun to be in the hospital and they're not trying to be difficult or annoying (they're usually scared and lonely and don't handle it well). The easiest way to make your day is to make someone else's. It's impossible not to smile or feel good after helping someone else smile or feel better.

I took both of those at the same time too. No problem. You got this!

I was in class with "Bunny." When I applied, there was a spot we could check if we were interested in Mayo. They accepted the top 20 that requested it. I heard that may not have been the case with the new class as they increased the class size and had fewer people request Mayo. Everyone who graduated in my class passed NCLEX on their first try, but not everyone made it to graduation. And I'd say about half have jobs, some haven't started yet (myself included).

I just graduated from the ASU/Mayo program in August. I loved it - smaller class size than downtown (we had 20, but they increased it for the next round to 28-30) and most of our instructors were nurses from Mayo, so they do what they teach. I thought we had amazing, caring instructors who really wanted us to succeed. As far as a schedule, there was no set, regular schedule like the downtown program. It changed semester to semester, sometimes partway through a semester. When I was there, "nights" meant an evening lecture that got out somewhere between 7-9p. As far as weekends, we often had labs or clinicals regularly on Saturdays. Some clinical rotations we'd have clinical Saturday or Sunday, but not both. Our LTC rotation was both, and was 2 weeks in a row, but that was it for the entire rotation. On average, I'd say we had class 4-5 days a week consistently, but also had times it was 6-7 days a week. Some days we were there 2-4 hours, some 10-13, but usually 5-8. We were given our schedules far enough in advance that it worked out and I didn't mind the crazy busy schedule all that much until I heard about the "easy" schedule downtown after I graduated. I was able to volunteer 4 hours a week at Mayo throughout most of the program (usually before an afternoon start class), still take my grandparents to most of their doctor appointments, and get good grades. I had a long commute and didn't have much of a life, but that's typical for nursing school ;-)

Thanks Angel and On The Path :) Angel, what's the latest with your school challenges? How'd the TEAS go? Weren't you applying for a summer program too?

I talked to someone yesterday too and he said they were beginning the processing yesterday or today.... Who knows what that means other than they just started working on it.... Not sure when it'll be posted. Mine's all wonky anyway because another school has me listed as getting FA from there and he said it would take 1-2 weeks to process that paperwork, then they'd process my FA. Fun stuff.