mandyc

Good Luck to you! WE all make mistakes, it is a hard lesson learned that some of them will follow you for the rest of your life! I hope you get the chance to take your NCLEX.

I did not have a problem finding a job with my ADN but, have continued on to get my BSN. I graduated with my RN in May of 2009, and even in that short time period the nursing market has become very competitive . If you want to stand out above the rest of the applicants I truly believe you need to strive towards improving in the field you have desired as a career. This means taking CEU classes, joining an organization to improve quality of care of patients/nurses (Colorado Nurse Association or other organizations) and such. It does show that you are placing importance in self improvement and are the type of person that wants to grow and become efficient in your career. Just a suggestion anyway. I do know that certain school graduates do have a harder time obtaining employment then others, I am not for certain if this has to do with the school itself or with the applicant/resume process. There are too many variables to tell for sure. There are MANY applicants right now..for not so many nursing positions. Its tough out there!

Bed side nursing is not what every nurse dreams about, and believe me at times I am inclined to agree...However, as a new graduate it can sure help you along the way to a career in nursing you would rather pursue...There are nurses in research...but mostly require an MSN/PhD...does not necessarily require bedside experience, phone triage(good to have some bedside knowledge), case managers that I know DO love their jobs...Health department as previously stated would be a good choice....I believe there is a website called http://www.discovernursing.com that has just about EVERY career you can go into for nursing...I would give that a try...Good luck with your goals,dreams and ambitions. Nursing is one of those career fields that will take you places you have not even thought of before!

The consensus seems to be..."Good Work Ethics, regardless of what reasons a person enters a career, say volumes about a persons ability to do a job well." I agree completely. I wonder however if a person is a GREAT worker but has no patience or compassion how well they would do in nursing or even if they would likely be drawn to it? Any given career, regardless of the reason you entered it should have some sort of interest to you....in order for you to truly "Like/Love" the chosen profession. There is nothing better in the world then truly being excited about going to work(for whatever your reasons are...good paycheck, helping people, education...etc) ..... "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life.".....Confucious

As said before, there are MANY different reasons for nursing. I originally decided to go into nursing right out of high school in 1993 because my dad told me a nurse always has job security and financial security....however, my heart wasn't in it and I later dropped from the program. However, after YEARS of being in careers that did not feel personally or spiritually fulfilling I went back to school in 2006 into an ADN program, I cannot say honestly that money was not somewhat of the motivator back then, but after going to nursing school and working as a nurse I felt like I had found my niche, so to speak, and found the passion in my newly chosen career. It does matter where you work, because there is a HIGH burnout rate among nurses and even more so among new grads. If you can find what you LOVE about nursing or any career for that matter, you will be happy and at the very least, content with your choice in career. It is always 99% attitude and 1% situational (for the most part) As a new grad I worked in a hospital and felt like I could change the world...Later found out that it wasn't that EASY...I was definitely a little over ambitious and there were many times I was given a lesson in "Humility". But it is the overall experience of nursing and the rewards even though you may not be able to change the world over night, you can certainly have an impact...one person/patient at a time! With any job/career it comes with stress, and yes some problems...It is your choice to decided whether or not it is worth it and if the benefits out way the problems/stress. I have found that they by far have.....

I have worked for Magnet and non-magnet hospitals. I can honestly say I am sure it has to do with the people that are there. For instance, My last job(non-magnet) would never even promote let alone PAY for certifications, However, I have never had so many opportunities in education and certification then I do now in a magnet hospital. My NEW managers listen and work with ideas and suggestions. They seem to really care about the opinion of the nurse and I believe that says a lot. However, when I asked nurses if there was a BIG difference since they became magnet they said "No"...So in all reality, it is the hospital of choice that you work for and not necessarily the "Status", "Certifications" and such that make the hospital what it is......My opinion anyway!!!!

I believe all/any/some of us would be willing to help. What type of help are you looking for exactly. Med surg/pharm/OB..? You sound very frustrated as we have all experienced a time or two ourselves in nursing school. I do not agree that ALL nursing instructors are the same. But, with any profession, there is always going to be that one that you feel will make or break you. It looks bad on the school if so many student "FAil". It is an indication of their (instructors) performance and for those of us that look into a school with a good track record, that is one of the criteria. So, in response to your first initial question.......What area's are you looking for help in?

What type of help/assistance are you looking for? You cannot find an instructor that you trust?

