WondeR.N.

I think it's definitely worth calling the recruiter--or a few of them. Don't sell yourself short, though, by asking for a new grad spot. You're experienced, and it's worth a lot! Jeez...two years of med/surg is like gold. Why don't you sign up for some continuing education classes about L&D? Check out ce.nurse.com. I'm a big fan of it. Get additional CPR certifications, anything to make your resume more attractive to the recruiters.

There is no policy against it where I work, I have my own office where patients come to see me, it never interferes with the work I do, and I don't take a lunch break. I don't take smoke breaks, talk on the phone or gossip with co-workers. Nobody would say "boo" to me for surfing allnurses, checking my email, researching new drugs/procedures or reading the news. I also pass meds, do treatments, talk to anxious patients and their family members, other care providers, consult with the docs and deal with the staff. I am also very good at what I do, and my employers respect me as a professional and as a human enough to understand that I know how to manage my time. Every nurse's situation is different, and just because somebody is able to read allnurses at work does NOT mean they're a lazy employee.

RNpandoraRN, is it possible you've only looked into post-partum doula programs or have spoken? I have a friend who was a birth doula, extremly knowlegeable and a nursing student at the time. She also worked as a tech in L&D. She's now in L&D, studying to become a midwife. Continue being persistent and explore all your avenues. Something will break for you.

She is your supervisor and absolutely should at least acknowledge your resignation, unless she's completely unprofessional. If that's the case, it's no wonder you're quitting. You should mention this during your exit interview with HR. Congrats on the new gig.

yep...I'm at work right now. I learn a lot on these boards! I'm not in a hospital, though, so my schedule allows me to take a few moments now and then to check the news, visit allnurses, etc.

I agree. I am a newly employed RN with only a few months of experience, and there was no way to enter

SPower, I live in the burbs, but I applied to the Visiting Nurse Service of NYC...at the beginning of this year, I think. VNS offers a great new grad training program, similar to hospital nurse residencies, but they had no openings for new grads at the time. I don't know about any other home health agencies in the city, but in the burbs there are lots of advertised home health jobs with agencies that say they'll train new grads. I never got a call back from any of them, though. My guess is that they're pretty well staffed with all of the experienced nurses that have recently lost their jobs.

The Squire is right. Many nursing schools are highly competitive to get into, but if you're a good student in high school, you'll have NO problem at all. The TEAS is easy...EASY...and I took it almost 20 years after graduating from high school (got a 98%). Just do a quick TEAS prep course online with practice tests so you know you did everything you can to prepare. If you can start right into a 4 year program, that would be the best, but you can always earn your ADN, get licensed as an RN and then transfer into a university or do an RN to BSN program.

Oh, and I want to echo missyadams. When you send your resume and cover letter, include your list of references with full contact information as well as a couple of LETTERS of reference from your clinical instructors, professors, etc. It's easy to file a resume away, but when it's accompanied by letters oooohing and ahhing about how much of an asset you would be to their organization, it goes a long way toward getting the right pair of eyes to look at you.

Freaking out, you need to pace yourself. The job market SUCKS big time in the NY-NJ-CT area, not to mention PA...and, well, the rest of the country. Pace yourself and brace yourself for the long haul. It took me 10 months to find a job, and many of my classmates (May '09) are still searching. It's horrible, but you'll find a job eventually. Look into temp, part-time, anything. Apply for licensure by reciprocity in NY, CT, PA--anyplace you can get to without needing a plane. Look into online continuing ed courses for more resume filler. I have RN friends who are still working as patient care techs, but they're keeping their skills fresh and constantly learning. It's a whole lot easier to get a job when you have a job, so consider everything. I wish you a LOT of luck. Things will turn around--at least that's what I keep telling myself! ;-)

I'm thinking the person who emailed her might be somebody who just read the thread and did not post any response.

Oh! English is his second language! Well...there you go. That would explain a LOT. I apologize, because I don't know where you're located, but here in NY, you hear a new language every time you turn the corner. Probably 25% of my nursing class had English as their second language, and just about everybody was 100% fluent. I do recall one very smart, incredibly sweet man who had already had one successful career (teacher in the Philippines) and--in his 60s--decided he wanted to go into nursing. While his English was good, he was not fluent, and so much of his energy was focused on trying to understand and communicate with medical terminology in English that he just couldn't keep his head above water and failed in our 2nd or 3rd semester. He was always nervous and anxious, became overwhelmed in the clinical environment and just couldn't pass the tests with a high enough grade to stay in the program. Nursing school is really tough, and without complete fluency in English, it's damn near impossible. It's sad, but there's zilch you can do to help your classmate with that.

