kimpatrtan

Hi all. I'm Houston Texas and was accepted into the BSN-DNP ER track. Anyone in the area? I'd love to meet with some in the cohort.

I wish I could work with kids but I can't. I can't deal with sick kids. It emotionally drains me within a couple of days and I'd burn out in a heart beat.

It looks like St. Luke's and "The" Methodist are the front runners. I already have an interview at St. Luke's. Methodist hasn't responded yet to my application. In terms of physician-centric, my hospital is notorious for "catering to the doctors" in my community so hopefully I'll be prepared for that. we're not a teaching hospital though, so we'll see... And in fact, I'm moving to Houston BECAUSE of the graduate education! Yay! Anyway, thanks. I'm glad for the feedback as always.

Hi everyone. I'm planning a move to Houston in the Fall/Winter 2013 and needed help from nurses that work there especially in ICUs. I hear great things about the Medical Center hospitals and I'm applying to all of them but can't seem to find what I'll feel will be the best for me. When I move there, I'll have worked in an ICU for three years with post open heart surgery care for two of them. I will have also worked with neuro patients for all those three years as well. I'd like to think that the ICU I work at has let me experienced most everything except post transplant and trauma patients and that's basically what I want to learn. Can anyone tell me about their experience working in any of the Medical Center hospitals? Especially Memorial Hermann, Methodist and St. Luke's?

Call the admissions office at the Chalon campus to get these details. I graduated from there and worked in admissions for work study so I have a few tidbits for you but you need to call them to confirm what I say. The thing about the prenursing program is that it's just like applying to a regular four year university. It's designed to be your "freshman year" of prereqs and with passing the "prenursing program" you automatically continue into the BSN program which are your 2nd-4th/5th year of college. I assume that you're past high school and looking to apply towards a nursing program so I can't really say how to go about applying correctly since I came straight from high school to attend MSMC. Just call them. They're super nice. AND there's also information sessions you can attend on either campus if you think talking in person might benefit you better.

Sorry I forgot the most important thing.... housing. Los Angeles at least has sky high rent. Brace yourself. But opening yourself up to commutes opens up possibilities. Looking 30-60 minutes away from city center can be the difference between 1200 a month being a studio apartment/hole in the wall and a 900$ two/three bedroom.

Hey! I'm actually doing the same but the opposite direction and hope you can exchange the same info. In terms of Houston culture,I would think central California might be closer. A mix of risk and urban that I kinda felt whenever I'm in Houston. Bakersfield is an example. They also lean to the right politically. More conservative. Climate wise, it's generally not humid in California. Northern California maybe but it's cool humidity if anything. I'm from los Angeles where temperatures are in the 70s and 80s most of the year. The summer can hit the 90s and 100s inland and in the valleys but not for very long. Crime wise, I actually think it's safer in los Angeles but I may be biased. South/southeast LA is of course infamous for gang violence but personal experience 80% of LA is survivable even for a single woman like me. If you have experience then you shouldn't have a difficult time getting a position. There's the big medical facilities like ucla and usc but there's hundreds of community hospitals and medical centers that are hiring. Even the smallest hospital pays more than medical center hospitals in Houston because of the higher cost of living. Hope this helps.

I'm a new grad on SICU but we're a stroke center so we're more like a neuro ICU honestly so I know from the last two months that it's insane and hellish but I'm enjoying it. haha. It's a ridiculous bout of masochism i think. Anyways, we don't have CNAs or LVNs. We have two patients so we do everything. We have a lift team that comes every two hours for skin care turns and we can use them for baths. You just gotta be quick and efficient about it. Can't answer that last one yet. I haven't been there long enough. ^_^

Hi all. I just got a post on SICU as a new grad. I have a preceptor for the next two months. I've only been with her two days but I'm already afraid I'll have problems with her. I graduated with a BSN from a nursing program that's locally known for putting out good nurses and did well. I got 75 questions on the NCLEX. Since I found out I was interviewing for the job, I've been reviewing my advanced med surg notes and reviewing material online. I'm a very visual learner. I learn by looking and watching and writing things down. So far I haven't had been stumped by too many things on the floor so haven't felt the need to ask a lot of questions of my preceptor. However, after asking her how she thought I was doing, she said that I don't ask enough questions and that I seem disinterested which I felt was completely off base especially after two days not only as a SICU nurse but as a registered nurse in the first place. I'm not saying I know everything or that it's easy. It's not easy at all. I love what I'm doing but I'm exhausted after the day. I honestly don't know what to do next though because I feel like if she's already made this opinion about me, I won't learn as much from her as I could. As preceptors, what do you expect your new grads not know? Should I ask questions to clarify things even though I know the purpose of some medications or arterial lines? If there are any new grads out there, how are you going about things? I feel like I'm jumping into things when I can, doing hourly checks, zero-ing pressure monitoring lines and playing with vents but my preceptor doesn't think I'm doing enough apparently. Any advice would be great. Thanks all.

