reeki

Some units on Sharp will randomly post new grad positions during the year, particularly Mary Birch. I would check at least a few times a week.

The NICU at MB posted a new grad position last week that was separate from Sharp's original application process. Unfortunately it looks like they already closed that application. Perinatal Special Care is a unit that cares only for high risk antepartum and occasionally postpartum patients. All units except NICU at MB like you to have the maternal newborn care course.

el_pom: I live in San Diego and already work at Sharp Mary Birch which I believe really helped. They did tell me they had people coming from the east coast to interview, so you still have a chance if you apply to Sharp again even if you don't live in SD.

I'm not on this forum often but I just came across this thread. I interviewed for the training program last week and was offered a position. However, there were two different positions posted: a new grad nicu training program and a nicu training program for RN's that already have other experience. I had applied for the second since I already have RN work experience. Not sure if they only did interviews for that position or for both but I would assume all new hires from both groups would begin at the same time. Hopefully this is somewhat helpful (although it might also be discouraging). That first job is tough to get these days!

I was hired for Sharp's new grad program at Mary Birch 4 months after graduation and start work in a week. Three of the five new grads hired on my floor were from OU but I know that most of the people in my cohort didn't even get interviews for the program. I don't think this had to do with OU really, just the fact that there are way more new grad RNs than there are positions open. I was also offered a position on a med/surg floor up in san luis obispo that I declined since I chose the Sharp program, and the manager of that floor said she was impressed with where OU placed me for rotations. I applied to literally hundreds of jobs before getting offered these positions so it does take a lot of effort to get a job.

I agree that it is best to take the NCLEX asap after graduation but a few weeks wait won't make or break you. My main point was that in the grand scheme of things a 6-7 week wait really isn't very long. Even if they changed the program to include this and say it was a 16 month program, that is still significantly shorter than many other programs (most are 2 years or more). And yes, it was expensive, but with the economy most universities are increasing their tuition costs so the tuition raise is something you have to account for if you go to a university. It's really unfortunate that the Glendale program, from what you are saying, is so terrible compared to the San Diego program. I found myself hating the school while in the program at times but, for me at least, it was well worth it.

Maybe things have changed in the past couple years? I don't know. I graduated August 3, got my test code to sit for the NCLEX in the beginning of September and actually took the test on September 25 (although I could have taken it as early as September 16 had I wanted to). To me, 7 weeks after graduation to take the test really isn't very long since realistically you are going to want some time to study after you graduate anyway. That's just my 2 cents.

The OU SD program would hold a weeklong ATI review course at the school site or you could sign up for a virtual ATI review course, and we were given a discount for both. I did not take any review courses for the NCLEX so I really cannot tell you if they were helpful or not. I can also tell you that almost everyone in my cohort of over 60 has passed the NCLEX on the first try (I only know of one person for sure who didn't pass). The only problem I had with the blackboard/angel thing was a password issue, and it was a pain in the butt to fix since I could only call during business hours and had to call actual Oklahoma. Some students had problems with quizzes or whatnot and the instructors were for the most part very understanding that technical problems do happen. Most of your instructors live in Oklahoma and you will never meet them. I am a very independent learner so I rarely contacted any of them so I'm not sure how helpful they were. I know some people would email them all of the time and some professors would email back immediately and others would take forever. Just depends on who the professor is. You will have learning lab instructors and clinical instructors that are actually there with you. Once again, most of mine were excellent but there were some that were less than average at teaching. About books, I spent the 1500 or however much it was for that evolve book package that lets you have copies of the books on your computer and I thought it was a huge waste of money. I found that I never used the online versions of the book since I was a) already sick of sitting in front of the computer doing stuff on angel and b) prefer to actually read and highlight in a real book. It is not required to buy that package and I would strongly recommend buying the books from Amazon or somewhere else that you can get them used and much cheaper. They told us the same thing about the scrubs but I never had a clinical instructor who cared. As long as they aren't super wrinkled and your shoes aren't totally scuffed it's not a big deal. A few girls in my class bought different maroon scrubs that looked almost the same and put their OU patch on those. No one even noticed or if they did they never said anything. As for stethoscope, you can buy whatever you want. The complaint part, well most of the time they really seem to not care and it was very frustrating. The usual response to a complaint about scheduling or clinical placements was "We told you this may happen before you started the program, yadda yadda." I would also advise you to speak up to whoever is making clinical placements for your senior preceptorship. They gave us a sheet to list the three places we would want to do a preceptorship and I would say 70% were placed on a unit that was not even on our list or remotely close to the type of nursing we wanted to do. Also, don't let them fool you by saying "it doesn't matter where you do your preceptorship as long as you do one." That is not at all true and screwed me out of being able to apply to the UCSD new grad program in anything other than med/surg. The UCSD recruiter told me that the hiring managers really only look at people who did a preceptorship or externship on the type of unit they are applying for. So, don't let them screw you over with your placement.

