Lillian2515

Take another look at your cover letter and your interviewing skills. Be prepared for the questions that are generally asked...practice interviewing with a friend.....make sure you look professional....check the websites that give you ideas on "how to interview".....keep applying.....make looking for a job your job. When I was looking I sent out two or three applications a day. I finally figured out that my cover letter was weak and bingo.....got two job offers. Also, think outside of the box. Look for temporary jobs....don't forget about some of the associations; American Cancer, Lung, Heart....they need nurses to teach......good luck........

I'm a new grad on an adult med/surg unit that gets the overflow from critical care....and I'm at a small community hospital. (Graduated with a BSN from an Ivy League school.) Med/surg is very fast paced. We are understaffed at all times and overworked. Nurse patient ratio is 1:5 (or higher) and level of acuity is not taken into consideration for assignments. I generally get no breaks and no lunch. If there is a way you can meet someone who's already employed at the hospital or unit you want to transfer to, and you can get an honest answer from them about working conditions, you will be better prepared. The only information I had to work with was the information I received during my interviewing process and everything sounded like it was going to be a great experience for my first job. I personally will probably be one of the new grads that quits nursing in the first year. As I talk to more experienced nurses it seems that med/surg is always a dumping ground and the nurses are always overworked in these units. I've been there for three months and every day I work on figuring out a way to use my degree for something else. I wanted to try to tough it out for the magical "year of experience" so I could move on to a more specific unit....but I don't think I can. Just sharing my personal experience.....please don't criticize me for that......Good luck to you.

I see that my last post was from July. Since then I have started working at my first RN job. I've been working for three months. I did not take an ACLS class and I did not take the phlebotomy class that I mentioned above. I have learned how to place an IV on the job and so I didn't need the class. I was hired on an adult med/surg unit so ACLS was not required. I will be taking it the next time my employer offers it so it will not be my cost. As far as getting extra certifications before being hired...I think it is a great idea to build your resume. However, in my case, it would not have helped. I got my job because I know someone who is already working for this organization and they brought my resume to the attention of the hiring manager. Had I not known someone I don't think I would have been hired. Turns out the old saying is true...it's not what you know, but who you know.

I was in a terrible situation as an orientee a couple of years ago while I was in nursing school. I got a job as an aide with a nursing home and my final moment came when two of the other aides decided it would be best to try to humiliate me in front of a patient. I left. I was not on the schedule yet. I could not stay one more minute. There were all kinds of violations going on at this particular facility and I was already disgusted with the job. Unfortunately, for me, I'm looking for a nursing job now and I didn't realize that the company that owned the nursing home also owns the hospital. I decided to go ahead and apply for a RN position and they actually called me for an interview. I left a section blank on my application where it asks if I ever worked for them before. I really don't know if I was considered an employee or not when I left. After leaving I wrote a long letter to HR apologizing for leaving so abruptly and listed my reasons for leaving. The letter was very detailed and professional. The DON was not happy, but I don't think she's there anymore. The interview is next week. It will be interesting to see how they bring up my abrupt departure from the other job....two years have past....I hope they will realize that I have learned a lot since then and give me a second chance....since I too am willing to give them a second chance. I wish now that I had not been so inexperienced and had gone up the chain of command to address the issues....but...what's done is done. Going for the interview and hoping it will turn out well.

I considered taking ACLS while job hunting after graduation for the same reasons; the resume! I decided to skip it because of the cost. I am determined to find an employer that will offer this certification. If not, I will register for a class. However, instead of ACLS, I decided to get a certification in phlebotmy. I think it will be more beneficial to show a skill that I can utilize with almost all patients. Two months after graduating....still looking for a job, so time will tell.

The degree does not necessarily match the IQ level. Some schools have much higher standards than others. You have to be above average intelligence to graduate from one of the top ten schools....as well as very passionate and dedicated to the work. Hard work can get you a long way, but if you can't connect the dots......

Contact your local American Red Cross for CPR classes to compare the cost.

I'm a new grad :yeah:and I've heard and seen different employment stories. The most successful are the ones who take a tech/nursing assistant job during the very first semester of school or even before they are accepted into a program. I've seen students get a tech job...then get into the nursing program....then get their clinical assignment matched up with their job site.....and have a job waiting for them when they graduate. I personally did not go that route. I graduated and now I'm preparing for the NCLEX before I even start applying for jobs. Why? you might ask...well...I wasn't aware (not in the loop ) that it would be best to get a tech job while in the program. At this point I'm not considered for a tech job and not licensed as a RN....limbo:uhoh3:. I will just wait to get a license and get in line.

that's what I was saying Bhavana....

Thank God there is not ONE direct....and I emphasize direct...question about care plans on the NCLEX-RN!!!! Of course you have to be able to recognize how different systems interact and how everything is connected to patient outcome, etc., etc.

My class stopped doing care plans. We just make a daily care plan for the patients we're working with, but without NIC/NOC. Very straight forward. List diagnosis, list treatments, explain patho verbally to instructor, write SOAP note, list "further treatment." (THANK GOD! I've seen students in other programs wasting valuable study time on "make believe" care plans...ridiculous!)

Are they taking advantage of having an RN work as a CNA with exceptional skills and knowledge.....at minimal cost??? Go be a nurse and keep your skills. You can get back to the babies later...or work part time somewhere else as an RN and keep the CNA job part time too......

I've been in court a few times and the judge has NEVER called me by my first name....NEVER. So going along with my first post.....I will address a person the way they address me. If they are on a first name basis with me...then, of course I would call them by their first name. In addition, I have never had a police officer call me by my first name either....you know...like with a traffic ticket? Cooking shows? are you kidding? .....no comparison....and you are way off the mark with your comments. WE are talking about how to address your "teachers."

As a non-traditional student, my advice is to go to a small school where they will hopefully respect what you have accomplished in your life and not expect you to fit into the cookie cutter profile (e.g., right out of h.s. with no responsibilities.) Most nursing programs are terribly unorganized and stressful. I was 54 when I started at a very large university.....don't know if I can put up with anymore nonsense long enough to graduate a BSN program. Sorry for the negative response. I'm really a very positive person, but if I knew then what I know now, I would not have chosen nursing school. I wanted to be a nurse. The nursing program experience has turned off my desire to be part of the profession. I feel that I've wasted my only opportunity to have a positive educational experience.

If they call me by my first name, I do the same for them....unless they are obviously really stuffy about titles and INSIST on being called Dr., etc., .....then I submit and kiss a--....which is all that is about anyhow....egos.... titles mean nothing to me......I've known many titled people that don't deserve the "respect" they are insisting on....