beavetron

are you sure you are getting a bsn and not a cnl? at the school i went to if you already had a bachelors in something unrelated, you could get a cnl for your RN but it was not the same as a bsn. but anyhoo some places do look for higher degrees! i have an associate's degree but it made a difference to my job that i had some classes done towards my bachelors... it shows motivation

while they are all very right, it is not hopeless... i am a new grad who came from ohio to illinois last year and i was able to find a job by the end of september (i passed nclex in early july). you just have to apply a lot, getting a certification like an acls doesn't hurt, and go to any job fair you're invited to /hear about. You sort of just have to be willing to take anything... a start anywhere is a better start than none at all

I got my ACLS after putting out over 100 applications just for something to do because I wasn't ready to go back for my bachelor's yet, and when I went for my first interview (on a telemetry unit) they hired me largely because of that. I think it definitely doesn't hurt, it shows that you're motivated plus if you are planning to work on any sort of cardiac, critical care, or stepdown unit, it definitely has useful information.

I am a new grad who has been on the floor for a little over 4 months, I work on a high acuity telemetry stepdown unit. By no means is it easy every single day and when one peer is having a bad day it tends to rub off, but I find that as long as you do what you need to do without having to be asked it gets you through the day without a glitch. Just remember to always use your critical thinking, have confidence in yourself and when you don't know something, ask someone reliable and approachable. And if you're feeling constantly swamped and behind, talk to someone higher up and let them know whats going on.

I am a new graduate nurse who has been on the floor for a little over 2 months. I had a situation last week with a patient who was being discharged. She wanted a hug when she was getting ready to leave, and when I leaned out from hugging her she tucked a $20 bill in my shirt pocket. She insisted I take it because she and her daughter said I took the best care of her out of everyone that she'd run across since she'd been there. I took it out of my pocket and told her I couldn't accept it because it was my job to be there and to take good care of her but she and her daughter were insistent that I needed to accept it and buy my family a pie for thanksgiving. I tried repeatedly to explain to them that I am paid already to be there and that I really couldn't accept the money, but they would hear none of it. I feel like its unethical to accept extra money from a patient like that, as well as a risk in case they come back and say you stole it. How would you more experienced nurses handle that situation? I was at a loss at what to do.

i definitely would recommend nclex practice books... the more questions you do, the better prepared you are. the nclex is the same for the entire continental US. these 2 books got me through: Amazon.com: Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN- Examination, 4 eBook: Linda Silvestri: Kindle Store ^that one has outlines of the different systems in it as well as questions with answers and rationales Amazon.com: Lippincotts Review for Nclex-Rn) (9781582554709): Diane M. Billings: Books ^ that one is just questions with answers and rationales, but it's slightly more challenging (which is good practice, because the NCLEX isn't easy) i did both of them front to back throughout the course of nursing school! they also both come with practice disks so you can do the questions on the computer, which is nice. i hope this helps! good luck :)

hahah gosh, i dont remember. i looked at a calendar and i know i had everything in hand 4-1/2 weeks after i took the test

oh yikes!! well that's just what it took for me and i lived in Ohio, so maybe it won't take quite as long. That, and maybe you could call and explain to someone at IDFPR your situation and they can expedite putting you on the registry somehow? good luck!:)

You may have already had this question answered by now, but Weiss Memorial has one... for the next rotation they start taking applications in December to start the program in February. It sounded like a great program, but you have to be willing to wait a while to start working. Also, they suggest you start off there as a patient care aid, because 2/3 of the people who get into the program are internal hires. Good luck!

I just passed in July, and it took me about 3 weeks to get a paper stating that i had to send in $50 to IDFPR to get my license number... then about 2 weeks after that my number was available online, and it took about another 3 days to get my license in the mail. Congratulations on passing!!! :)