TXRN2012

AppleJacks is Right,,,,I graduated 2011 also, and from what I know we have >90% pass rate. NCLEX Tips: 1 - Study the ATI books and take the practice exams. That information is really a great prep for NCLEX and will help you pass the school exams. 2- Take a review course after graduation. HURST was amazing. 3 - NCLEX 4000 has great questions to review as well. 4- Saunders CD in the book has great practice questions. I took NCLEX, 2 months after graduation and passed with 75 questions. I was nervous of course and I doubt anyone ever feels 100% ready...but after I finished my exam...I knew I did well. The point is...you get out the program what you put in. Your success rate on the NCLEX will depend on the studying you put in. Job advice: During the summer session of school get your resume proof read and ready to send out. Request at least 3 letters of recommendations from faculty (ask before all your classmates bombard the instructors). Be READY to apply to nurse GN Positions (Paid Internships with training) in October!!! DO NOT WAIT until after graduation. Last, be flexible. Everyone has a dream job, but everyone has to start somewhere. Experience is experience. Be honest, no one is begging for a new grad they have to spend tons of money to train. My story: I picked about 3 areas I would be content to work in and started applying to jobs in October. I interviewed at 3 places and landed 2 of the 3. Several of us have jobs. But as applejacks says, finding a job is a challenge for anyone. Good luck. Hope this helps.

Okay, okay..so maybe the ER has experience and maybe the NICU...but wow....AS A NEW GRAD I would love an eperienced pedi nurse helping me run the wing just for back up and to help admit the patients (no admin or techs at night)....getting back to back admissions can be very difficult to do all alone. I am new...just hoping it will get better I guess. I signed the contract knowing I would be a peds nurse and working scarce...but I didn't realize they would lave me alone fresh out the gate....thanks for listening to my rants...just praying everyday for strength. God has a plan for me : )

Well if the child needs intubating I would have to rush them back down to the ER and of course they would then be transfered out. We usually get the more lighter patients, but we get a lot of respiratory cases. And as any peds nurse knows....that can go south very quickly. I am PALS certified, but I am so new and I just really would like the support and knowledge depth of a seasoned nurse. I feel comfortable flying solo...just need the back up during emergent situations....which can happen anytime..I honestly am miserable and extremely anxious when I go to work. The fear of working alone! :/ Thanks for the responses. Oh and age range is 0-18....we take all children...and when I say we..I mean ME. : ) All the other nurses act CLUELESS..yes even with 18 year olds twice my size.

I am blessed to have landed a job right out of college. Graduated 12/11 and started my job 02/12. I went through a great residency, had preceptors, I work with pretty nice people...BUT.. here is the problem. I work in a small community hospital, so I am a pediatric nurse but work in several other areas. We are not a pediatric hospital so our peds census is generally low. This means that at times I WORK ALONE as the only pediatric nurse in the entire hospital. I work nights, so we have no doctors, no other pediatric nurses, or any medical response teams for children. We are hardly equiped to care for peds. Other night nurses, including charge nurses will have nothing to do with anyone under 18. I have enormous anxiety and stress being the ONLY PEDIATRIC NURSE in the entire hospital as a new graduate. I only have 6 months experience. IS THIS SAFE? I have a three yr contract I signed but I am miserable most nights fearing I will have to work alone. I fear I will lose my license and worse, harm a child. I have communicated this concern with SEVERAL management people and it has got me nowhere. I am scheduled to work alone a couple times this coming month. I get sick at the very thought. So my question is...is this considered SAFE NURSING and if not, is it something I could use to get out of my contract? Thanks for reading.

I understand the anxiety the application process can bring. The description above about the interview process is spot on. Just be professional and prepared (they will tell you what you need, just follow directions). Good luck to you all! ~ graduating 12.10.11

helpful, thanks for sharing.

Yoli79...thank you! Good luck to you too! Nice to meet you.

Yoli...congrats! guess our essays weren't that bad.

Im in! Cheers....

Lonestar is a wonderful college, but I would go with UHV if you get an offer. I know a ton of people that were in my classes (pre-reqs) retaking stuff to apply to nursing school all over again because they only had an ADN. A BSN allows you greater opportunities. I would def struggle now and get the BSN, instead of dealing with the stress of re-applying to a BSN program later, and struggling later. That is of course assuming you would want to eventually go back for a BSN, which I see a lot of people do. Either way, good luck!

Am I the only one who hasn't received an email telling me my application is in review and/or complete? I emailed an advisor and I didn't receive a response. :dancgrp:

The application has a "to do" list that lets you know what is lacking. The only piece of information in my to do list is the UHV email reminder. However, my application status says "INCOMPLETE". Could I be missing something, or will it say incomplete until it is denied or accepted? Thanks.

1.Yes, keep your job because there is not guarantee you will be immediately accepted into nursing. I work 44 hours a week and take one class each opportunity (fall, summer I, summer II, Spring) 2.My work is currently slow so I use my l unch breaks and slooooooow times to study. 3.I do all online! It is definitely the way to go. 4.Lab is a couple (4) times on saturdays 5.Weekends