linRdsNay

I'm a new grad working nights. But I think as a part of my new grad orientation, I work several weeks on nights and then several weeks on days to orient to both schedules. I'm kind of diggin nights though, so once my orientation training is over, I'm pretty sure I'll stay on nights.

When I was over in Nursing Recruitment the other day for some stuff, I overheard them say that the next round of applications will open Nov 1st and to look for information on the website sometime in October. Good Luck!

It sounds like you should just repeat what you did for your first A&P class...after all, you did get an A :) good luck!

It sounds like you're already pretty involved in the matter, and I commend you for this! Keep fighting the issue. Someone certainly has their priorities out of order.

Now that you mention it, I think she said we get the scrub jacket in addition to the three pairs of scrubs. I could be mistaken though... Some units have different orientations because I for one am not going to the orientation this upcoming monday, but instead going to a NICU specific orientation/class. Perhaps you should call your hiring manager to confirm?

I think I remember Sheri saying that they give us the first three uniforms and if we want more after that we pay. I'm not sure how much for each though. Does that sound familiar to anyone else?

^ I agree. I've had to reschedule my new hire Occupational Health appointment a couple times now due to the unit specific classes I'm required to attend. They are nothing but friendly and helpful at that office. Now I'm just waiting to schedule all the other hospital trainings and paperwork signing; just waiting for Nursing Resources to receive word about me from my hiring manager. :)

keep at it fellow new grads! if this offers any sort of encouragement, I graduated in Dec09 and was just offered a position at not only a great hospital, but in my unit of preference. Stay strong and keep those applications flowing :) You never know which application could be the "golden ticket"

^^ what unit were you hired in?

Congrats!! I love the connections you can make with the families in the NICU, it's part of the reason why I wanted so badly to work in that unit. Take pride and joy in the fact that you're doing well, but I agree with BittyBabyGrower. It might be better to keep yourself open to future cases.

Would it be possible to take on a volunteer position at that hospital, maybe even in the NICU itself? Even if it's just paperwork or filing, its a great way for you to get noticed and for people there to get to know you. Good luck!

my dream has come true! I was just offered a position in the NICU! I had given up because my interview was so long ago, but I just received the call. the hospital trainings and NICU classes start next week and I couldn't be more excited!! :D:D:D

Well, again, UCLA has proved me wrong! Just when I give up, I get a call OFFERING ME A JOB!!! This is a NICU position (the unit I precepted in) and I start with all the trainings and NICU classes next week!! I couldn't be more excited! :D:D:D:D:D

try the pearson vue trick. it could put your nerves at ease :)

I got bumped back to the Aug 9th start as well. i just want to work already! :) Oh well, I guess I should enjoy the extra time to relax...

I've given up on UCLA. I interviewed with the unit manager almost three weeks ago and was told I would hear back within a week. I didn't. So I called her back asking for an update, she said I should hear something soon. Still haven't heard anything. Almost three weeks later, I've pretty much given up. I don't understand what the problem is. Regardless if I got the job or not, it's common courtesy to at least let me know so I'm not just left waiting - I feel it's extremely unprofessional. I do have another job offer, but not in my "dream unit" which UCLA was, which I will be taking. It's UCLA's loss as far as I'm concerned. /vent :)

you keep saying that but you're not giving information as to how you know that. Can you please elaborate?

Done with what? The entire process? Where did you get this information?

^ I haven't heard anything either, nor have any of my friends that had interviews. You are not alone.

sounds good! Congrats to you!

I just graduated from an ABSN program last December, so I'll try to answer your questions from my experiences. What are Accelerated BSN programs like? Expect a quick pace. I'm assuming you already have a bachelors degree and whether you came from the quarter system or semester, this will go much faster. My program was 12 months. Each course was around 5 weeks long (a few were longer) and there were two courses per every 5 week period. Usually the first midterm was in the 2nd week, the 2nd midterm (if there was one) was in the 4th week, and the final was in the 5th week. And the days we didn't have class we had clinicals. What is a normal day like? A normal class day was as follows: class one would be from 9-12am, lunch from 12-12:30, class two from 12:30 to 3:30. Some days went longer if we were doing presentations or if there were meetings or what not. How much time did you put in for classes/studying? Clinicals? Usually every evening I would have something to do for class whether it was reading, going over lectures, preparing presentations, studying for a midterm/final, writing papers. Then theres also homework for clinicals including writing care plans or case reports. Many weekends were spent at the library reading more or preparing for an exam. Did you work at all? Nope, I had to quit my job in order to go to school full time. There were plenty of people in my class that did work part time while in the program however, so it is possible. It really depends on what you think you can handle as a student. Are you able to take out extra loans to pay rent, etc? I was able to get some federal financial aid (not much). The rest of the money came from an Alternative student loan, which actually came with a lower interest rate than the stafford loans (which is great considering it's a big loan). All that said, an accelerated BSN program is certainly do-able. Everything I've said is just my experience with my 12 month program. And yes, I actually did have a life while I was in school. I did go out on some weekends, went on a few weekend trips and I didn't study every single evening. It is possible to still have a life while in nursing school, you just have to make sure you are diligent with your studies because the classes go by quick and if you fall behind, you'll quickly drown. Good luck to you!!

The interview went well I thought. I thought the panel interview would be intimidating as well, but it was actually kind of nice. The other candidates and I got to talk a lot before the interview started because they were running late. Then during the interview it was nice to have ample time in between your questions so you have enough time to compose yourself in between questions. They said we should know this week if we're going on to the next interview with a unit manager, but no idea when they plan on making offers.

50k for 12 months in CA - 12k federal loan, 40k alternative (personal) school loan

I can't say anything about your school or their dorms, but dorm life in general is great! Like the other poster eluded to, the moral support is wonderful and extremely helpful when studying for exams. I think that all college students should have the chance to live in a dorm for at least one year. Not only is it fun and a great way to meet people and form life-long bonds, but you end up learning a lot about yourself as well.

I think Stanford hospital is starting their panel interviews in 3 weeks