Barbara Hessinger

My advice is to apply further away, maybe even at the opposite site of the country. This will test your relationship with your boyfriend and who knows, even open your eyes. Unsupportive men are a dime a dozen in my opinion. Good luck and you will succeed...

What you said pretty much sums it up. I am approaching the end of my first year in nursing and it is beyond scary how little I was prepared to do this job. Neither good for one's license nor patient safety. Critically thinking doesn't help if you don't have a solid foundation to perform basic skills. One of the reasons why I decided to exit after the first year of school.

Great posts. A good start would be to offer smaller clinical groups. But then the schools would have to hire more clinical teachers which means cutting into their profit...

Joanna, I didn't realize that you are in Canada. What part? I agree with you. When I was younger, I was always moving where the jobs were, within the country and even overseas. Why sitting at one place when there is a whole world to discover.

Here are my 2 cents. With the aging population in the US and the increased need for home care and LTC I can't imagine that LPN's will disappear. Why would a for profit corp pay for RN's when the same work can be done by LPN's. Health Care is a business after all.

"But I am only human" Didn't you know that nurses have to be super humans??? LOL.

I think it is a good way to get your feet wet and see if you like nursing. You can always get your RN later. I see many new RN's working in LTC right now because of the job situation.

I can so relate to you. I am German and find the medical language and its pronunciation quite challenging. I have worked other jobs and never had the language problems I seem to have as an ESL nurse. Hang in there, you will be ok.

There are some free practice exams online. Just google Hesi. My classmates bought a Hesi test book and some claimed that it helped. Take a look online what's available.

I have never worked as a LPN after I finished the first year of school. The refresher course might be a good idea. Who knows. So Ontario is tough too. I am in AZ. Keep me updated on your progress. You can send me a private message if you like. Just go to your "My Account". Good luck to you.

I am in the same boat as you. My intention was to take a break for a year and go back for the RN but after realizing how bad the job market is for us I pass. I have no intention to spend more on school only to be in the same situation again a year later. Where are you located?

Congrats! School nurse sounds like an exiting first job. Let us know how it goes.

Are you in AZ? I tend to agree with you on the economy. AZ is not looking too good. Just read yesterday that the Phoenix housing market will take a long, long time to recover. The military bases and surroundings still do fairly well here but that's about it. The retirees are not coming down here as they used too and that hurts health care in AZ.

Buy used books online. Most of the time I even bought an older edition which really saves you some money.

After reading all these posts, I really believe that nursing is way underpaid for the amount of fear (anxiety?) nurses have to deal with.

What job are you interviewing for? One of the questions I was asked on and off was what are my strengths and weaknesses. Stay calm and good luck.

Nursing might not be the dream job for many, but it sure is nice to have a license and of course the pesky experience in this current environment. I have been in the real estate business for many years after a short stint being a CNA and regret that I didn't pursue the health care field at a younger age in addition to my enjoyable sales job. You can never have too many degrees, licenses etc. especially in a tough job market. To diversify is the trick here.

Is the Department of Corrections actually hiring new grad LPNs in CA? Here in AZ, they want the one year experience like everybody else.

Being older is ok but the first consideration should be if you will be able to find a job. At our age it will hurt us not to pay into social security for any length of time. I speak from experience here.

Interesting discussion. I think that the guy was pushed into a corner by constant rejection which was partially his own fault. His behavior got him kicked out of college, he lost several jobs and the army rejected him. That's a lot to deal with and no doubt left him out there hopeless and he probably developed feelings of hate and anger towards society. The current economic environment will push some people over the edge and as a society, we have to be aware and not single out those who need our help.

I just started to try that this weekend. I hope something might come out of it and as you say, good to add to the old resume. The rejection is a tough one to deal with. Everybody, hang in there and good luck.

Just read your post and even not knowing you, my heart goes out to you and your husband. Best wishes for both of you, Barbara

Couple things here. I agree with looking into PT, OT. I noticed that those are the only jobs available in my area on a daily basis and new graduates are welcome to apply. A good site to follow up on layoffs and company closings is dailyjobcuts.com. I haven't followed this site religiously but noticed hospital closings and health care related layoffs.

Just a quick comment. I don't appreciate some of you saying that the" no hiring new grad" threads are BS. The situation is different for everybody and people post here for support and encouragement. Often, it just helps to hear that others are in the same boat. Thank you!!

I am 51 and can care less about opinions, attitudes etc. But I know it took me a long time to get here. Trust me, you will be ok in the long run.