heatherp

note to those reading this- the question above was in response to my post about being hired at UC Davis Medical Center even though I did not precept there. There is no official "new grad program." They just post new grad positions. There were 5 new grads in my hospital orientation (2 in NIUC, 2 in Vascular/GI, and one in Trauma.) I know of 2 more that will be in the September hospital orientation. They also posted 4 or 5 other new grad positions 2 weeks ago. So, there is no official new grad program, but they ARE hiring new grads! (THANK GOODNESS SOMEONE IS!!!!) I HIGHLY recommend signing up for alerts from them.

Orientation is going well. It's a lot of LONG days, and TONS of information! I keep catching myself saying OMG, I'm a NICU nurse. LOL! So, obviously, I'm in the NIUC. :) I totally know what you mean about it being so long! I graduated in December, and really only had 1 one on one interview, and another paper interview in that whole time. I studied too! I'm SURE you're having done your preceptorship in a CVPCU helped get you an interview! I did mine in the NIUC :) I live 2 hrs away from UCDMC, but I made it very clear in my interview that moving was NOT a problem. My husband can transfer his job as soon as there is an opening in the company, and my BFF lives in Sac. I made sure they knew those details about me. :) Though they are not new grads, there are 2 other nurses from San Diego in my orientation (there were 18 of us the first 3 days...after that different units have different orientations, but most hospital based units do 7 days). GOOD LUCK on your interview!!!

I think every unit is different. For the NICU they said it was going to be a panel interview, but then it ended up being just the assistant nurse manager, and the unit manager at the end (she was going to be there the whole time, but got called away for a meeting). I applied in June, 3 or 4 weeks later they called on Friday to set up the interview. I interviewed on Wednesday, and just about 3 weeks later I got the call with the job offer. It took a LONG time, but SOOO worth it! GOOD LUCK!!!

I have to disagree with this about UCDMC. I am currently in orientation as a New Grad, and I did NOT precept there. I'd never stepped foot in the building prior to my interview. I will say however that at least one of the other 4 New Grad's in orientation with me did do her preceptorship there. All I can say is keep trying!

I'm right there with you! I start on the 17th. I'm SO nervous. I graduated in Dec. It feels like forever since I've done anything "nurse." I hope I remember how :wink2: GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF US

I'm in northern California. It's very hard to get into ANY job as a new grad. The things that I think helped me were: 1. Doing my senior preceptorship in a NICU 2. I took NRP and STABLE during school 3. Volunteering in the NICU after between graduation and finding a job 4. Being a NICU mom (not exactly something you can, or would want, to plan or do, but I think it helped. LOL) GOOD LUCK!

For me hospital orientation starts on the 17th, and it's a full 7 days. I then do 2 12 hr shifts in the NICU on the 26th & 27th (I think they said these are classroom and competency check offs and such). That's followed by 2 weeks of 4 10hr days. I then get some time w/ a preceptor (Not sure how much...they said the total orientation is 12 weeks.) Wow, I'm impressed that you guys got jobs w/o having any (or much) NICU experience. I did my senior preceptorship in a NICU. So I did 180 hours, and often was taking a full patient load (which was 2 babies 'cause there were only 4 on the unit due to low census.) I have taken STABLE, so that helps too : ) Even with that, I feel totally unprepared and SO nervous. Again due to low census, a lot of my experience was with growers and feeders. Only occasionally would I have a baby on oxygen, or needing a lot of other assistance. I ordered a book to read up on things, and I want to review my STABLE and NRP books. I'm not sure I'll have time to read much of them though. I too am trying to move (sort of...getting a room or apartment for the nights after I work) Plus I'm trying to get my kids prepared for school, and I have a medication exam on my first day of hospital orientation. Good luck to you guys. I look forward to sharing this experience with you

