Nevada_RN

I have a BSN, PALS, ACLS, telemetry certification, stroke certification, and chemotherapy certification. I keep up with continuing education annually. I have applied mostly for medical/ surgical and oncology positions. I have also applied for jobs where they say they are wiling to train those without requisite experience. My old manager and a few friends who work in administration say my resume looks great. I am in the Sacramento area because it is where my fiance lives. He cannot move. I really don't want to move 2-3 hours away and cannot afford to pay for two places (since I will likely rent a place if I moved to Redding, Red Bluff, etc.) I have applied for jobs in Placerville and Marysville as well as San Andreas, Stockton, Manteca, etc. Pretty much everything with 1-1.5 hour drive. Anymore than that and I might as well just go back full time at my old hospital since it's only 2 hours away.

I am feeling really defeated right now. I have been applying for acute care positions in California for over nine months. I moved to the Sacramento area when I got a job in a chemotherapy clinic. I jumped at it because I felt it was my foot in the door. I had to resign the position because it was downright dangerous. While I was at the clinic, I continued to apply for hospital jobs. I've applied for everything - medical, oncology, ICU, ER, etc. I've probably applied for close to 100 jobs in the hospital setting. Not even ONE interview. In the meantime, I have been working at my old job per diem in Nevada. I am not a new grad. I have almost three years experience in medical/ oncology. I feel that getting a job at a SNF or nursing home is a step back especially since I already am employed at a hospital. What can I do other than go see the managers in person? I can't seem to get past the recruiters. It's starting to get a little ridiculous. Advice? Encouragement? Thank you.

I am thinking about taking the plunge into ER nursing. I have a chance to get in at the hospital group where I currently work. (The ER is non-trauma, by the way.) I've been a Med/Onc nurse (in Nevada) for 2 1/2 years. I switched to infusion (in California) about 3 months ago and am bored out of my mind. (I still work per diem in med/onc, so my bedside skills are current.) Here is my dilemma. I am extremely intimidated by ER. I know it's hectic and sometimes controlled chaos at best, I am concerned that I don't know enough. I'm scared of hurting, or worse, killing someone. I like the floor, but it's next to impossible to even get an interview. I like to idea of ER, but again, I am really nervous about going to ER. Any advice?

Fellow nurses, I am in need of some guidance with my particular situation. I have been an acute care/ inpatient nurse for a little over two years. A few months in med/ surg and two years in medical/ oncology. I currently live in N. Nevada. I have a job interview in the Sacramento area for a small (3 chairs) outpatient chemotherapy infusion center affiliated with one of the major hospitals in the area. (I would be mixing chemo, assessing patients during infusion, and following up with patients afterward.) I am excited for the opportunity, but am reticent to take the job if it is offered to me because I am afraid that I will ruin my chances to get back into the inpatient hospital setting. I really don't want to lose my nursing skills. My questions are these (bear with me, please... I am anxious): Should I take the job given that fact that California nursing jobs are hard to come by and plan on transferring to an inpatient job in a year or so? Will going to the outpatient setting be a step in the wrong direction? Do I wait for an inpatient job to be offered to me? I love my current job, but want to get to CA as my fiance lives there. Also, my eventual plan is to get my MSN and become a NP or teach. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!

I am planning on moving to Sacramento soon. I have two years of experience in medical/oncology. I know jobs are hard to come by, so I know I will be looking for a while. (And yes, it's California, so I know taxes, traffic, etc.) My question is, which hospitals are good? Pay? Benefits? Etc? I would love to work for Kaiser, but I'd pretty much have to sell my (nonexistant) first born child and sell a kidney and half my liver to get a job there. What is Sutter or Dignity (Mercy San Juan) like? Davis? Any input would be great. Thanks!

I know this is an old post, but here goes... I am a new grad working on a surgical unit. It is a 50 bed unit in a 900+ bed trauma hospital. It is the largest hospital in the area. While I love my co-workers and the patients, we are constantly busy. I've had up to 8 patients in one day if you include the transfers, discharges, and admissions. Normally, I have 6 patients. We do get medical overflow and plenty of isolation patients. It is definitely a challenge as a new grad, but I love it. Obviously, my experience on the surgical unit will vary from others' experiences because I do work in a large hospital with a lot of surgeries going on every day. While I cannot speak to medical units, I can say that surgical units are typically very busy units. That being said, it gives you great experience. That is just my two cents.

Be a duck. (As in, let it roll off your back.)

I took the NCLEX on 1/17. I did the PVT about an hour after my exam and got the "good" popup. Not convinced, I paid $8 for the unofficial results. I passed on that too. My license hasn't posted yet, but Nevada is notoriously slow on posting licenses. CONGRATULATIONS!! You passed! Welcome to the club!

Thanks Kemi and CP2013! I am so glad I'm finally done with the studying and stress! CP, good for you on already doing questions. I did about 100-200 questions per day to help prepare for NCLEX. I'm sure you will pass the first time. It's a challenging exam, but not all that bad in the end.

I passed with 75 questions! I am a RN! All the stress does seem silly now, but (as all nurses know) when you've all this time and money in nursing school, one can't help but be a little apprehensive about the NCLEX.

Hello all, I am testing on Thursday 1/17 and I am really scared. I have done all the questions in the Saunders Comprehensive NCLEX-RN book (read chapters that I scored less than 75% on the end-of-chapter quiz) and done about 1,000 questions from the CD, I've done the entire Saunders Q&A book, LaCharity PDA, and some Kaplan Question Trainers that I found online (my scores on those were QT1 68%, QT2 81.9%, QT3 64%, QT4 67%, QT5 64% QT6 67%, QT7 64%). I got a 76% on the Kaplan CD. I've done probably a total of 5,500 questions. I did really well in school - nearly straight A's and I got a 98% chance of passing on my ATI predictor. It's probably overkill and I'm being ridiculous, but I'm just nervous about the exam. Should I just relax and take it easy for the next few days? Any advice would be great.

The RN (not RN to BSN) program at UNR is getting ridiculously competitive. I spoke to my adviser and they look only at GPA. They do not look at how many prereqs you have finished, nor do they look at NV residency, etc. (Bear in mind, this is only for the RN program). I have also applied for the RN program and am still waiting to hear. I don't think I'll get in with a 3.757, but you never know.

I pay for private health insurance. $220/ month for myself. My deductible - $1500, copay $30/ visit. It boggles my mind that people who have insurance plans tied to their place of work pay more than I do.

I, too, have heard about the expansion. According to my nursing advisor, it is not set in stone, as there is a shortage of clinical instructors. I guess we will find out when the application comes out. I am applying again to UNR for nursing. (My 3.69 wasn't good enough the first time.) I am reapplying with a 3.757 and am freaking out about it. The little monster of doubt is telling me it won't be good enough. I hope the little bugger is wrong.

Bowz916 - Depending on which classes you have to (re)take, it can take about 3-4 semesters. There are 37 credits that taken into consideration for the UNR program - prerequisites are listed here: OSN Forms. Orvis used to be easier to get into, but it is getting more and more competitive every semester. The minimum admitting GPA this time was 3.73. I would shoot for as high of GPA as possible. Best of luck to you!