MW37

Study, study, study! Do a section/body system at one time- don't skip around from respiratory to OB/GYN, for example. Highlight questions and concepts that stumble you and that you need refreshing on, then go back to it. Take breaks when studying and use another part of your brain by exercising or listening to music. I didn't take a class, but just bought a few review books that came with interactive CDs for the computer, and just studied for a few months. Do at least 5000 practice questions. I didn't take a class, mainly because of the cost, but also because I'm an independent studier by nature. I passed the NCLEX in 75 questions on the first try, and honestly most of what I studied wasn't even on the NCLEX. Some of the questions were really hard and I honestly had no idea where the question was coming from! The NCLEX is about concepts and information, but it's also about how well you can critically think, prioritize, and analyze a question to find the answer without maybe knowing the material in the question. I don't think that whether or not you pass the NCLEX is black and white for saying, "You're going to be a great nurse" or "You aren't smart enough to be a nurse and take care of patients." It's just a way to legalize things and legalize nursing practice in a way. I know a lot of people who got straight A's in nursing school, passed the NCLEX on the first try, but I would never want them as my nurse because they don't have common sense or any people skills at all- they're very sheltered. Just remember, when it comes to the human body and nursing- EVERYTHING is connected. If you have any other questions, feel free to message me!

I'm so discouraged with this damn job search! Gah! 4 years of school (not including the schooling where I was in limbo deciding what to do), thousands of dollars in loans, and nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. I've been on some interviews, and a lot of the time I am brushed over because I don't have experience. I had one woman ask me why I haven't tried to get per diem nursing jobs through an agency, and when I told her I have tried, she didn't seem too pleased with my answer. Today on the HHC website for employment they posted some nursing jobs for "prison psychiatry" I believe. You could try looking there. Also the state of New York I believe does the hiring and posting for most correctional facilities, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

SunshineRN, that video really made me laugh! Hahahaha!

Make sure you bring some hope. Maybe a lucky rabbit's foot.

Only 1 week of vacation?!? You've got to be kidding me! That's horrible. My last non-RN job gave me 3 weeks of paid vacation, and I was considered part-time!

I feel the same way. I've only been searching for a few months and already my morale in way down low. Sigh.

Thanks, LINurse! I've been looking on Craigslist also for jobs. You said you get paid 22/hour? (Sorry I don't want to be nosy!) What about health insurance? Vacation time? I just don't think I could swing the night-shifts at hospitals, and I know a lot of new grads get hired into the night shift. A lot of the people I graduated with work night-shifts in hospitals now (in a different state), and it's already had such a negative impact on their health.

LINurse10, how did get a job in a doctor's office? I'm a new grad BSN, and I'd actually rather work in a primary care/doctor's office type of setting rather than a hospital. I really want to get my master's in Family Nurse Practitioner, and I that's where I wanted to start out- in a doctor's office.

Thanks for that phone number and e-mail address! That was very nice of you to post that! Don't forget all of the free candy along with the pens and gadgets! :)

I just came back from the job fair also. I thought it was okay. Some of the tables/agencies/hospitals were nicer to the nurses, especially the new grad nurses, than others. The Elizabeth Seton Peds center just up and left and their table was empty when I got there, which I found kind of strange. The stacks of resumes for Mt. Sinai, Sloan-Kettering, Maimonides were HUGE for new grads, which doesn't make me feel very confident in my chances of getting a phone call for at least an interview! I found some of the staffing agencies interesting and the people there very nice. They were talking about per diem flu shot clinics, which I would be interested in doing. It's tough out there! Not just for new grads either! There were a lot of people there from hospitals which have closed, like St. Vincents and North General. I felt bad for those nurses! Those hospitals pretty much just kicked their entire staff to the curb without much help or guidance. Anyway, I hope the job fair turns out well for everyone. If not, we'll just have to keep doing what we always do- search for jobs!

I was just kidding about quitting nursing! Haha :) What kind of nursing do you want to get into? Where have you been applying? Yeah, there is another career fair in Flushing in November which I believe is at Citi Field? I wore my suit to the career fair I went to this past summer, and I brought maybe 30 copies of my resume with me, I think? It was a smaller scale career fair (not as big as the one this week), so I didn't bring as many copies of my resume with me. The recruiters there weren't very nice and friendly, and they didn't really ask me too many questions once they found out I was a new grad. It as just like, "Sorry, we don't have any open positions for new grads", and then they turned their attention away from you. There were a lot of new grads there, too- more than the experienced RN, and I got the feeling they were really just looking to talk with RNs that had experience.

Hi Jobless! I'm also a jobless new grad BSN, and I might go to the career fair this week. I've been to one before that a little bit on the smaller scale, and a quasi waste of time, but what the heck, right? I left after an hour at the last job fair because most of the tables did tell me they weren't hiring new grads at the time. I did get one interview with a shady company from the career fair, though. Even though the interview was also shady as well. Do you think its time to change our careers?!?!?

Even if you might have replied "too high", would you really want to work for a company whose representative was so rude to you on the phone?

Well, like Billy Joel sang, "shouldn't try to be a straight 'A' student, if you are then you think too much." I don't think that just because someone has a higher GPA than someone else that they are more equipped to pick-up, and learn, new practical skills in the work field. I don't know about anyone else, but I personally found the nursing program I was in to be a joke. The teachers I had were jokes. I learned more working in the healthcare field and doing my own independent research and reading than what I learned in nursing school.

Some places care about new-grad GPA. I got a phone call from NYPresbyterian about the "new grad" nursing posting, and the phone interview was going well (I thought) until they asked me what my GPA was. My graduating GPA was a 'B' average, and I could tell that was "less than par." Needless to say I didn't receive a phone call back about my resume. Some of my nursing school colleagues got all A's, and failed the NCLEX the first time. Some of my nursing school colleagues got all A's, and I wouldn't want them at my bedside because they have absolutely no people skills, common sense, life experience, etc. I have 10+ years of full and part-time work experience including managerial experience, customer service, and 4 years in a healthcare setting, and still the GPA was really important. I haven't been without a job since I was 14 years old. Sigh.