Unesdala

Falling out of fashion? What makes you say that?

Not all Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees are clinical/nurse practitioner degrees. This one is a leadership based program directed at nursing managers, administrators, etc. People pursuing this program wouldn't want to be advanced clinicians and therefore would not want the clinical courses. You'll want to look for a clinical DNP-NP program if that's what you want.

just out of curiosity... have you addressed these concerns with you nurse manager? HR? what about unit council? maybe participate in shared governance? i feel like things there may be different than expected, but you might be able to help change the culture and make a difference.

Thank you for your advice everyone. There's a lot to take into consideration!

Hi all! I changed my career a few years ago (read: older than your average bear/38) and graduated from nursing school in May 2012. I'm originally from the Northeast, an area with a saturated market of new grads, so I expanded my job search nationwide. 150+ applications and 6 months later, I started my first nursing job. I was fortunate to land a job as a nurse resident at a surgical ICU at a big teaching hospital in the southeast. We're a regional center for transplants of all kinds as well as a neuro center, and we take care if severe acute cases. I've cared for a variety of patients in the past 9 months an no longer feel like an ultra-novice nurse. Here's the dilemma. I now live 1000 miles away from my family (immediate family-I'm not married an have no children). My mother's health has taken a turn and she needs more help. She's home and not in critical condition, but could be in the hospital very quickly. No way she can move to me and I'd really like to move back near home. My original plan was to put two years in and re-evaluate, but circumstances changed and now I feel I need to head back ASAP. I love critical care and would ideally like to continue working in the field. So, advice please. How do I make myself look like a competitive candidate with less than one year of experience? Will this make me look like a flake/job hopper? Or do i stick it out and start applying after a year's experience? Or wait even linger until I qualify to test for the CCRN? What would you do in this situation? TL;DR - less than one year of nursing experience and need to move 1000 miles away. How do I sell myself to recruiters? Any advice is appreciated!

Thank you for your comments and advice, everyone! It helps to hear of others' experiences... helps to put things in perspective. I really appreciate you all taking the time to share your thoughts!

Hi all! I'm a new grad who started in the SICU last fall. Basically, during my six month orientation, I'm working with my preceptor and learning on the fly with no formal educational situations. I've suggested doing the AACN Essentials of Critical Care Nursing course, but have been told they don't have the budget to cover the costs of the course. All in all, I feel like I'm being set up for dangerous pratice. I'm learning tasks but I'm not getting a full understanding of critical care, so I'm nervous about being on my own in the future. I love critical care and I absolutely think that new grads can succeed in ICUs. I'm just wondering how we can best facilitate that success. How have all of you been trained? What did you like or dislike about your critical care orientations? What would your suggestions be for an ideal training program?

Thanks for the suggestions. I put in an application to volunteer for the Child Life team at the local Children's Hospital, and filled out another for Red Cross Medical Services. Checking out Coursera now. Thanks!

Hi all! I graduated with a second degree BSN in May. I was in MD, but made a move to FL two weeks ago to live near my brother and because I needed a change of scenery. I received my MD RN compact license a month ago. I applied for my FL license on July 30 and just found out that it will take another 6 weeks (!!!!) before it's processed. Which pretty much makes me dead in the water. I've applied for a few new grad nurse residency positions around the state and those applications are under review. I don't want to bother applying to any other jobs just yet because they all specify you need your FL license. So frustrating. Like everyone, I'm having a hard time finding a job (and there's nursing shortage blah blah blah). That's fine, I'm patient and I did know ahead of time that it might take awhile. My worry is that my skills are fading while I wait. I've signed up for PALS and ACLS classes, which I'll do at the end of the month. Beyond that, I have no idea what to do with my time while I wait and wait (other than reviewing my notes and textbooks). I'm hoping the lovely nurses of allnurses.com might be able to offer some suggestions! Anything that might pad my resume would be especially useful! Thanks!

Thank you so much for your comments! I feel much better about the situation now!

Hi all! We just received our practicum placements for our final semester in school, and I'm a bit worried about mine. We had little control over our placements, but we could request specialties. I requested pediatrics, thinking that I would be placed in a peds acute care setting, and if not, at least in some other acute care setting. Instead, I was placed at a middle school and will be working with a school nurse. I'm concerned. I won't be developing acute care skills in this setting, like managing a patient case load, improving family centered care techniques, or using equipment that is commonly found at a hospital. Unfortunately, there is no possibility of changing my placement. I also did not do a nurse externship. I truly want to work in pediatric acute care after I graduate this May, but I'm scared this practicum is going to put me at a disadvantage. Any ideas how I might work this to my advantage? I could definitely use suggestions for how I could translate this experience to acute care. Thank you!

Hi all! We just received our practicum placements for our final semester in school, and I'm a bit worried about mine. We had little control over our placements, but we could request specialties. I requested pediatrics, thinking that I would be placed in a peds acute care setting, and if not, at least in some other acute care setting. Instead, I was placed at a middle school and will be working with a school nurse. I'm concerned. I won't be developing acute care skills in this setting, like managing a patient case load, improving family centered care techniques, or using equipment that is commonly found at a hospital. Unfortunately, there is no possibility of changing my placement. I also did not do a nurse externship. I truly want to work in pediatric acute care after I graduate this May, but I'm scared this practicum is going to put me at a disadvantage. Any ideas how I might work this to my advantage? I could definitely use suggestions for how I could translate this experience to acute care. Thank you!

I'm wondering... is anyone out there not doing an externship, internship, or CNA position this summer? What are your alternatives to the summer job? And do you feel it will affect your chances of getting a new grad position?

Hello! So, I'm a second career nursing student in my second semester of nursing school. I will have this entire summer off and have chosen not to get a clinical job for a number of reasons. 1. I'm not sure I want to work in acute care... I much prefer public health. 2. This is the last time for a long, long time that I'll be able to do what I want for the summer, and frankly, I just want a break from school. and 3. I'm using the opportunity to go overseas to sharpen my Spanish skills. I'm hoping that being able to speak Spanish well will be just as much of an advantage as 10 extra weeks of clinical experience. I'm heavily involved in leadership in my school, and I also have a long-term research project that I'm working on. I'm also getting straight-A's. So, it's not as if I'm a lazy student. Am I killing my chances of getting an RN position as a new grad if I don't work as a CNA first? Will it look horrible if I don't have a shiny externship on my resume? I'm getting so much conflicting info, I was hoping to get some opinions here.

Thank you for your replies. They're so helpful! I think I'm leaning more towards the private schools, especially because I would love to ultimately work in a place like the Mayo Clinic. Best of luck to you, One1 and UVA!

Hi all! I'm looking into nursing schools and I was hoping to get some opinions. I am pursuing a second-degree BSN, and looking at traditional rather than accelerated programs. Accelerated programs are great, but I know that I'm the type that will need a slower pace. Although I want to practice clinically, I'm interested in first getting my RN, getting some bedside experience, then moving on to an MSN/NP, and possibly considering getting a PhD in the future. I'm wondering what the advantages of going to a private university such as Johns Hopkins or University of Pennsylvania are vs. going to a local, small state college that doesn't have a ranking or any kind of big name. Will you get better research opportunities at these schools? All things being equal, will the name give you a slight advantage when looking for jobs? To those of you that have attended these schools, are you happy with your education and do you think it was worth the extra expense? Yes, I know these are expensive schools, but I'm looking for opinions beyond "it's not worth the money." If that was always the case, then no one would go. I'm hoping to hear more about why these universities are worth the cost. Thanks so much!