Sherman Oaks is definitely better priced than WeHo and if you can't afford Sherman Oaks, going a little farther north along the 405 freeway, it gets cheaper. Less cute but cheaper. I'm a local so I know my ways about.

I think I just didn't make my point quite well when I replied but I meant just about that. I think asking those kinds of questions are fine because like I said before you can ask about magnet status and be prepared to turn it around with your own research. For example, I asked the magnet question, they say "No, we're not. Is that something you're looking for in a hospital?" I can answer that it was something I was interested in about the hospital because I hadn't seen mention of it. I'm interested because I know about the standards the ANCC looks at and I'm shooting for those high standards even if it were just for myself. If the hospital were to start applying for magnet status, I would be completely on board. I had an interview today.. (verdict is still tentative *fingerscrossed* but it didn't go badly i don't think). I asked the magnet status question and I was able to have a rapport with the interviewers about it, the ICU and the Beacon Award. So yes. My point was do your research and when asking questions, be prepared not just for a yes or no answer but for follow up and for the ability to be knowledgeable about what you ask and why it makes you a desirable candidate.

My friends and I just graduated from our BSN program in May. I have a job lined up in an ICU unit. I have two friends going into telemetry in Providence Holy Cross. I have several more friends with jobs lined up in CHLA. I have one in Kaiser West LA. Several more in Northridge Hospital. Also one in Torrance and another in Cedars. A few more just started in the UCLA new grad program. However scant and few those jobs may be, they are out there. I'm in Los Angeles where the job market ranks as one of the worst in the entire nation but it IS possible to get a job. Just a level of perseverance, aggressiveness and defiance of the odds are required to find them. I looked at your other posts and it looks like you've lost your initial passion for nursing. I do have to ask: Did you go into nursing because of the "mythical" promise of a large paycheck and 3 day work weeks or did you really love it? Also, if you've been doing nothing but nursing for awhile now have you taken a breather, stepped away from it and relaxed? That in itself can refresh you. How long have you been searching for a job? Would you agree to work as a CNA in the meantime even to just "get your foot in the door"? Would you work in a LTC/hospice/psych facility? Would you be willing to relocate? Posters are asking these questions and you're not answering them. Just replying with more negativity. Just take that energy and put it into your job search. I swear... there ARE jobs out there.

I realize most nurses hate Grey's Anatomy because how we're so underrepresented in "Seattle Grace Hospital" but there is the minor character, Nurse Tyler, played by Moe Irvin. He seems to be just trying to get through his shift like the rest of us.

I think it's perfectly fine to ask questions such as those. Some hospitals like the one I hope to work at employ CNAs but only on med-surg and tele floors. Critical care floors are total cares. I've done my research for this hospital and the only reason I know this is because I've worked in this hospital as either a CNA or as an RN student intern on all the floors. So yes I do agree you should do your research first so you don't ask questions that can easily be learned on their website. About the JCAHO thing: I think it's valid to ask that question too. It shows that you're showing interest about the company and its merits. Even though the job hunt environment right now is basically "take what you can get", it doesn't mean that you can't hope to work for a good employer. Personally, I'm going to be asking about what changes the hospital is going through right now in terms of the nursing staff. For example: the nurses last month have just started color uniforms. Are there any other changes? Is the hospital interested at all in magnet status? The latter question I think is pretty good because then you can research magnet status and say how you can contribute to that by being that kind of exemplary nurse. ^_^ Anyways Best of Luck!

I think it really depends where you're at. i'm in Los Angeles and doing what you'rw proposing would require at least 1500 to get a room in the first place, about 5000 for nursing school eventually and living expenses with a car and insurance would be about 400 a month. It's a daring venture. But if you can find a place to do it, you should try.