I am a graduate of the SD OU program and have a few things to add. While the program was very frustrating and unorganized, it is a good program academically. If you take it upon yourself to do the work and reading (you already know it's an online program so if this isn't for you then you are already guaranteed to have problems) you will learn what is necessary to be a good nurse. I have heard that the Glendale program is worse than SD and I think it is awful that they made you guys drive all the way to SD to do your peds with no compensation. I would be angry too. However, I have to correct you on a few things. Some hospitals don't pay ADN RN's differently than BSN RNs but others do. I was just hired by Sharp and when HR discussed my hourly rate they told me that my rate is higher than an ADN nurse since I have my BSN. Also, the wait to get into any of the ADN programs here in SD is about 3 years and I have seen multiple job posts where they state they prefer someone with a BSN over an ADN. So to me it seems it would be better to get the BSN in the long run, even if it does cost more. Another thing about being put on the queu with other non OU students at Glendale Adventist makes sense. I know, at least here in SD, they told us a similar thing about them liking OU students however, there is no written contract saying that the hospital has to take or consider OU applicants before others. I may be wrong, but I think it may not even be legal for the hospital to bump up your application just because you did clinicals at that hospital. About the transcript and the program being longer than 14 months. It is 14 months and they told us the transcript and NCLEX elgibility would take anywhere from 4-6 weeks after we graduate before we even started the program (maybe it was different for Glendale?). It takes the BRN a while to process all of your stuff to make you elgible for the NCLEX and that is totally out of OU's hands. I also know that down here in SD, the other nursing schools don't line you up jobs prior to graduation either. That being said, the program definitely had it's issues and my main problem with the SD program was scheduling. They will constantly change your schedule at last minute, which makes it nearly impossible to have a life outside of school during those 14 months, and yes some of the staff was rude at times. But, overall, it was well worth the money and I got a new grad position on my unit of choice 4 months after graduation.

I was lucky enough to get two new grad position offers (one in med/surg and one on a perinatal special care unit) and I got each of them through applying online. I have heard that it is much easier to at least get to the interview process if you know a nurse manager, so like everyone else says, start networking. Ask friends if they know any nurse managers and for their numbers or email addresses. I think a big part of why I was offered the two positions was that I have most of my advanced certifications (BLS, ACLS, PALS, and Advanced NRP) and my RN license (I don't know if you have yours or are still studying or have your IP). Also, the nurse manager for the perinatal special care unit seemed impressed that I had already joined AWHONN (the woman's health, etc. nursing association). I think it showed that I really cared about entering that field of nursing. Another thing I was told was that my cover letter was good, so make sure to send a cover letter with your resume that shows how passionate you are about whatever unit you are applying to. So I would suggest getting these certifications if you can afford it, make sure to pass your NCLEX if you haven't done so yet, and write a good cover letter to always send with your application and/or resume.

There are ADN programs at City College, Grossmont College, and Palomar College that I have heard great things about. However, there is a 2-3 year wait list for each of these colleges and you have to have your prerequisites done before you can even get on the wait list. There is Kaplan College that has a nursing program (not sure if it is ADN or BSN) and National University that has BSN programs. These two admit students based on credentials instead of keeping a wait list so it would probably be faster to go through one of those. Do you have a previous bachelor degree in anything else? If you do than you could go the second accelerated BSN route through CSU San Marcos or University of Oklahoma (they have a San Diego campus). All of these schools will give you the proper credentials and education to obtain your RN registration.

I graduated from the San Diego ASBN program through OU a couple months ago, so I cannot tell you that much about the Glendale program but I do know they have the same schedule and curriculum. Although the program was pretty unorganized it was well worth the stress. The education was excellent if you are the type of person who can learn on your own with minimal help (I am but some people hated it) since most of your coursework is completely online. People who need more guidance and lectures may not do as well in this program. The students in my class were more than competent, and if you are not then you don't graduate. There were a few people in my class who couldn't cut it and ended up dropping out or failing classes and getting kicked out. My class graduated in August 09 and so far I only know of one person out of the 60 or so people that graduated with me that haven't passed the NCLEX, so that must say something about the type of education. The only negatives were the constantly changing schedule (you basically have to kiss any type of life goodbye) and I know that the Glendale students in the last cohort had to commute all the way to San Diego to do their pediatric rotations. Hope that helps!