WahWah...it's performance anxiety?

WahWah, I'm just throwing this out here: Is English the first or second language for the student who is floundering? Is it possible there is a language barrier? Or is it possible that the student has some MAJOR performance anxiety that turns him into a clueless mess when he's being observed and critiqued? Of course, it's just possible that nursing is not what his brain is designed for and he'll fail or quit, but I'm curious as to whether there are some barriers to his communication or performance. PS: You may want to resist the temptation to give more examples than you have. You never know who hangs out on these boards.

And one more note...for crying out loud, people: this poster is a STUDENT!!! She is NOT a nurse! The other student, incompetent or not, is NOT her responsibility! Why is this so difficult for you all to understand?! The INSTRUCTOR should be supervising her students, not pawning the failing ones off on other students! And if the instructor isn't watching her students well enough, the responsibility for the patients' well-being falls upon their designated licensed RN, not another student! Jeez! If all you have to offer are sanctimonious cliches about how "the patient comes first," or "nursing is about caring and sharing," take it over to the "Nurses Who Walk on Water" section of the site! And leave the rest of us who have a solid grip on reality here to stick it out and REALLY HELP somebody.

WahWah, I, too, would like to know how far along in the program you are. The clinical instructor may just be biding his/her time with the student who is "not getting it." That instructor may be assuming that the student will fail out on the didactic portion of the semester, and--while it's not the best way to handle it--hoping that you and other students can help mitigate the damage this one student could potentially do. I still completely disagree with the way the instructor has handled the whole situation, but could it be that his/her self-confessed "soft spot" for the faltering student is making it difficult to confront him? Another reason to consider how far along you are in your program is, as the other recent posters have stated, it will dictate exactly how extensive your objections should be to other members of the faculty. I had a HORRIBLE professor in nursing school--so bad that it was clear that other nursing professors were trying to make up for her deficiencies, and some went so far as to discuss it with the students. Unfortunately, that professor had been there forever, had tenure and was fairly powerful. I wrote a letter to the curriculum director, who I'd always had a good relationship with. I said in the letter that I had always respected her and hoped she could help me and my classmates--we just weren't being taught what we needed to know. I said that if she felt my complaints were going to do nothing but jeopardize my reputation in the program, then she should just delete my email. I never heard back from her. Her point was very clear: nothing was going to be done about the crummy professor, and it was up to us students to learn what we needed to on our own if we wanted to get through. So, think about all the possible reasons for your clinical instructor's behavior. If you feel that she's putting you in situations that are potentially dangerous for you, then you should say some carefully prepared things to the right person. Do not worry yourself with whether the other student is a danger--that is the instructor's job. You students are working under her license, and if she wants to risk it for her pet student, that's her gamble to take. Just keep clear of the fallout.

sk57, I have a BS in psych, had a long, successful first career and went to a 2 year RN program for a career change and graduated darn close to the top of my class. I have numerous outstanding contacts at NYC and suburban hospitals, and it still took me nearly a year to land a job--and not in a hospital. If you can afford it, go to a second-degree BSN program. If you can't afford it, get your ADN and be prepared to sell, sell, sell yourself in order to get a job. You will get one, but it might take a while. Many of my classmates are still searching for a job a year after graduation--some have prior bachelor's degrees, others have worked years as CNAs/patient care techs. Remember, city hospitals have closed and many others are laying off--there are a lot of experienced nurses looking for jobs, too. It's a tough job market for everyone, but if you can give yourself an extra leg up on the competition, do it. Things might be better in two years when you graduate, but nobody knows for sure.

Not sure about walk-in clinics in the city, but I will be moving into an outpatient type of position in the burbs for $60,000. The hours are fabulous, no commute into the city, no holidays, no nights. Most outpatient jobs will pay less than the hospitals to start, but the city hospitals are hiring new nurses for around $70,000--granted there are no jobs, but if you can find one, that's what they're paying. For me personally, that extra $10,000 isn't close to being worth the added cost of commuting into the city (20 min. drive to train station, 60 minute ride to Grand Central) and the challenging scheduling issues you can face in a hospital (I have two very small children). You have to weigh all the pros and cons with your personal priorities and family situation. Best of luck to you!

