doink

Was at sac. Graduated in fall 2010. Well, I can tell you I was getting full financial aid during the 2 yrs I was there. Pell and state grants with occasional small nursing scholarships on the side on 10 hr per semester. I explained it to the financial office that i have long clinical hrs so they listed me as full time. I don't know... maybe I fell through the cracks

I gotten full financial aid just by nursing classes alone. Never had to take extra courses. The amount of hrs you have to put in clinicals automatically considered full time. You guys might wanna recheck with financial aid. Magic words are # of hrs required for clinicals each week.

Texas wasn't hit as bad on recession as rest of the country. I know Cali, NY, NJ, DC is pretty bad. I rook my sweet time taking my NCLEX and was hired at my work 1 day after my results was posted online

I got my cert in EMT-B before I started my pre-reqs...... that led me into a job in ER as a tech before nursing school. Was already way ahead compared to the rest of my class. Greatly learned alot, and helped me get in the door when I became an RN. Volunteering, my opinion is a waste of time. You are limited on what you can do as in patient care. It has lot to do with liability issues. I recommend getting a quick cna certification so you can start working at a hospital. Being in a work enironment where you have a set schedule is vastly different than just volunteering over there

Depends on the region. I worked as a tech and as soon I got my ADN, they hired me the next day. And it also depends on specialty too. I work in the ER and their overtime book is always full of empty slots everyday of the week. I can pick up 12hr shifts and work 14 days straight if I wanted too. Then again Texas didn't get hurt much by the recession. you can work as a pca or nurses aide after 1yr of nursing school. Get a job as one at a hospital asap. HR sees that as a big plus. A reliable worker in a hospital with a set schedule. They don't care about volunteer work or that you been in committees. thats my opinion.

Nursing homes are to worse to be in for new grads, especially if you haven't took your boards yet. Working full time job while trying to study for the nclex is too much stress. You should have focused mainly on the boards first. I knew a few that took internships and failed bcause of the long work hrs. Nclex is kinda expensive to keep retaking it.

Best advice is to start working as a tech, nurses aide or pca during nursing school. Do a quick scan of the forum on peeps that are having difficulty getting a job..... and what do you see? Not hiring due to no experience. Yeah, instructors told me the same about not working while going to school. I simply ignored them and did what I believe would help me the most. Best part while working at the hospital is that they prefer hiring from within, tuition reinbursement, free certifications like bls, acls, training classes, advices from new and older nurses, can see the theories and procedures you learn from class gets performed at work. When I passed my boards, my interview with the director was like this...... "Do you want to work here? ...sure. .... Ok, you"re hired". i already knew the system, everyone loved me.... so it was a easy shoe in. While rest of my graduating class stressed out on filling out tons of applications. Remember, when you graduate, you are competing with new grads from several schools with no exp too.

I agree with above. In the end, nurses will make the same as everyone else. The only big difference is how much debt you will owe. I graduated out of ADN program at a local college with no student debt. If I want, I can still persue a BSN degree will working as a nurse, than to come out later with a BSN degree with 20-60k in debt. Like I said, coming out as a new grad, everyone start up as the same pay. Average cost was 12k for me. FYI, where I'm at, our community college has a better reputation of producing better nurses than the private and those expensive 4 yr universities. Maybe because we do more hands on clinics than just sitting back and watch all day.

I have to agree above. ER Techs do alot more responsibilities and skills than a average tech or cna upstairs. Consider it a very long peer interview during the time you work there. After I passed my boards, naturally they offered me a job in ER soon after. I have to admit, GNs usually have a tougher time getting a job there right out of nursing school

You need more experience. Employers especially hospitals don't like to hire anyone that barely stay at on job for 6 months. It cost $$ to train and orient a new person. Need at least 1 yr at your workplace before job hunting. My resume? 5 yrs as medic in military, 2 yrs as ER tech. Hospitals love people with job stability.