Well, it took awhile before they contacted me. I applied to two positions the same day, and watched the little updates and saw that position get filled while the NICU one still just said resumes had been sent to the managers. I pretty much had given up on the position, when all the sudden I got a phone call to set up an interview. WOO HOO! That was Friday July 3. Oh, and it was the department's assistant manager who called me. Went in to the interview the next Wednesday (though it could have been scheduled for Mon or Tues, but I chose Wed.) They told me that it would be 2-3 weeks before I'd hear anything. Almost 3 weeks later (Monday), I got the call for the job offer. I went in on Friday to sign papers and have my physical. Orientation starts on the 17th of Aug. LONG process, but worth it! : ) I have a feeling that each department works a little different. They did not say ANYTHING to me about living more than 30 min away...'cause I live 2 hours away! I'm POSITIVE it helped though that I told them that my hubby could transfer his job to Sac, and that my best friend lives near there. I also told them I'd be renting an apartment in Sac for my work nights until my hubby's transfer happens. GOOD LUCK!!!

When do you two start? We should keep in contact and compare experiences and notes...Support each other Are there other new grads that were hired at the same time? They told me they were hiring 2 new grads, but I have not met the other one yet.

The things that I did between graduation and find a job were: 1. I volunteered (in the NICU, which helped in landing a NICU job) 2. I took PALS and ACLS (I had taken NRP before my preceptorship) 3. Applied to ANY and EVERY RN job that would accept a new grad, regardless of the unit. With each application I fine tuned my cover letter and resume. 4. Tried to keep up a good attitude. That was often hard, but I tried :) That's about it. Just keep keepin' on...

I don't really have any adivce, just wanted to say that I'm in the same boat as you :) I was just hired into the NICU (though I graduated in Dec.) I start orientation on Aug. 17th. When do you start? Good luck! We have so much to learn! :)

I was just hired in the NICU! It was my first choice, but I would have taken anything. I start orientation on Aug. 17th

Where/when did you hear that? I was just hired in one of the new grad positions in the NICU. I got the call offering me the job last Monday. I think they have temp. freezes, then lift them periodically for a few positions. I could be wrong though, just my guess. Since they just posted a position last week, I would guess they would fill that position. GOOD LUCK to all of you!!!! I know how heartbreaking this whole process is. It took me 9 months to finally find a job, I was really about to give up. Try to keep up a positive attitude, and know that it will all work out some way. It has to! Again, good luck!!!!

1.) Once you complete the prereq's roughly how long is the wait? Is the length of your wait influenced by your grades (people with better grades at the top of the list?). There is no wait really. As it is a lottery, either you are in, or not. They may have a wait list now for if people drop, I'm not sure though since they just started both a fall and spring entry (this January is the first group of spring entries). Grades only count to see if you qualify for the lottery, after that it's the luck of the draw. 2.) How do those of you in the program like it? I can't answer this as I got in, but did not accept the position, as i got in at my first choice school (SSU...see your other post) 3.) Is there an interview process to get in? No interview 4.) How do withdrawals affect your application? Withdrawls only count in if you qualify for the lottery. I think only withdrawls affect it if they are withdrawls (or repeats) of the 3 science classes (Anatomy, Physio, Micro) Good luck...my advise is to apply everywhere you can see your self going, then pick from where you are accepted.

I agree it's a "where you're going to school" thing, not an ADN vs BSN thing. I'm in a BSN program. We've had a couple of short lectures so far. We will never have an entire semester class.