From what I "understand" if a person does have sickle cell anemia, it will show in the production of their RBC. For instance, a normal RBC will live approx. 120 days while a sickle cell RBC will only live approx. 10-20 days. The body cannot produce healthy RBC to the extend of the death of the mutated cell. (can clog spleen, ....etc) With that said, I would imagine that it would show low levels of both Hgb and RBC counts. It should also show in the oxygen transportation, meaning decrease O2 saturation during sickle cell crisis. (which I am sure you already know, given your statement) Also when a CBC is done they also do a Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) this is a measurement of the size of the red blood cells. A low MCV is often the first indication of thalassemia. If the MCV is low and iron-deficiency has been ruled out, the person may be a thalassemia. http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/hemoglobin_varho/glance-3.html I hope this helps a little...I just did a research paper on sickle cell anemia.

Most nursing schools or advertisements say 60K-80K a year, most entry level nursing in Colorado will start anywhere between 20hr to 21hr (if you are lucky) So, If you work exactly 36 hours a week(3 - 12hr shifts) you will make around $39,312 a year, based on 21 dollars and 36 hours per week...Now lets say that you are "Overstaffed" on your floor according to the Hospital you are employed with....guess who is going to get "Called off"...Well, there goes a days pay of $252.00, so now you are making EVEN less.....I am not sure about everyone else that IS working, but my health insurance cost went up so much that I HAD to find another job that had better benefits then the hospital I worked in. It is a fact of life, economy is BAD and hospitals(some) are "Overstaffed" according to their nurse/pt. ratios they some how they magically figured out while doing the budget, guess I cant BLAME them considering the rise of unemployment and the rise of uninsured patients...kinda goes hand in hand!

Thank you for the information. I believe it is important to let nurses where to look for employment. Your help is greatly appreciated by all.. MAndy

I remember nursing school....ugghh all of the reading...I worked FULL time plus, have a family, kids....etc...everyone makes sacrifices..It IS suppose to be hard....or everyone would be a nurse...lol...I am doing my ADN to BSN now, and I have TONS of information to go over every night. I guess it is what it is....LOTS OF HARD WORK! Find ways to make your life easier by building on the information you have to read about. Group diseases and their processes together, along with their treatments and medications. Believe me this will be SOOO much easier for you in the long run. It is almost impossible to remember EVERYTHING you read, but you will eventually need to know how things work the farther along in school that you go!

There are jobs out there, VERY FEW...the process, I guess can be very selective now. I count my blessings everyday that I managed to secure employment as a new grad and then after a year of working as an RN was able to secure a second alternate job in a hospital. I work My BUTT off everyday, try my best to have a positive attitude and work hard to advocate for my patients, and most of all, I remind myself that I am not irreplaceable! Though I am not sure this is good for self-esteem, it reminds me that my job can easily be taken/removed/eliminated/terminated at anytime(not that I live in fear or anything)! I remember when I first started nursing school the pages and pages of job adds (especially in the medical field)....now there are hardly even 2 columns, which exists mostly of MA or CNA jobs!....

When I first started nursing school, All I knew was that I wanted to be a nurse! When I graduated, I was employed on a cardiac/ICU unit....After doing research I realized that the unique part of being a nurse is that you can be just about ANYTHING you want to be and still be a nurse! There are sooo many different choices, avenues, decisions, paths and directions that it is almost overwhelming at first, but find what you enjoy and you will find which path you want in life....Good Luck to you! Follow your Heart and you cant go wrong.

caliotter3, what about teaching/nurse instructor! Might be an option? They are always looking for good nurses with experience to teach!

This makes me want to cry!...My heart just aches and goes out for that poor 91 year old woman! Kudos to her family for getting it all on tape...I can only wish and hope that the caregiver gets the same respect and courtesy she showed to that poor woman when she goes to PRISON!

canesdukegirl, thank you! I know that movie "mean girls"...I never did get it either. It takes so much less energy to be nice then it does to be mean. Anyway, I am not Sad per say, but I needed to leave because I was becoming too negative myself and the worse part was it showed in the way I cared for my patients. It is contagious ya know!.I tried the "Stop Gossiping" routine, the "Be nice", I encouraged the new grads to not engage in the gossip, and I was becoming more like a wet-nurse to a bunch of grumbling mean, unhappy nurses, and after a while, I gave up! I tried to stay positive, but then again, one rotten apple will ruin a barrel. It was too hard for me to overcome, I guess I was just not strong enough. I do miss the nurses that were GREAT, and they felt the same way that I did, It is too bad that only a few can make it so miserable for so many more!

