gunrock

Thanks for the info! I'll be sure to follow up with the air force recruiter.

I've been scouring multiple forums for up to date info on the HPSP Scholarship for CRNA students. I haven't been able to find much up to date info and hope that someone can help. I just got off the phone with an Army Recruiter and he told me that for the past two years they have not offered a HPSP Scholarhip for the Nurse Corp, only for MD/DO students. He said that it was doubtful that they would open up slots for the nurse corp in October. Can anyone confirm this? I could have sworn I read online that people were receiving the HPSP scholarship last year for the nurse corp. I am also waiting to hear back from the Air Force recruiter. Anyways, any help would be great in navigating / starting this process

Diversity CRNA Info and Registration link: Diversity CRNA

I think the OP is referring to St Mary's University, not Samuel Merritt. But you're right, students for Fall 2015 were notified of their acceptance / rejection back in February for Samuel Merritt University. The Fall 2016 application will be due in November.

The upcoming fall application period is closed, but why not apply for Fall 2016 and work on transferring into an ICU. Like you said, there are programs that will accept ED experience, so shoot a few applications out. There's no guarantee that ICU experience with land you an interview / acceptance...It might help, but if you have good grades, do well on the GRE (if required), are actively involved in your unit, etc, you should at least get interviews. If you meet the requirements for the program I would go ahead and just apply. Don't "waste" 1-2 years working and not applying. You can do both: apply next year and try to transfer into an ICU, they are not mutually exclusive options. Good luck.

There is more to nursing than just knowing your medications and being able to pass exams... It's also more than researching patient histories and care plans. I think that's what your coworkers are trying to tell you. Yes, CCRN and CMC are tough exams, but honestly anyone can study and pass them. I passed my CCRN exam with a little over a year of experience, did that make me a good nurse? To me, it just meant I could study and pass a test. There are tons of nurses I've worked with who were brilliant and never bothered to get certified and there also just as many nurses who are certified, masters prepared and are horrible nurses...yes they are book smart but their bedside manner is awful and they are clueless when it comes to simple things like keeping your room clean, not leaving a list of tasks to be done, not leaving the patient looking like a mess at shift change, etc. I'm not trying to diminish your accomplishments, but take a look at all the other things: patient care, getting along with coworkers, etc. You also have VERY LITTLE experience, a year is nothing...so you should be able to reflect and take their feedback and grow from it. You say your coworkers believe you need more experience and you respond with GPA and tests you've passed, not how your patients feel you treat them or the care you provide them. Are you involved in committees? Are you trying to better your unit? And yes, for school you will need at least 1 or 2 letters from coworkers / managers who can speak to your nursing ability. There's a reason they ask for coworker feedback. Do I think you'll get into CRNA school? I think you'll probably get interviews, but without being able to get letters of recommendation from peers / co-workers you might not even get an interview. What will you say when the admission committee asks why you don't have any letters of recommendation from coworkers / peers? You CANNOT say they were mean and weren't supportive....the fact that you couldn't find at least one person at work who would vouch for you, says something.

I'm not up to date on all the new grad programs in the bay area, but here are two: Stanford has a new grad program, I believe they will start taking applications in May. There is a list of requirements to apply so make sure you take a look and apply as soon as possible. They get hundreds (if not thousands) of applications....they will also make you jump through hoops to land a position (i.e personality test, phone interview, in person interview, etc). UCSF will also be having a new grad program in the fall (at least that's the rumors). If I were you, I would just start applying in the state you are currently in as well as California. It's not impossible to get a new grad job, but it is hard, takes a lot of luck and will take time. It took my friend over a year to land a new grad position in the ER (although he was looking for anything, but got very lucky). Good luck

Happy you had such a great experience with Hopkins. I also graduating from a UC and did my ABSN at Hopkins. If you have any questions about the program or my experience feel free to PM me.

Without any specifics it's hard for anyone to really help. Do you have a bachelors already? Are you looking at ADN programs? 4 year programs? As the poster above suggested, pick a few states where you would like to live / work / are not impossible to get a job as a new grad. A good starting point is to look up the schools NCLEX pass rate which should be on the BON website. A high pass rate doesn't necessarily mean it's a great program but it's a start.

