chellevrn

now what?

my sister goes to william paterson...the only thing she complains about is that there is no social life there (which is good if you're in nursing school).

do you have to be a nicu nurse for 2 years to test for rnc? or does it only have to be a certain number of hours that you've worked in nicu?

thank you for all the advice!

Two of my friends were also trying to get into 130. They actually camped out around 12:30 until the school opened and they still didn't get in. I couldn't believe it. When I started at Trinitas a few years ago (it was still Elizabeth General), we didn't have to go through any of that stuff. All we had to do was fill out the registration form and put it in the counselor's mailbox. They would just put the registration in for us. But then again, there weren't that many people in the school yet. But yeah, Tower is right....there are a lot of people who start out in NURE 130, but then by the time 232 comes around, it's good if there are 20 people left in the class. There were only 11 people in the days class that graduated with me last January. I think there about 30 of us that graduated - days, evenings, and LPN to RN program.

So...I just graduated from nursing school in January. I started working at a hospital on March 1. General orientation lasted about 2 weeks, then I was on the floor with a preceptor. I was originally hired for the night shift, but I was told that I would be on orientation on days for a few weeks then I would switch to nights for the last few weeks of orientation. Well...about two weeks into orientation, my floor closed. I ended up floating with my preceptor for about a week before I got put on another floor to finish orientation. I was there for about a week, then I got switched to nights. I started nights this past week and had only 3 days of orientation. Only 3 days of orientation. Monday, I start working as a regular staff nurse. I'm still not comfortable with that since I only had 3 days of orientation on nights, but they can't extend my orientation. Plus, I might end up floating to other units, since that is what all of the other nurses on my unit are doing. I don't know what to do...should I look for a different hospital? Please someone give me advice...I don't know what to do. I'm dreading going to work on Monday.

damode: I bought Saunder's NCLEX Review book when I was in 132. It was pretty helpful. I did a lot of the practice questions and that helped. I also liked the Lippincott Review Series. I pretty much studied from those books and my text books.

oh ok...i must have misunderstood her. that makes more sense. so how long have you worked at robert wood? do you like it there? i just started orientation and i'm a little nervous about working in such a big place. i've already gotten lost a few times.

I graduated from Trinitas this past January. I did an extern program at Rahway Hospital last summer. It's a nice small hospital. I know St. Barnabas, Christ Hospital, Hackensack offer extern programs. You should try calling around to different hospitals to see if they offer an extern program. If you're looking for a job while you're in nursing school, you should try for Robert Wood Johnson in New Brunswick if it's not too far from you. If you work there as a CCT (Clinical Care Tech), you get a lot of experience. I met a girl there who was working as a CCT while in nursing school and she said that they let you do foleys, NG tubes, draw blood, and a lot of other things. She said that a lot of the CCT's are nursing students, so that sounds pretty good.

Hi...I just graduated from nursing school last January. Nursing school is hard and you have to do a LOT of studying, but it's a good career that's really in demand right now. I think the best way for you to see what it's really like is to volunteer at a hospital. Try Christ Hospital or JCMC since those are in Jersey City. There's also St. Mary's in Hoboken. That way you can kinda see what it's like in a hospital. That will also give you a chance to talk to some nurses there. Also, there's a lot of male nurses in hospitals now. There were a few guys in my classes, and my manager is also male. Don't buy into that stuff that male nurses are gay...that's bull. Well, good luck with everything...

I just graduated from Trinitas this past January. Trinitas is a great school...it's a really hard program and we complained a lot while we were going through school, but in the end, while I was taking the NCLEX I was sitting there thinking "Wow, these questions are easy compared to the ones we had at school". They prepare you really well for the NCLEX. As far as the pre-requisites, I recommend taking those first before you take the nursing classes. With NURE 130 and 131, you could possibly take some other classes with it, but once you get into 132 there's no way you can take any other classes. It's a LOT of work. Some people can do it, but I personally wouldn't recommend it. Also, try to do really well in your pre-reqs because Trinitas offers a scholarship for when you start 231. If your GPA is over a 3.0, your tuition for 231 and 232 will be paid plus they give you $500 for books from the bookstore (you can buy anything that has to do with nursing). I did hear that there is a waiting list to start, but I'm not sure how long the waiting list is, though... Hope this helps a little bit. Good luck!

Good luck!!!

$26.47/hour at Robert Wood Johnson Univ. Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. The places I looked into were offering around $23-26/hr. Congratulations on graduating!!