Oh, and for those who posted wanting to know about my journey to 111 lbs gone... I've been heavy my entire life. I remember being on Weight Watchers with my mom when I was 10. I tried many other diets mostly unsuccessfully over the years, but really I guess I wasn't ready. I did my own diet for several years, and just gained some more instead of losing. I really thought I was just meant to be heavy...my mom is heavy, my uncle (on dad's side) is heavy, my aunt's both struggle (though both of them are only a bit overweight, not morbidly obese like the others). Then I was writing my essays for an application to a direct entry MSN program. One of the questions was about self care. I thought, well how can I honestly answer this question if I don't actually take care of myself. So, the search began for a diet that might work for me. I've always thought that all diets work for certain individuals, I just had to find the one that would work for me, my body, and my lifestyle. So, as I was researching, I checked the message boards at weightwatchers.com. They were talking about WW's new diet program that had JUST come out that week. There were all kinds of leaks listing the foods on the CORE list, so I got a sneak peak. I looked at that list of foods, and knew I could "do the diet." I didn't know if I would actually lose weight, but I knew that it would fit into my lifestyle. So, I called my mom and asked if she was interested in joining with me. My plan at the time was to do a month or so, get the materials, and then do it on my own. Hey, I was a student (still am) who has an extra $40-50/month as a student? Well, my mom knew better than that, and paid for about the first 6 months for me. As they say, the rest is history. I'm coming up on my 2 year anniversary (the end of Sept.) The first year, the weight came off fairly rapidly (I lost the first 78 lbs in the first year...so, only 33 lbs so far this year) It's been slow since then, but it's still coming off : ). I only exercised randomly until January of this year when I added a water exercise class to my schedule for the Spring semester. Now, I walk on my treadmill at least 3 times a week (I hope I can continue this with starting Nursing school...we'll see.) I LOVE Core. It is super easy to follow for me. The major differences in my diet from before are: 1. eliminating white pasta from my diet. 2. eliminating regular cheese from my diet. 3. eliminating ice cream from my diet. Previously, I lived on pasta and cheese. I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian, so those were 2 major staples in my diet. Now that my taste buds are used to the foods I eat the real things taste weird. Pasta (and white bagels I found out last night) taste really sweet to me, and cheese sometimes tastes well moldy. LOL. I had to wean myself down to Fat Free cheese because at first I hated it. I also had to find brands that I liked (I like the Kraft shreds, and on certain dishes the singles). I also ventured out into Soy Cheese (even being a veg. I had never been into soy cheeses) which I like again in certain situations. I found that the 75% light cheese was pretty good, and a good way to wean myself down to the FF. Other than the cheese situation, the rest was easy. I was surprised to find that whole wheat pasta has gotten better than when I had tried it several years ago, and now I love it. Most of the vegetarian burger substitutes are CORE, so I could continue eating those. The ones that are not CORE are very low in points so I still have some of them sometimes (1 point for 2 morningstar farms breakfast sausages...yumm). Anyway, this is getting pretty long, but I know that I found that diet that works for my, my lifestyle, and my body. It is super easy to follow (for me...for some it's hard because it can involve a lot of cooking, and as a veg. it's nearly impossible to get a filling meal out that's both veg. and CORE) My doctor was SUPER pleased with my weight loss when I went in for my school physical in June. I asked her to make my goal weight higher than WW goal so I can stop paying WW. She never batted an eye with the goal I mentioned. I have a feeling that if I had asked for it to be that day's weight she would have said yes. LOL So, I have another 14 lbs to make goal. I'll still try to lose more after that, but I won't have to pay : ) If anyone has any more questions, please feel free to ask (I'm actually better at answering specific questions, but I'll try with others ; ) ). If I don't answer quick enough, PM me...remember school starts tomorrow, I don't know how often I'll be able to check the boards : ( Heather

Well, it looks like I gained Nursecadet's .4 lbs. It's OK though, it was coming off of a week with a big loss for me. School starts tomorrow...It should be interesting finding a new routine, and figuring out what to bring to eat that will keep me satisfied, and still losing weight. Wish me luck : ) Heather

