CecileSF

Definitely not too old. I've had people in my NP courses who had long careers and then went back to school. They have fufiling careers as NPs now and their experience helped them transition. However, ALL of them took a substantial pay cut because they are now "new grads" and get paid an entry level salary. You have to decide if the pay cut is worth it.

Given comparable pass rates. I would attend the less expensive option. The curriculum is the same in all schools because boards require that FNP students take a specific set of classes. USC does not offer any extra classes or resources that other nursing schools don't have. Although the school is in Los Angeles, USC hires outside for profit companies which are not located in the area, to manage major parts of the program such as curriculum information and clinical sites. Students have to correspond with these companies and the university itself during the program. Unfortunately, USC is not accountable for the quality of these contracted businesses since they are not part of the university. Most state schools in California are streamlined and a great value for the education.

The FNP field is extremely impacted and many new grads have difficulty finding jobs. However, I found that some students know this fact going into their programs and are not expecting wages to be much higher than an RN. At least in my state. Those who I know are primary care physician have job offers before they even finish residency. PCPs are still in high demand, but NPs are not. I understand it is different in other parts of the country, but this is the case where I reside. Good luck to you all

Hi and congrats! I wanted to give some helpful tips to the people who are starting. Keep in touch frequently with your clinical placement coordinators and get updates. Although USC finds clinical placements for you, there are students held back a semester due to lack of preceptors. The program has some great professors, so far I haven't run into any major problems. There are still many technical difficulties, as most online programs. We use a platform called 2U, started by the founder of the Princeton Review, and is a contracted for profit company specializing in online education. So when you have issues, you won't be contacting USC directly. Just be sure to make that distinction and always tell your professors when you have issues. It is also very difficult to have a job with clinicals, even on a part time schedule. Good luck!

In some high acuity cases nurses are taking care of pregnant women along with all their co morbidities, the antepartum(pre-delivery) patients come with all their med-surg issues with pregnancy on top of that. Heart conditions, long term illnesses, psychiatric, pregnancy induced diseases you will find them all in a labor and delivery department. I'll admit that the L&D is not as acute as ICU; however, there have been so many times where the L&D nurses have to know how to stabilize a very sick patient before transporting to more critical care areas. People seem surprised when nursses mention women with insulin drips and PICC lines in some of the high acuity L&D units.

Almost every nurse I've know has either cried or were on the verge of crying as a new nurse (and beyond). It is stressful and nothing in school prepares you for the realities of nursing. You are are on information overload and learning so much. One day you will be yelled at by a doctor, nurse, or patient and have to handle it with grace. It does get better, but just realize that there will be a lot of highs and a lot of lows.

I've stayed overtime to chart before because treating the patient is more important, but I really keep it to a minimum to cover myself if I ever have to go to court. Some days it is so busy in my department that I don't chart anything except for meds, orders, physician interactions for 4-6 hours. I make notes on my paper for everything else and back chart. Honestly, doctors want to know you gave treatment/meds in a timely manner, not that you did your 30 minute charting according to protocol. My priority for charting is 1)protection from litigation and 2)giving the oncoming nurse enough info to do their job. And I never double chart unless it is absolutely necessary and the info cannot be seen from another place.

You deserve to be on vacation and have some time off. You will come back relaxed. I want you to realize that being off and taking your PTO will not affect the unit. Sometimes managers will try to guilt trip people into coming into work when we are short staffed. Nurses should not be the ones to fix the staffing and work problems of the facility. You will remember the great times you had in life, your friends, and your family. That patient, nurse, and doctor working while you are off will not even remember that you were off and the unit was short staffed by the next pay period. In the mean time, good luck finding a better job. I've had doctors even telling each other to just let the on call doctor take over the patients duties while they have important occasions. The patient will have a good outcome whether or not you are there, and there is competent care. Thats really all the patient remembers, that some one was there to help them.

I had a same issue when I a switched to a new job after a few years of working. I am still a fairly new nurse but not a new grad. I went from a busy high acuity hospital to one which is less busy and I thought it would be easy. I am introverted and awkward so I didn't always get become great friends with my coworkers, but my skills earned their respect. At my new job, I had to prove myself all over again, it was like being a new grad. The senior nurses, and even younger nurses, would hover over me and give me advice. Because of this, I have gotten negative feedback because I did things the way I was used to, not how the culture of the new facility does it. My skills were rated very highly though. My confidence went down hill. It will take time, but the longer I work there the more trust my coworkers will give me. Hang in there, it will take time to get used to this new setting, although it is slower paced. I feel like learning the routine and getting along with your coworkers is half the battle.

It really depends if you are up to the commute. You can always change your mind and move. Socal has one of the worst drives, even if you are going against traffic. I've done 1.5hr commutes in traffic to clinicals, and that was my limit. But I have many many classmates who where driving an hour to class or clinicals. I live in a big city area so driving long distances in traffic is not uncommon.

It really depends on the situation, nursing practice areas vs. break room. However, I do admit that I have many co workers who speak their own language in public hospital areas. Some people just don't care and do what they want despite management asking them not to. One time I asked a nurse to report something for me and she said "I just did, you just didn't understand because I spoke in my own language to the receiving nurse". I had to pick my battles because the nurse has been helpful to me, so I let it go. There have been many situations like this where I wanted to make a comment but didn't because you will make enemies very quickly.