Sac will tell you where to go on the drug test and criminal background checks. Same with immunizations, can get it anywhere but have documentation. Wait til you get the letter so you know what you need. I chose part time over prn because it was a steady paycheck. And if I needed more money, I can always pick up more hrs. I told my buddy who is also going to nursing school. He was working full time and his schedule was scattered all over the week so he can have weekends off. I told him that nursing school's schedule tend to change at the last minute. Save yourself the headache and work only part time and schedule your work all on the weekends only. Nursing school is usually mon to thurs. I know few instances where my night classes got canceled and changed to days few days before the class suppose to start. Told him he can do without the weekend for 2 years...... after that, he will have a good paying job and can do what ever he wants. Part time job is what helps get the foot into the door. You will become a familiar face among the staff unlike the PRN status. Nursing school wasn't too bad for me. I didn't study too much, mostly crammed the night before the exams. They tend to pull questions off the supplemental studyguide books that comes seperate from the main books and nclex questions. I wouldnt recommend it. Most kids there can't do what I did and still pass. I had experience to back it up.

The cost alone should have been a no brainer. Its about 20k difference between Galen and SAC. Lets just say the starting rate for new grad nurses make 20 per hr. To pay that 20k debt will take 25 weeks working full-time or 6 1/2 months if You commit all your pay to it. This is not including taxes taken out of the paycheck. Its not worth paying extra 20k just to get the RN degree quicker.

Reason people choose SAC over other nursing programs is because its way cheaper and quicker. In the end, it doesn't matter where you end up getting your degree...... it could be at SAC, Incarnate Word, or UTSA..... everyone end up making the same pay. i just graduated from SAC with zero student debt but my co-worker graduated with 50k in debt from Incarnate word but we will end up making the same. As for the posts above, its highly recommended to work as a tech while going to nursing school. Tech -> CNA -> Clerk. Techs deal with more on patient care while clerks mainly don't which will help you out later on. Job market been pretty tough out there for new grads and just working in the hospital will give you a leg up and possible job offers once you graduate. Another perks are tuition reinbursments and good nursing advice from nurses there. And if you are lucky to finish nursing school? The hospital will reinburse the cost of 1 NCLEX Review (300 value) and the NCLEX Exam which cost 350. Dam thing is expensive so you want to pass on the first try. You can start working as a tech or CNA after completing 1 yr of nursing school. Working and going to school can be easily done. Going to school during the week and working nights part time during the weekends. weekend and night deferential helps alot. Shifts are in 8-12 hr shifts. You can easily knock out 16-24 hrs in 2 days.

That is the main reason for working as a CNA while going to nursing school. I believe you can start working as CNA after 1 yr of school. Many of my classmates didn't bother because either they were lazy, or the pay wasn't much compared to their old jobs. Now the same people are struggling to get jobs after graduating. Working as a CNA gives alot of perks that is not advertised. Advices from nurses already working there on everything from job prospects to their experiences. Gets your foot in the door and if you are a good worker.... lots of good references. Everyone can easily get a generic reference from their nursing professors but not everyone can get references from their nursing supervisors at their hospital. And easier to adjust to the new work environment once you become a RN because you "know the system". Hell, I was working as a tech at one of the department at a teaching hospital. And when I graduated, they were not hiring any GN due to hiring preferences. So my superviors using their hookups giving good word for me for other departments. Luckly, my procrastination paid off. GN slots opened up on my floor and when I finally took the nclex and passed, they natually offered the RN job to me. Once good way that my assistant director and other nurses told me is that go to the floors you want to work in person with your resume. Find that director and introduce yourself. You will stand out more and will give a good impression on the director who is in charge of hiring than a anynomous resume posting online. She told me they receive good 100 applications every 1-2 weeks. It shows that you really do want to work there. Same advice I keep hearing while working as a tech on my floor.

Teamwork, coming to work on time and dont mind cleaning poop if needed.