I don't see CCRN mentioned. If you don't have it, take it. Do very well on your GRE. Take some graduate level classes and do very well (get As). Do you participate in any unit or hospital committees? You should. You have to find ways to make up for your lower GPA.

Yep. I renewed a few months ago, took me about 20minutes and instantly renewed. My coworkers got held up for some reason and took a few weeks (we still aren't sure why).

Here's an aprox timeline for you: Since you have a high school degree you need to either A) get your ADN (2 years) if you don't have to complete any pre-requisites before. -> do a ADN to BSN bridge program (this can be done online). B) go to a 4 year university and hopefully get into their nursing program. Once you are a nurse, you'll need at least 1 year experience in an ICU (this is the MINIMUM. Most will have 3-4 when they apply). On top of experience you'll need to be active on your unit, get certified (CCRN, CSC, etc). From where you are now you're probably looking at 6 years (1 year applying to schools + 4 year college + 1 year of experience) + 2-3 years in CRNA school. Also keep in mind that California is one of the hardest states to get a job in as a new grad, especially in an ICU. You will not just walk into a hospital after graduation and get a job. I'm not sure how much you've thought your plan through, but realize you have a LONG road ahead of you, and this is the ideal plan, if everything works out. But if you are serious about it, then get started. Feel free to ask any questions.

I went to Hopkins. I'm from California, decided to leave and go experience something different. Baltimore / Hopkins was an amazing experience. I started as a new grad on the east coast (most classmates had jobs offers months before school ended, something very very few people in California can say as a new grad). I ended up moving back to California, currently work in a large academic center. Keep in mind, almost 50% of all new grads in California are unemployed at 18 months. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change anything. PM me if you have any specific questions.

I'm going to have to disagree with pretty much everything your friend has told you. Yes, there are private schools and CalState schools where you can get your ABSN or do a MEPN, however none of these are "easy" to get into. You definitely cannot just throw money at them and get in, your friend is completely exaggerating. Secondly. California is insanely competitive for nurses. California needs EXPERIENCED nurses (and even then people aren't finding jobs...if you don't believe me go look at the California board and look at how many posts there are from people who can't find a job). Did your friend tell you that almost 45% of new grads take 18months to find a job after graduation. Back to your original question. I would continue on with your degree, go on the research trip and take the pre-requisites you need for ABSN programs you are interested in. Apply to ABSN / MEPN programs when you're a senior to immediately start after graduation. You've got a FULL ride to one of the best universities in the world, you're also in a competitive major and doing very well (my brother graduated from the same major). 9 weeks abroad is an AMAZING experience, don't turn that down. Go enjoy. When you come back, if you have time go volunteer, or better yet go get your EMT, UCLA has an amazing EMS education department (at least they did) and volunteer doing health fairs or grab a summer job on an ambulance. Other than finishing your degree, taking your pre-requisite courses and getting some volunteer experience, the most important thing you need to do is, figure out WHY you want to be a nurse and have experiences that back your reason up. I would take what your friend tells you with a grain of salt. Read around the California forum and post back with any questions. Good luck.

Talk to your counselor. See if you can switch into the nursing major. That would be your best option. I'm sure the major is impacted at UCLA but you never know until you talk to someone. If you can't switch into the major, then I'd start looking at ABSN and MEPN programs. Let us know what the counselors say and we can probably give better advice.

Why not Stanford, Lucille Packard? Also just as a heads up, travelers make less than staff positions in the Bay Area, so keep that in mind as well. Many travelers I know only travelled to get their foot in the door waiting for a staff position to open. So, if you can get a staff position I would go for that. Also, if you haven't started the license process yet, it can take anywhere between 3 months - 6 months to get your California license. Good luck!

Surprised you wouldn't be able to find an EMT job. There are companies (in the Bay Area and pretty much everywhere I've loved) that are always looking for EMTs. Are you only looking at the 911 system or are you looking at private transport companies also?

Any updates from anyone who applied?

