mandajeanice

Hi all! I will be graduating in December from a nursing program in IL. I was curious if anyone had advice about landing a job after graduation. Particularly, I was curious about these things: -How soon before graduation should I start putting out resumes and applications? -How should I make my resume more appealing since I clearly have no nursing experience, aside from clinicals? -Is there anything I should emphasize on my resume about what I have accomplished in nursing school? -Any other advice or suggestions? I have heard that some students who have previously graduated from our school's program had jobs lined up 3 months before graduation, while others have been out of school for a year and can't find a job. I would hate to be in the latter situation, so I am trying to think ahead a bit. Thanks so much for the advice in advance!!

Hi everyone, I will graduate from my RN program in December, and I was looking into some NCLEX prep of some sort to have it lined up after graduation. I came across a local Kaplan test prep class. It is $500 for 4 days of classes. I was just wondering if anyone had taken this class from Kaplan and if you felt it was worth the money. Are there any other suggestions of classes, either in person or online? I wanted to get some more studying in besides my NCLEX books (which I have 3 of). Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks. :)

I spoke to an adviser there a few weeks ago regarding work experience and was told that work experience is not necessary. :/ I guess they told me wrong?

Ixchel, did you have any success getting additional info? I looked into this as well, but couldn't get any answers from my "adviser". She never emailed me, although I told her I'd prefer communication by email due to a crazy schedule. I emailed her questions and never got a response. She called several times when I was unavailable. This past time, I got an email saying "Sorry you are no longer interested". Ugh! I didn't know if this program is ALL online, or if you are required to do X amount of clinical hours locally.

If you can't decide & want to do both, Vanderbilt has a dual degree CNM/FNP program.

]I was also considering going the LPN route through Parkland. I ended up applying to the nursing program and was accepted (currently third semester). I would recommend going for the RN. There are so many more opportunities as a Registered Nurse. The LPN-RN bridge (which is what I was aiming for after completing the LPN program) is tricky to get into, so I hear. The program is fairly new and has several bumps. One of the first semester nursing instructors told me that Parkland was looking into getting rid of the LPN program again. (They had gotten rid of it in the past and brought it back a couple of years ago.) The whole "Healthcare Reform" thing is also something to consider. I read an article that stated LPN's won't be used in the future, and nurses could be required to have a BSN to practice, as opposed to an ADN. Of course, that could always change again, but it is something to think about. I took my biology classes with several LPN students, and they were not pleased with the way the LPN program was conducted. Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do!

I also forgot to mention that I was curious about non-nursing class pre-reqs. I had thought about going the CRNA route, but I would have to take a year of physics and 1.5 years of chemistry just to meet the requirements for admission.

Hello everyone, I'm a third semester nursing student and have been doing some research on the CRNA career. Anesthesia interests me very much, and I'm not interested just because of the salary! Most of the information I found has really emphasized the need for excellent grades on a transcript. A few years ago (when I first began taking college classes), I was not very concerned with my grades and have some unfavorable ones on my transcript. (A few C's) The past 2 semesters, I've made all A's. My first semester of nursing school, I made all B's and 1 C. (I had a baby in the middle of the semester.) I was wondering how potential schools might look at those lower grades. Do they focus more on the actual nursing class grades? I don't want to take all of the required chemistry if I would not be considered because of them. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Amanda

Hi everyone!! I'm a third semester nursing student in IL and have recently become VERY interesting in pursuing midwifery as a career. I was hoping to gain some insight from CNM's, student midwives, or other students interested in pursuing this as well. I have tried to do some research (via google) on the career outlook and haven't found much. I've also found various ranges of salary, some as low as $60,000 (which seems quite low) and some as high as $95,000. Thoughts/advice? Thank you so much for your time! :)

I got in with a 3.25 GPA, but I scored in the 99th percentile on the TEAS test. The first poster is right; they don't just look at your GPA when considering applicants. One of my friends got in with a 3.0 GPA. Good luck if you're still considering it!