AntMarchingRN

I also put No, I too thought you were asking if it was wrong to be called those names. (Sorry) I think you should be called whatever you want! Do you Richie!! My given name is what people would consider a nickname. For example "Johnny" or "Tommy" Those are not my name of course, but you get what I'm saying, people often ask what is that short for? Its not short for anything, that is my name. Several people over the years have suggested I go by my given name not knowing that is my given name and I like it. I do not appreciate people judging what my Mother named me and suggesting I go by something else but I just let it go. We all know what they say about opinions....

If you are still looking and really willing to move, check out northern Virginia/Maryland. I lived in North NJ and got nothing after graduation from 2009-2011. My husband's job moved us to northern VA and I had a job (as a new grad) right over the boarder in MD within a month of moving. Also VA and MD are compact states so its a good license to have. My hospital there hired new grads all the time. Much better market there and much more open to new grads. If moving is really an option, this may work. Good Luck!

Judge me if you will....but my cats (I have 3 and yes, I have a husband too. I'm not a crazy cat lady lol) are my children. It killed me when I had to do this. Everyone can give you their opinions on your feelings, but I have some advice that worked for me. You have to do it so you can do a few things to make it easier on you. #1) Keep in the moment. Do not think of where the "specimen" came from, its there, work with it. We can't change where it came from so do what you have to do and move on. #2) Keep it scientific. As I said above refer to it as a specimen, not a cat, and by all means DO NOT name it. I don't know why, but people in my class named them. It did not make it easier on anyone. And don't choose one. Just take what you get. I know this sounds nuts but some students picked an orange one b/c they had an orange cat at home, not helping folks. #3) Keep it covered. By this I mean the face and paws. Yes, you have to work in the abdomen, but it makes it much easier if you don't see the things about it that make it a cat and not a specimen. I love my kitties' little faces and not looking at that made it seem more like a process and less of what it really was to me...cutting up something I could imagine loving. Last but not least, let them judge you. Who cares? :) You get out your paper towels, cover the cute parts, and do what you need to get through it. It will help you with a great skill you will need for nursing. Getting the job done and walking out with your head held high and a smile on your face. Good Luck to you!! It will be fine and you will be a better person/nurse for it!

I worked in a peds office as my first job as a nurse. When I was interviewing for my next position at a hospital they did not even consider my time in the office as experience because it was not actually in a hospital. Personally I think it was good experience and I learned a lot, but it didnt help me get a hospital position.

Didnt read them all so Im sure they've been said but my favs are... -Dont tell me its an emergency then gripe about appointments Oh really, its an emergency and you must be seen today, but you won't take the 9:30 because you dont want to have to pull your kid out of school before lunch. Ok then, call the ambulance and tell them to pick you up promptly at 2. -Dont tell me "she did it for me last time" Oh yes, I do find it suprising that you dont remember the name of the girl who "always does it ____ like that" or "did it for me last time" when I am telling you thats not office policy. This is not my first day. Last but my BIGGEST pet peeve -No, I cannot throw that diaper in the little trash can under the desk. Take your SH!T with you!!! :rotfl:

Personally (JUST my opinion) I would not consider magnet status in my decision. I think you are giving it too much weight. What is magnet status? I mean, I know what it is, but what does it do for you? Make you a better nurse? No. I worked at a hospital while it was gaining magnet status...no different, better or worse, afterwards. I've never had someone look at my resume and say: "Oh well you worked at XXXX, they are a magnet hospital! You get the job!" Honestly it just doesnt matter. Magnet is just something for the hosptial to have and a binder with 1,600 pages explaining why they think they should have it. I think new grads put so much weight into it because they are unaware of the real meaning of magnet and it helps to differentiate between the numerous places they are applying. You do what is best for you. Thats all you can do, but please think about the fact that an hour drive is really long after the 12 hour shift and hour it took you to get there. Consider your safety before any status. I would take a shorter commute over anything; money, shift preference, but most of all magnet status.