It's easy to pick on the young people and take advantage of them. I was a new grad just a few years ago and I did not get bullied as badly as some of my friends and co workers when I started. From the stories my fellow nurses have experienced AND watching extreme bullying happen to others, I am surprised those nurses are still in this industry. But it does not stop at new grads, the worst bullying I've witnessed is actually among experienced nurses.

It's hard for people to understand. And also, its very common for nurses to just take a nap in the morning so they can do things during the day time. People just assume they can stay up on only 3 hours of sleep. Sometimes it's guilt too. Night shift can be just as demanding as day shift, I can't even count the days where I went without a lunch or breaks at night.

Managers and favoritism is very common in nursing, thats just how it is. I suggest that you make it know to your manager AGAIN and any other direct higher ups that you want to do day shift. This is not discrimination from pregnancy. Because at your work there is no set seniority path, like officially written, you need to make your preferences known. If a day shift position ever opens on your job board, go ahead and apply for it if it is publicly posted (internal or external posts). After you applied, tell your manager you have applied and the steps you can take to make it a reality. It seems like most positions for day shift may be done informally at your hospital so this is not possible, but if a spot opens up give a friendly reminder to manager that you would be willing to fill it. I would even tell your coworkers too keep a look out for you.

Would be nice to get rid of 12 hr shifts where it is so busy where I don't get a lunch or break.

California is notorious for have a very difficult job market for new nurses, both southern and northern california. Average time to find a job after graduation is 6-9 months, and it might not be a hospital job. For new grads in northern california, the wages can range from $45-70. I know it is a wide range, but it depends on where you work. The cost of living is much much lower in Southern california and most new grads start at $28-37. Each hospital have their own differentials, nurse unions, and contracts; I can't go into wage details because it is so different between hospitals/public vs. private. I would say to move to southern california because even if the wages are lower, so are rent and goods. It is much easier to gain savings and live off one income comfortably

I would hand deliver written cards and leave them at the department the interviewers are in (given that you live close and aren't relocating). But at the very least send them thank you emails with a 1-2 sentence reminder of who you are. Short and simple ONLY. Either email or cards are okay. I was always taught that sending thank yous was absolutely necessary for a job.

With 6 years experience in Los Angeles you would be making in the $40-50. I really can't tell you exactly because wages vary depending on the area the hospital is in, but that is an average range. As for living expenses, I really would not pay less than $1500 for a one bedroom apartment or studio to be in a safe neighborhood.

What makes me not like my career at times is not patient care or even the technical skills, it is my coworkers and hospital management. Bullying is a huge issue, doesn't matter if you are a new or experienced nurse. Thankfully, I have not been bullied much. But I've seen nurses get in screaming matches at the nurses station, belittling our techs, and taking advantage of nicer nurses. The worst I've seen is one of my coworkers being followed by another nurse into our lounge and yelled at. The way that I've seen some nurses treat each other would get them fired in another industry. Unless the issue is a patient related problem, HR cannot fire you just for nurse to nurse fights.

This is similar to the place I've worked at: no clinical ladder, no committees, no masters level positions. Just focus on your duties and your job as a nurse. Management/leadership RNs also do not stay long in our hospital. Seniority and yearly pay raises is the only way you can go "upward". Some hospitals I've been at had at least chances for nurses to be on committees and make improvements to pt care and the hospital, the extra hours doing this comes with bonuses. Because of the lack of upward mobility I don't plan on staying at this place very long. For some nurses who really like bedside and want the same position, this is great. But for others who want to go a different direction, you have to go to another facility. Go to a place where you can reach your goals, all others are stepping stones. Everybody has a different idea where they want to be in their career, some enjoy staying put some enjoy trying new jobs.

As someone who has done an accelerated program, you cannot bypass bedside nursing. Some have done it, but most job applications state they require 1-5 years of bedside nursing. Some of my friends have gotten jobs in community health and health offices without bedside nursing, really depends what type of nursing you want. You WONT be using your masters degree in nursing untill at least 5 years down the line because no one will hire you for an advanced position with no experience. I really want you to reconsider if nursing is for you. I loved my masters portion of my clinicals in school, but most of my mentors had years of experience in bedside nursing before getting a job as an advanced masters practice nurse. While youre in the beginning of your career you will be be working with RN's who are community college, bachelors, and some masters all starting in the same place. They wont have the same goals or schooling as you and being promoted is hard.

Like others said, there may be more to this story. As a nurse on a unit which can be very busy, I've snapped before but only once. It was on a double 8hour shift which I was asked to stay as an extra, this means I had a 16hour shift that day. By the 17th hour right before my shift ended, I snapped and complained about a co worker who was just hostile because I asked for help based on the reason because i was "extra" and was really there to help everyone else. Charge nurse was swampped was equally dismissive of requests. Sometimes bad situations can cause bullying, its not acceptable but it happens and needs to change.

I completely have sympathy for the poster. As a recent graduate it has been really tough and I've been doing nursing aide jobs with no opportunity for promotion so i can support myself. My advice is to apply for both hospital and sub acute jobs. That's what I have been doing. But where I live, new grads are also scrambling for those "undesireable" jobs and it can still take months. Several long term care job posting in my city were taken down only after only 2 days because there were so many applicants. Good luck, this situation is tough but temporary! I'm nervous everyday but hanging in there. Dont be discouraged, you arent the only one.

thanks buttercup, and good luck to you!

Hi everyone, I'm wondering if any of you got any correspondence after confirming for interviews. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to get any info afterwards and its driving me nuts. Did all call or email for confirmation?