I believe that the "morale" of people in general is going to "Hell in a hand basket"...The economy is bad, people are negative, patients are stressed out and it all in turn comes back to effect US. I have experienced the decline in co-workers ethics, morale's and to be honest...they are just down right MEAN! I am not sure what is going on..I have worked in this place for 3 years and LOVED it.....well, I made the decision to leave 3 months ago, after securing employment in an alternate hospital. I was Lucky in the sense that I had a friend/co-worker of mine leave prior to me and she told me about the wonderful hospital and unit she worked on. I applied, interviewed and was offered a job. I was heartbroken to leave at first, it is not to say that EVERYONE was negative that I worked with, however, it sure made it difficult to go to work everyday. I miss those co-workers that did contribute to a healthy work environment, that helped you to excel, gave words of encouragement and also helped "your" patients, It should be a team environment! Now they too are leaving and applying elsewhere. I know that there are situations in every workplace, It is up to you to decide if you want to stay or go...I wish you the best of luck and definitely empathize with your situation.

When I did CCConline classes, It was based on homework and assessments, they were not proctored...but things could have changed in 3 years. I take my ADN to BSN classes through WGU and some classes are Test based and are proctored while others are just competency based and are homework only. Such as essays, research papers, powerpoints etc..

I know the job market is tough out there for new grads...From what I can tell the resume is the first and foremost view to who you are.(first impressions)..It is great that you want to make improvements to help secure employment. I went online and googled "resume help", " how to ace an interview"...I made change to my resume and low and behold I got my second job as an RN having 1 year experience as an LPN and 1 as an RN. I dont think I have ever studied so hard to make my resume presentable as well as my interview excellent...There is also a website on Facebook that is there to help Colorado New grads find employment/ideas into locating jobs and who is hiring new nursing grads. good luck to you. hope everything works out. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=134925590455#!/group.php?gid=134925590455&ref=ts

I just took the PBDS assessment for TMCA...And YES it was pretty intense...However, after asking SEVERAL questions about what they were looking for I found that the test...in all reality is more of an assessment to see where you are in your critical thinking skills and assessments. They will base the rest of your orientation and classes they offer on the test and what areas you need help or more training in. I think it is Great...who wouldnt want to improve their nursing skills, Specifically in the area that they will be working in...It is a Win! Win! situation as far as I am concerned...I get the education I want/need to be a safe and great nurse and the company/hospital gets the satisfaction of knowing they will have a well trained nurse on their floor....

I know that most HCA hospitals or other wise know as HealthOne seem to be a great place to work for(and believe me I did some research prior to accepting employment) I have just recently been hired on at TMCA a magnet hospital...they are GREAT...Everyone is soo welcoming and nice....I couldn't ask for a better opportunity or place to work..Really!

Colorado nurse association has a facebook page for new grads looking for jobs. They will post information on job fairs, networking opportunities and other related events. You DO not need to be a member of Colorado nurse association to request to have access to the facebook page/site. There are a lot of suggestions pertaining to employers that are able/wiling to hire new grads. The web page is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=134925590455#!/group.php?gid=134925590455&ref=ts

It does not always matter how long you have been a nurse, We are bound to make mistakes at some point in our nursing career. It is a scary thing, but I bet the next time you grab a MED you will look at it twice! That is what learning and being a good nurse is all about, Learning from mistake/s. It will be a valuable lesson learned..." A lesson learned, lessens your mistakes" ...Good luck to you and your nursing career...

These mistakes are just that, mistakes...and if you have learned or corrected the underline issues, chances are the mistakes will not happen again. It is important to identify why they happened in order to make sure the mistakes do not happen again. Most places will look at several issues, length of time since offense, if this is a "habitual" offense, if you have taken steps to correct your issues and or problem if one exists, and how you are dealing with everything in the mean time. One of the most interesting questions I had in an interview was, "how do you deal with the stress of nursing?" It kinda caught me a little by surprise, I remember when "having a cold beer after work" would have been the answer, however, now I do other things,....school, gardening...and such......Nursing is a stressful and very enjoyable career...but, just like anything, stress can be delt with in a positive way or in a negative way......make sure to find ways that work for you without jeopardizing yourself or others....good luck to you and your dream job...