ncsportsfan

I'm not sure where you live but I didn't pass an ADN program and applied at another school and got into the LPN program. They only took the grades that were passing and didn't look at the others as far as acceptance criteria. I think it may different at universities, but most CC are about the same. Whether you choose LPN or RN its going to be tough finding a job. You may not find what you really want but you have to start somewhere. I seriously doubt you will find a hospital job as a new grad LPN. But nursing homes and home care are hiring new grads. And don't turn your nose up at a prison job, state jobs are great benefit and long term wise. Plus you would have more autonomy there unless you are worried about the population. Some people won't admit but in this job market a job is a job and be glad if you get one, get the experience then move one.

The open house I was referring to is March 8th in Winston Salem at Forsyth Medical -Novant. If you want specifics and the evite link PM me and I'll forward it to you.

I'm in North Carolina. As far as out of work nurses, its expensive to hire new grads. With there being so many experienced nurses looking to find work in a different field or location its easy to find experience. Plus you have so many new grads taking a job anywhere just to get that year of experience they are sticking around either. Its like a gamble these days. I find it hard to tell someone they are doing the wrong thing by getting an ADN first, now LPN would be something different. Most jobs still offer tuition reimbursement. Unless you know that ADN's aren't getting jobs where you live, it sounds like you in need of money fast, I'd get that ADN.

It really depends on where you live, where you want to work, and what your nursing career holds for you. Like another poster said if you want to be more than a staff nurse you need your BSN, if you need to work faster get your ADN. At most universities there is only 2yrs of nursing classes, the same with community colleges. With most CC's requiring prereq's before you can enter the nursing program it takes at least 3 years to complete the ADN if you don't have the sciences. I have a ADN, I'm currently in a new grad orientation with a BSN and another ADN. All three of us have classmates who haven't found jobs. So the degree behind your name doesn't affect your job choices in the beginning for most new grads. The only thing I have noticed about BSN students is something got to work in critical care units because they used preceptors instead of at the CC's the instructor taking 4-6 students on a general med floor.

@QueensNurse congrats, you should be on cloud 9. I know I was when I accepted my job. I don't mean to discourage anyone from attending, I've forwarded information for the next one several people. Had I not been offered a job elsewhere I'd be there too.

I agree with most of the other posters have said. Bridging only added one more semester in my program. It was still 2yrs total, just six semesters 3 for LPN, 3 for the bridge, instead of 5 for ADN. I chose LPN first because one I was clueless, and two I thought I would be able to work and do the bridge. I say clueless because I wasn't aware of the LPN's scope in NC, and that there is a dramastic pay difference unless you want to do LTC. Foolishly I didn't work as a LPN because the job I had paid better than new grad RN's so I couldn't take that pay cut and go back to school. Foolishly I didn't try for a hospital job when they were actually hiring some LPN's in my area like some of my classmates. I could have made up in pay working nights and weekends. Lucky for me I only had to wait one semester after grauation before entering the bridge program. However when I went on interviews the fact that I had a LPN license and didn't really use it hurt me. I think even working at LTC would have shown my ability to multi task and take care of more than the 3 patients I had in school. Alot of LTC still offer weekend option jobs that are really helpful when trying to bridge, and the pay is pretty decent at a good facility. When someone asks me about doing LPN or RN, I ask them about their finances and how soon they need to work. Both programs are time consuming. But can you afford to work 2yrs as a CNA while in RN school, or do you need a 1yr program as LPN but probably won't land that hospital job when you finish.

I'm not a beach or mountain kind of girl. But I love the "city" atomosphere of Charlotte, plus they have all the sports I love football, basketball even hockey! I can stay "uptown" and have a ball!

