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Im looking into leaving hospital nursing & applying to become a CRA assistant. The only company I found that hires RN w/o experience is Covance. Has anyone have any experience with this company? What is the work load/responsiblities like? How easy is it to move up in the company? Is this position going to be less stressful than psych nursing? Hows the benefits? I cant find any info besides people who say they are CRAs. I want to know what a typical day is like. ANY info will be appreciated!

My job wants me to become charge nurse after only 1 month & 2 weeks off orientation! I feel I am not ready/comfortable yet. I need opinions on how to handle this. So I am a new grad RN (with LPN experience) working nights on a 28 bed inpatient Psych unit in a major hospital. I was told by a charge nurse/coworker (who is leaving for a another postion) that she recommended me to the supervisor to become a charge nurse. Ive ONLY been off orientation for 1 month & 2 weeks. Im having high anxiety about this because I feel that I am still new & learning my job & still dont know a lot in the 6weeks ive been off orientation. One friend told me to be a self advocate & tell them I am not comfortable, while another friend says that it may make me look bad that I am "not stepping up to the plate" & it will tarnish my reputation. Would this make me look bad if I tell them that I am still new and not comfortable with taking on role of charge nurse this soon? Please help!

UPDATE: sooooo.... I accepted the 11p-730am night shift full time on psych, the pt shift wasnt available anymore. i took everyones advice, did a pros/cons list....and just going to try it out. I was seriously stressing about it, because I have worked fulltime/5dayweek in LTC in the past, all i did was work-sleep-work-sleep, made all this money, but was so tired/busy to enjoy it. Anyways, its a step in the door for a major hosp system... im completely nervous...but im sure i can do it! thanks all!

ive been contemplating applying to a state corrections setting that houses sexual offenders. can you tell me your experiences there and what a typical day for u is like? Do u feel safe?

thanks for all the advise everyone. its definately something to think about with the pros and cons. I have done a few overnights for my preceptorships and struggled with getting sleep & staying awake during the overnight hours. if it was 3 12's i think i could do it, but 5 8's...not sure yet.

I just had interviewed a hospital for the mental health unit. Its been my only interview since applying for a few months. They offered me FT nights, 8 hour shifts (that requires 5nights/week) -or- PT evenings, 8 hour shifts (3-4shifts/week) but no benefits. I need benefits, but im afraid my body wont be able to keep up 5 night shifts everyweek. Should I just deal with it for the sake of getting into a "hospital system" or keep looking. I am a new grad associates RN with 3yrs experience as an LPN, and jobs are kinda slim to be picky. Anyone have any advice?

Im looking into getting agency work, does anyone have any reviews or experience about "nurse finders" agency? Just wondering how the cases are like, how much pay is, and how scheduling is made. Any advice would be helpful.

@jessdreams - im consdering this agency as well, but doesnt have peds experience. what is the pay range starting? how is the orientation/training for each case? how long are the shifts? any other advice regarding this agency? any advice will be great, thanks!

@33762FL --So did you hear back from the school? Did u have to pay to get your past credits reviewed? Anything else you would like to share? I feel so in the dark because the limited info on this school. I cant apply until I get my license # posted on the board of nursing, I just passed nclex last week.

Thanks for the replies...and yes it finally showed up. I PASSED. I didnt doubt the PVT, but its not official until its written on paper! All hard work payed off.. now just have to find sumone to hire me.

Does anyone know if you can get nclex results on a Saturday? I took my nclex RN on Thursday...tried to check for my results today Saturday-but nothing posted. Im in NJ, I checked the NJ registry & it says "pending" for RN license. I did get the good pop-up tho on the PVT, now just waiting for my result.

Anyone have any info on this program for RN-BSN? Any tips, cautions, reviews about doing my RN-BSN at this school? I searched & most info is years old.

The course load is a lot, but take it one day at a time. Go to class, have a snack and rest your brain when you get home, take care of the kids. Start studying after dinner when you are nourished & the kids go to bed. Review the content you learned that day, so it makes sense to you. Get sleep and dont pull all nighters. Good luck to you both!

Thanks for the reply. I retook it and passed with a way better score. I thought the 2nd test was harder, but I did better. And yes, totally different questions.

i graduated from there in 2007 when the program was 15 months (i believe its 11months now). It was a lot of harder than I had anticipated. I had no life monday to friday, some free time saturday. Class started with 30, only 15 graduated, you really have to time manage with this course. Im not sure how much has changed since then, but ill tell you what I recall. First few weeks you will learn medical terminology, fundamentals of nursing/basic nursing care, basic a&p, math... then specific a&p and pharmacology. You have hands on lab skills, practicing on dummies. I just graduated RN from brookdale, and the LPN course spoon feeds you the content, so take advantage. They tell you exactly what you need to know to pass, you just have to learn how to apply it. Theres quizzes every few days and then content exams. A lot of the answers are given in the handouts given out in class. Do well on these because all grades count. Everyone is different, but I studied for a few hours after each class...we ran out of places to go so we studied at wegmans cafe area lol. They make you wear a hideous mint green outfit/tunic, the old people loved them because they look like its from the 70's. Not sure if they still make you wear them. Buy 2 sets (pants/tops) for clinicals. My advice: 1. Learn how to manage your time -if you have kids/family, figure out the best time to study & be present for your family. Figure out a work schedule that works with your sleep & study. 2. Stay on top of the course content -they throw you a lot of content @ from the very beginning. Dont fall behind. 3. Study groups -I hated study groups but its what helped me stay on top of the content. 4. Note cards -for things you cant remember, Lab values, diseases 5. Buy your books used if you want to save money 6. Take 45 min breaks while studying, dont overload your brain with content because it will not stick. 7. Buy an NCLEX LPN book -use this to study each section you do in class (renal, cardiac, fundamentals) it will reinforce content, and you are preparing for nclex @ the same time. Some useful books: saunders nclex lpn, calculate with confidence (if you need help on math), straight a's books, memory notebook of nursing.