Try looking up your state's regulations on nurses. That way you know what reasons a nurse could loose a license and you won't be afraid of things like getting sick ending your career. Something like that has no bearing on a license, your job maybe, but not your license. Being scared like that everyday is asking for trouble. A healthy amount of fear is good so we watch for mistakes, but a constant worry of unrelated things will only continue to make things difficult for you. Hope you can relax

I would go ED...I am also biased, but the points made above make a lot of sense. As a new grad, ED gives you a chance to go anywhere if you find out its not for you, where as NICU somewhat limits your choices. I would just make one suggestion...if you do go ED, drop calling it "emerge". Its just odd. Fitting in the ED is a huge part of making it work. Good luck in whatever you choose!

I was just hired there as well. I dont start orientation until April, but so far it seems like a special place. Different from the other hospitals I have been to. The staff there is great and everyone I have interacted with so far has been more than helpful. I would encourage you to apply to any open positions. HR is very responsive and the management is really invested in the nurses. (At least the NM I was lucky enough to get). I really think this will be a great place to work, not just a job. It seems like there are a lot of chances for education and new grads are not treated like curses on the world. germanshep- where will you be working? (if you dont mind sharing)

Ortho!! You can have c-diff, throw up on me, GI bleed all over the floor, but if you have a visible bone break, either in the skin or out, it makes my stomach turn. I literally have to concentrate on not vomiting. My fellow nurses make so much fun of me because they say I could eat my lunch (if we ever had time to eat) covered in GI bleed, but cant handle a broken bone...just cant do it.

This is the best type of problem to have, which job do I take? I'm just happy to see a new grad having to decide between two jobs instead of not having any prospects. You have to make your own decision, we cannot tell you what to do, but it sounds to me like you have already decided. Make the pros/cons list and discuss it with your family. Either way you will be employed as a nurse! Congratulations!!

No, you will not lose it, you will just be licensed in another state. For example I am licensed in NJ and PA. I must do CEUs for each license and follow renewal proceedures for each. However, I think this differs with compact states. I am licensed in VA but work in MD because they are both covered my the compact. When I went to applied to get a MD license I was told that I could only have a compact license in the state I resided in and if I was to move to MD I could apply for that license and I would have to give up my VA license. ***Please check this info though. This has only been my personal experience. If anyone knows different, please correct me.

I started out in a doctor's office (ped neuro) M-F 10a-6p. I was able to get a job in a hospital since then and am now working four 10 hour shifts and am much happier. I'm sure it isnt the same everywhere, I just wanted to point out that it is possible to go from MD's office to the hospital.

Do you have to state that you are a nursing student during your interview? I dont understand why it would even have to come up. Simply state what hours you are available. It is none of their business what you do while you are not at work. If a situation arises later where it must be brought up, that would be after you got the job. Also, its not like employers at places like restaurants and grocery stores think that the people they hire will make lifetime careers out of it. Not that they are not great jobs (I appreciate every job I had while I was looking for a RN position), but they wouldnt hire highschool seniors if they werent sure people were going to leave at some point. If you were able to get hired at a place like this they have to assume you wont be there forever, but telling someone up front that you are in nursing school (as proud of it as you may be) is just a huge reminder that you may be leaving sooner than later. Just my two cents... Good Luck -in finding a job and in finishing school!

The test changes every three years...its not made harder, just more current to stick with the updated information. Just think of it this way, the test you are taking is one someone else was afraid to take before it was updated last time. Good Luck!

I did not read all the posts so I'm not sure if this was said already, but in NJ there were programs where you PAID THE HOSPITAL $4,600 for 14 weeks of what was basically shadowing so that you could "gain experience". There was no offer of work afterwards, only a chance to say you had hospital experience... I bet for the people who paid the $4,600, working for free sounds like a good deal...so sad. Good luck to all you new grads out there. It took me 14 months, 4 states, all my money, and most of my sanity, but it worked out. You can do it!

6 weeks is nothing! If this is a job you want and is close to your house, you already said you have some money to cover you til you start. I would take it and wait the 6 weeks. After getting my RN license it took me 14 months, 4 states, and thousands of dollars in monthly bills and job hunting expenses to find a position. Consider yourself lucky if all you have to do is take a position and wait 6 weeks to start a job. I'm sure if you don't, there are many CNAs that will talke it...