I agree with networking. I was about to start volunteering at free clinic for resume padding and to see who I might meet. I had an old high school classmate get me an interview but I think I bombed the interview and didn't get the job. But here is how I think I got my job as a new grad. When I was in school I paid attention to departments/floors my classmates wanted to work on. I figured those were the floors everyone wanted to work on like ED, Tele, ICU, trauma, Peds, L&D. Although critical care would have been nice, I figured my odds better on a general med/surg like neuro, resp, or renal. I then decided that I may have to go to hospital that wasn't local. I applied for jobs that were in a 90 mile radius. Oddly enough I got two interviews close to home. The first one I didn't get, even though I had a good interview. Second I bombed because I didn't answer questions clearly or make myself seem confident and I didn't ask many questions for either interview, nor did I send thank you cards. I just wanted to work, get my 6mths to a year experience then move on if I wasn't happy. I thought it was a wash on a hospital job so I went to about 7 or 8 LTC places. Got offered a job at two of them. While waiting to take my boards I got a call from another hospital. I did a phone interview which kind of took me by surprise. By then I had researched interview tips and found a good way of saying how I really felt. Which was there wasn't a particular area calling out to me, I know I want to get a good solid footing in a med/surg unit, I know that during my clinical rotations I work on these departments and I felt most confident and competent in these areas. When I got an actual department interview I changed my statements to reflect the floor I was interviewing on. I had questions about management styles, staffing options/ratios, equipment, philosophies, opportunities for me to join shared governance, training, etc. I then asked where they thought new grads went wrong or struggled the most. I asked to meet some of the staff asked them some of the same questions, expressed my desire to work, my understanding about 12hr shifts and wanting to know how best to make my transition. Got home wrote out thank you cards based on tips I saw on here. I got that job!

I was a lazy student, C student all the way just enough to get by. I was great in clinicals, did great on ATI's, passed the NCLEX first time PN and RN with the minimum questions. I was A/B student in prereqs because I knew that was the only way I getting into nursing school. But reading a Nursing textbook is the most boring thing I have ever done in my life. I studied by answering NCLEX review book questions, not textbooks, and maybe glanced at powerpoints. There were times I was borderline and I'd kick it up near test time to make sure I got through. Near the end of my studies I realized I was close to getting B's and tried but I ended up less than half a point off twice. Nursing school didn't scare me, I was able to work two jobs, I was able to go out with friends and family. I'm not saying it was easy but I wasn't stressed like many others are. I've seen so many people study daily for hours end just to bomb on a test. They over think, second guess, and don't realize what the questions are asking. If you are lucky enough to have the same professor in one semester you should be able to understand their tests after the first one. I say all this to say if you were an A student before you can still be one. It takes hard work, but if it you don't make that A but you still pass thats all that matters. NCLEX is pass or fail, no grades are given out. However in this job market some employers are using grades as a weeder so try to do your best.

I learned all nursing skills that I needed to work in acute care and a Med/Surg unit. Trach care, wound care, dressing changes, inserting a NG tube, foley, even learned to insert an IV. The only thing we didn't learn was advanced assessment skills, and we briefly touched on reading an EKG strip.

It really depends on the program and what level you are on. If you are just beginning you have "crawl before you can walk". My first med surg rotation I felt like a CNA doing all the dirty work. If I was lucky I got to pass some meds. Not every floor or unit offers quality student experiences. My best advice is if you can't do, then watch what the nurse does. If she hangs a bang follow that nurse, if she does a dressing change watch her. Don't be afraid to ask your instructor about the expectations, goals and oppurtunies available for your learning experience. It really came together for me my last rotation. I was confident and my instructor was confident in my abilities. But I was prepared I thought about everything I had to do and had a plan for my routine, whether or not I was able to stick to it may have been something different but just having a plan really helped.

Did your programs not give you access to the entire ATI program with non proctored tests? If so you need to take every one of them again, I found the ATI material repetitive. Before I took the predictors I took the non proctored for each subject and I always did very well.

I'm not familiar with Wake Tech but most community colleges are about the same. If you don't have any prereqs then you are looking at 3-4 years total (at least one year for prereqs and 2 for the nursing program). Many schools have went away from wait lists, the wait comes from gaining enough points from your prereqs (Biology, English, Psych, etc) so make sure you make the best grade you can. Also become familiar with the programs entry requirements sometimes volunteering, or a CNA II and other things can help. I think the only people getting in to a nursing program without prereqs are straight out of high school. I suggest you apply to all the nursing programs in your area that you can drive to, like Durham or other Community colleges. Working as a CNA is a good plan, try as hard as you can to get on at a hospital if you plan on working at a hospital when you become a nurse.

At your ranking appointment the counselor should be able to tell you the points from the previous semesters.

The only way for you to make close to that as a new grad in NC is to do nights and weekends with the shift differentials. You have to remember this area has a lower cost of living than NJ. Everywhere is saturated with new grads but some are getting jobs. I met a girl when I took the nclex, she said she was from Alabama and got a job at the hospital I did clinical rotations at, the same hospital that told us they were not hiring. Some people get lucky. Don't let that stop you from applying. Just keep an open mind about the possibilites.