UC Davis is not the only hospital. There are plenty of other UC medical centers spread throughout the state. Your years of service, etc transfer from each hospital to the next, just like any other hospital system.

You are correct. Nursing Ed just told us the next new grad group will be Fall 2015

Agree with the person above. Do really well on your pre-requisites and get some health care experience while you take classes. I have a buddy who had a 2.8 and got into an ABSN program on his first try. Keep in mind. He has AWESOME healthcare experience prior to the program.

I'm going to play devils advocate. Do you know a UPS worker? Do you know first hand what their job entails? If not, it seems hypocritical to say they can't talk about nurses but it's okay if you make blanket statements about their job and salary and what their worth is. This goes in line with people who believe nursing is a "calling" or something more than a job and think nursing should be held higher than other professions (I hate this elitist belief that is rampant in nursing). Nurses who feel they should be paid more, did not do their research. If you knew you were going to be paid $15/h to be a nurse and you still went through school and once you start your job you complain about low pay, that's your fault. You knew what you were getting into and the pay. Also, I didn't read through the entire post but I don't think anyone accused nurses of wanting to be doctors, in fact, I make more in my position than many primary care physicians who are starting out. Police and Fire both make very comfortable salaries where I live, in fact in the large urban city where I live, the top paid government employees were nurses and fire fighters. This is not the norm, but you cannot make blanket statements about those positions. My point comes back to, if you are so unhappy with your job vs what you get paid, you probably should have thought about it more before getting into it or move to a place that will pay you what you believe the job is worth. The frustrations and challenges of being a nurse is something you signed up for, including the pay before you started the profession. If you feel that UPS drivers or whatever profession get paid too much for the job they do, why not go get a job with UPS then? if you know of a job that gets paid a lot more and you feel is way less work, why wouldn't you work there? Your most likely response will be because you love being a nurse and helping people...if that's true, then you have to accept what you are being paid and realize you value helping people / being a nurse more than a higher salary. Sorry to sound harsh. It's amazing how entitled some people in this thread are. Just because you feel your job is demanding and incredibly hard, doesn't make someone else's profession any less difficult and I hate that so many of you feel you can diminish what another person does.

It's interesting that so many people are upset about their salary and are so defensive. I'm sure everyone who decided nursing looked into / had a vague idea of what they would be making as a nurse. So, it seems futile to be angry about how much you make or how much another job makes, since you did the research (hopefully) and still decided that the pay was worth being a nurse. If pay is what really motivates you, there are states where you can get paid 70+/h with less than 3 years experience. For me, the work load of being a nurse was worth the amount I would get paid in the areas I wanted to live. Would I be a nurse if I was paid very little / felt undervalued? Probably not. I picked nursing because I enjoy what I do, but like anything it's a job. I think we put too much value on the mystic surrounding being a nurse...we forget it's a job; you go to work and you get paid. It seems like the people who put a lot of emphasis on the "nurse calling" or make it something more than a job are the ones who are angry. If you had treated it like any job, you probably wouldn't be so upset, since your pay and what you do would not be a surprise.

Are you opposed to sticking around the east coast and starting as a new grad out there? I went to Hopkins and just moved back to California. By staying out on the east coast I was able to start as a new grad in an ICU and used that experience to transition back. The vast majority of my classmates landed positions in amazing hospitals / units right after graduation. Also, my tuition and total cost at Hopkins was less than I would have paid (not much but still less) than SMU. Hopkins tends to give out quite a bit of scholarship money. I was in your shoes about 4 years ago, shoot me a private message if you want more info / advice. Good luck!

Just a heads up for your spouse. Since she will be a new grad she will have a pretty hard time finding a job (search the forums). I know jobs are hard to come by in Tacoma / Seattle but if she can find employment up there i would get some experience and then look down here. I definitely wouldn't move without her securing a position (many new grads are waiting 1-2 years for jobs, if not longer). UC Davis, a big employer in the area has their pay scale online, you should be able to google exactly what your pay will be if you work in the area. Also, check out Davis, Ca as an alternative to Sacramento. It's a very family friendly city and is a great college town.