nanacarol, with all due respect, you missed the point here. This is a post from a student--a STUDENT--who is not only being made to feel responsible for another student's success, she is actually being penalized for not being able to shoulder the load for another student. She has clearly stated her belief that she and her fellow students support one another and pitch in when a fellow classmate is having difficulty. She is trying to keep her own head above water in nursing school. She never said she knows or is "great" at everything. She is a STUDENT who, along with her other classmates, has been saddled with the pressure of ensuring the success of a failing student. If your noble, altruistic attitude was sincere, you wouldn't be sitting up on your high horse, preaching about caring for others and supporting those in need while thinly veiling your judgmental attitude--which comes through crystal clear when speaking about "come uppance" to a stressed out student who has come here looking for advice. Save your self-righteous hypocrisy. Please...telling a nursing student that when her classmate fails, she fails or we all fail--it's hard to tell exactly what you were saying on your holier than thou tangent--is the height of absurdity. I don't know what Utopia you're living in, but where I come from nursing licenses aren't just handed out like trophies at my 5 year old's soccer banquet out of compassion. A nurse has to earn that license through his/her own intellect and skills. If you'd like to be judged by your professed standard, when that negligent nurse on your unit is finally canned for not following proper infection control protocol one too many times, you should be first in line requesting your own pink slip.

WahWahGerman, You are absolutely right. I'm a team player, and I loved helping out my fellow classmates in school, but they helped me, too. And if there was dead weight, we weren't asked or expected to make up for another student's incompetence. As students working under our clinical instructors' licenses, we wouldn't be allowed to get near a patient unless our CI supervised or had complete confidence in our abilities. Rah rah team only goes so far. Personal responsiblity seems to be foreign to many people these days. Sure, your clueless classmate should be taking responsibility for her own learning, but the real issue is with your instructor. It sounds like your clinical instructor is lazy and incompetent. Failure to supervise is a violation of the Nurse Practice Act. You are a STUDENT as well. You are supposed to be learning, not teaching. You do not have your master's in nursing education; you are not even a nurse yet. You are wholly unqualified to be supervising another student. Losing 5% of your grade SUCKS, yes, but being put in a situation that you are unqualified for is downright dangerous. Yes, you should help and support your fellow students, just as they should support and help you--it's a two way street. In no way should you be held responsible for supervising, teaching or otherwise doing the work for another student (in my program, that was called cheating). If the student in question needs extra tutoring, it should come from a qualified nursing instructor. Continue doing what you can to help your fellow students. If you have the time and feel comfortable ASSISTING this other student with his/her patient care, then do it for the sake of sucking up to the professor and getting through your program. My advice is to document, document, document. Keep a journal of your activities and your instructor's requests. If you can do it without seeming out of line, ask your instructor for written instructions for exactly what she is asking you to do when working with another student. If you can't get away with that, then be sure she sees you write her instructions word for word in your notebook with the date and time. Do not hesitate to file a complaint with the school if it comes to that! When you are a licensed nurse, it will be your responsibility to file a written objection to an assignment that puts patients or yourself in serious, immediate jeopardy. The same applies for you now as a student. Protect yourself and your patients. Best of luck to you--nursing school does end!!

Thanks, DoGood! I couldn't figure out how I could have possibly missed such a huge change being announced and implemented over the past year--and without my employers having mentioned it! I'm from NY, too.

Maybe I missed something huge, but here is the section on licensing requirements from the NYS Board of Nursing: Registered Professional Nursing To meet the professional education requirement for licensure as a registered professional nurse, you must present satisfactory evidence of having received at least a two-year degree or diploma from a program in general professional nursing that is acceptable to the Department. To be acceptable to the Department, the program must be either: registered as licensure qualifying by the New York State Education Department; or approved by the licensing authority or appropriate governmental agency in the jurisdiction where the school is located as preparation for practice as a registered professional nurse. In addition to the professional education requirement, every applicant for licensure or limited permit as a registered professional nurse must complete coursework or training in the identification and reporting of child abuse in accordance with Section 6507(3)(a) of the Education Law. Every registered professional nurse must also complete approved coursework or training appropriate to the professional's practice in infection control and barrier precautions, including engineering and work practice controls, to prevent the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis b virus (HBV) in the course of professional practice.

Sunshine, can you direct me to where I might find this news? I don't find it on the NYS Board of Nursing website.

Hm! Interesting! I graduated a year ago, so I had no idea. Are graduates before 2010 exempt from the new rule?

The American Red Cross and American Heart Association websites can direct you to chapters and classes nearest your home.