Is today the day we post our loss/gain for the week? I've lost track! My weigh in is on Monday's, but I've been waiting all week to post every week...then I've had 2 vacations durring the chalange so I've lost track of what weigh in's I've posted, and what ones I haven't. So, this weeks weigh in was GREAT! I spent the week at my grandparents (not the same one I was with earlier...that was dad's mom, this was mom's parents.) My grandmother is really err umm 'different' in her way of thinking about food. When planning for food for our week there, I asked what she was planning for dinners, and if I should make one or two. She said "I only eat vegetables for dinner." Well, I'm bringing my 4 year old, who dosen't eat most vegetables, and my 7 year old, who can be pretty picky, but does eat some vegetables. So, I had to pack food for them. Anyway, knowing that she only eat's vegetables for dinner, I knew my week would be pretty good weight loss wise. Oh, and portion control is pretty easy at their house too. When she says she only eats vegetables for dinner, she only makes enough vegetables for like 3 people as a side dish...this is for 3 adults, and the 2 pickey kids. She also makes rice to go with the vegetables, and I brought some FF cheese (taboo in her house, but for once she did not say a word). So, I had some sort of concotion every night. I did not completely follow Core (my weight loss program through Weight Watchers which I LOVE). Though I mostly did. I probably used some extra points as my lunches were not Core, but sort of close to Core. However, most of the time it was easy to follow Core at her house. She had whole wheat pasta, and after I told her I only eat brown rice, she switched to the brown the other 2 nights I was there. I snacked on lots of fruit, and had my usual oatmeal with a piece of fruit for breakfasts. So, the final result of all this long post...Down 2.2 lbs! This is after having .6 and .2 losses the previous 2 weeks when I had been on the treadmill for an hour a day every day! Needless to say, I was thrilled : ) This brings my total weight loss to 111.8 lbs! My total for the chalange so far is 5.6. How much longer is the chalange? 2 weeks? 3 weeks? I've got 1.4 to go to my goal (for the chalange...but, only 13.8 to my doctors and therefor WW goal!). Sorry this was so long, I just had to share. Heather

I was down .4 at my last weigh in. That was over 2 weeks...one of which was on vacation. So, I think that makes my total 3.4 for the chalange. :) Heather

My weigh in was better than expected...even though I only lost .4 lbs. I thought I was going to gain since I had a bad beginning of the week. This week, I will not be able to weigh in as I am at my grandmothers in Michigan (I live in Calif.) So, I hope to report back in 2 weeks with a loss : ) Great job all! Heather

If you have any Core questions, PM me! I've been doing it for almost 2 years now : )

I was down 2.6 this week. However that is over 2 weeks as I was camping for last weeks weigh in. I think I will be up this week : ( I had two days in a row where I was HUNGRY ALL day! I think it had to do with drinking diet sodas. I have heard about studies where they say diet soda drinkers end up eating more calories than non diet soda drinkers. I had not had a diet soda in quite awhile, but found some deals where 12 packs were FREE (after rebate) so I bought some. It was also my TOM so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

I'll join : ) Put me down for 8 lbs by Aug 31 (or Sept 2 or whatever). I am at a point in my weight loss journey where the loss is SLOW, so 4 lbs might be all I get, but I'm going for 8. I weigh in on Monday's so I'll let you know then : ) Heather

I've been doing WW Core since Oct. 2004...all through pre-reqs (I lost weight durring Anatomy when most people gained). I start nursing school in Aug. So far I've lost 107 lbs! One of my inspirations to finaly start is writing an essay on self care for the direct entry masters nursing program I applied to. I did not get into that program (they only took 13 students), but I'm still living much healthier, and taking care of myself. I am not sure if I'm going to try to continue losing, or if I just want to start maintaining then. I'd like to lose another 15-20 lbs before maintaining, and to get to WW goal I'd have to lose another 53...ugh! We'll see what happens in Aug. as the stress of nursing school starts.

I have to disagree here. The CC I got into (Santa Rosa JC) does not have a wait list. They do however have a lottery. You just have to qualify for the lottery, then hope your name gets drawn. If I remember correctly, qualifying is based on overall GPA, pre-req science GPA, and English GPA. Oddly English GPA is weighted more than science! I'm not sure how accurate this is, as it is just rumor, but I've been told that they actually had more spots than qualified applicants this past year. This is the first time in 7 years that has happened. They only take applications once a year currently. This is going to change soon though as they just added Spring entry this year. I believe they are accepting applications again next Fall (Oct. or Nov. I think.) Though with those of us that did not accept our spot (I got into a BSN program as well, and am taking that spot), they might have room in the spring? For the university, acceptance is based on overall GPA (I think it had to be a 3.0 or highter), Pre-req science GPA, TEAS score, essays, and letters of recommendation. There were 170 qualified applicants and only 32 spots. Good luck!