Indeed.com It will show you jobs available in your area and has an option to send you job alerts.

my story is that exactly! i went to work in a pediatric neurology office thinking i could use my rn and psych degrees together in a great scenario. i lasted 5 months. i was bored and could feel my clinical skills slipping away everyday. i took the job because the market was saturated and it was available, but i would never do it again. just not for me. i wasnt even a glorified medical assistant, i was just a (slightly) better paid medical assistant. the hours were good, m-f 10-7, but i would end up staying until 9 or 10 pm to help the doctor with personal things like making flights and preparing things for business trips. i was used as a personal assistant while the medical assistants in the office (who trained me...) would refer to themselves as nurses. drove me crazy! there was one other nurse in the office. she was an older woman who was helping in the office with phone calls and administrative things the docs couldn’t get to. she would ask me almost everyday why i wasn’t in the hospital and refer to the office as somewhere old nurses go to wait until retirement. she was right. i had just worked too hard to get 3 college degrees and be a medical assistant in a lab coat. that was just me. if you like the slow pace, it may be for you. you may get in a better office with better docs that don’t take advantage, but my advice is to really consider both sides of it. there is a small chance that with safe practice you will be stuck with a needle, there is a large chance that in a doctor's office you could lose skills and hurt your chance of returning to a hospital in the future. there was a fun part though. the drug reps always brought in great lunches when they wanted to talk to the docs about their products!! good luck to you. to avoid the flames- i do not look down on those rns that work in doctors’ offices, or medical assistants for that matter. i’m just stating i got a raw deal and it wasn’t for me. i know there are better offices out there and rns that handle more clinical situations. that wasn’t my experience.

Look up NSO. They have good rates and coverage.

Its odd that they say they are open to new grads. They just had a job fair and were turning new grads away at the door. They were making it very clear they were only speaking to experienced nurses. I felt bad for the new grads there, although they were nice about it, they let it be known there was no need for them at this time. Also, even with turning the new grads away the job fair was packed! There was no shortage of experienced nurses looking for work. I guess thats why you can turn away new grads because you could fill your openings with RNs you dont have to pay to train. **This was at Potomac though....North Virginia, it may be different in southern parts of the state.

So I'm a "chick" too, did a push-up once and hurt my elbow for like a week, but I am awesome at Chuck Norris jokes so heres one you can take back to the group...if no one has used it already... Why did Chuck Norris train his dog to use a pooper-scooper? Cause Chuck Norris doesnt take sh*t from anyone!! ha ha I love that one!

nice eyeroll, very helpful. you are beyond ridiculous. to say just anyone can come off the street and take (and pass) acls in order to down play it is making light of something extremely important to healthcare. i dont know what you do, but i teach acls and at my hospital you must be an rn or paramedic etc with advanced knowledge of rhythms to take to class and even then some new nurses have a very hard time. this is not just a card you keep in your wallet, it is a method used to save lives. so you can roll your eyes and give shallow empty advice to new nurses that suggests they dont need to educate themselves as best as possible to get jobs, but thats not helpful to anyone at all. my guess is you dont care to be helpful anyway...that is what we should be rolling our eyes at so, for all you new nurses out there, get your acls, get your iv cert, take tncc, whatever class you take to make that resume stand out above the rest will always be helpful and keep up your skills while job searching. do not listen to those bitter people out there who say "move" and roll thier eyes, that kind of ignorance will never be helpful to anyone. good luck out there. with all your efforts you will get a job eventually, i only hope you dont run into people rolling there eyes with empty suggestions.

"Why would having ACLS help to get a job? It is a certificate that anyone can get. You do not have to be a nurse. Besides, without work experience, your ACLS knowledge will be non-existent!" ACLS is not a certificate just anyone can get...I dont think my plumber could run a mega code. It helps people get jobs all the time. Im not saying its a deal closer, but when a facility sees theres a skill you have that others dont (that they dont have to pay for) it does give you a leg up. If even a small one.

Not to be Debbie downer, but I don't think there are 5 states that are new grad friendly... Good Luck out there.