mnf4ever

Sent you a PM!

Thanks for the book recommendation! I too, am interested in breaking into this lucrative, exciting field! Off to amazon.com to purchase the book! :)

I totally agree. It was a "lesson learned" indeed. Never again will I associate myself with this woman again besides the absolute bare minimum. I don't know why I could ever trust her, she used to gossip about other nurses during my orientation with her. I can't believe she's been allowed to work at this facility for 9 years already. And it's sad how she seemingly enjoys giving people grief and there's nothing I can do about it because I'm the newbie and won't be taken seriously. Oh well, moving on. I'm just gonna do me, and be the best nurse I can be.

Thanks dudette10! I've already lost respect for her. I thought we were cool, but never again will I use her as a resource because she surely isn't the type to welcome my "stupid" questions. She is not the type of nurse I aspire to be AT ALL. She has always made me feel small, but I've always tried to win her approval by doing the best I possibly could, always nodding and smiling and taking her rude, belittling comments. I've given her more than one chance, this ISN'T the only time she has done this to me. I'm fine with her yelling at me, but for Pete's sake, why does she have to be a jerk and tell other nurses in front of me (and probably behind my back) and why does she have to make the whole world know??? Good grief. I'm over it now. :)

Thank you. I think I can muster up enough courage to do this, but am afraid it will somehow backfire on me. To answer the other poster, during the time when she was my preceptor, she was for the most part condescending, and would often point out how slow I was, and at one point laughed at me when I was struggling with how to chart correctly. She laughed and said, "oh my gosh you are still charting? I dont know how you're going to make it on your own." Her excuse is "I am talking to you the way I talk to my daughter, I just want you to be independent." she also made it a fact to tell me how she made other new grads cry, and if she made me cry that it was "nothing personal." is this acceptable behavior? I've Refused to cry in front of her, but I have gone home crying in my car because of the way she speaks down to me and makes me feel like I'm a horrible nurse. At the end of my orientation, she said "i hope you appreciated me. No one wants to be a preceptor, but i said i would do it." Again she said this in a weird, non-encouraging tone. However, according to her new orientee, she speaks very highly of me. I've kept quiet all this time, and I don't mind criticism, but why did she have to tell everyone what I did wrong and why did she feel like she had to yell at me in front of everyone? I know she checks her email often, would you guys recommend I try to email her about this? Thanks again.

I'm a new grad, it's been 2 months of working on my own on MST. A lot of things are still new to me and I'm still learning and doing my best. I know that I'm doing a good job because I've already gotten 2 excellent customer service cards from my patients sent to my Director, one of whom happened to be a DoN herself. I've also received great written feedback from CNA's also sent to my Director for excellent teamwork. On to my story, yesterday I had a direct admit, a process I'm still new at and learned that night nurses at my facility hardly do to begin with (I'm a night nurse.) it was change of shift and my former preceptor was giving me report on this direct admit that she received at 3pm. she said she didn't have time to call the dr. for orders, and that I would have to do it. Long story short, dr. said it was okay to admit the pt. as 'med surg' after I gave him report. Charge nurse was happy because I was able to do it on my own, I was so proud of myself. Anyway, I had an extremely busy night last night due to my other pt. who was in constant severe pain, and another confused who was in restraints, very agitated despite meds, trying to get out of bed, so my charge nurse suggested I stay nearby. My direct admit slept well throughout the night with stable vitals. Despite providing excellent nursing care to my pts. with the best of my abilities, one oversight I had was I didn't remove the tele monitor from my direct admit, so he had it on all night (doc said ok to put on medsurg). It wasn't that I wasn't paying attention, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to remove the monitor since my preceptor was the one who initiated it yesterday. I wasn't aware of the "protocol" for something so simple, and I should've asked someone last night, but I'll be honest, it was a complete oversight on my part. So when change of shift came again, I made the mistake of asking her if I should remove the monitor and she completely yelled and humiliated me in front of everyone in the nursing station. Instead of telling me in private, she made a huge scene and told 4 other nurses in front of me how I didn't take off the monitor. Everyone in the nursing station heard, including the secretary and monitor tech. I gracefully apologized, I explained how it was an oversight, and I just didn't know the protocol and I wanted to double check with her before I remove it (something I will never do again since I was about to remove the monitor without asking her anyway but the newbie in me wanted to make sure) since she was getting the pt. back this morning. I truly felt embarrassed, especially for something so simple and how she completely humiliated me in front of everyone. She apologized in private to me in the hallway before I went home, and said, "it's a lesson learned for you" in a weird tone. I cried all the way home, feeling like a wet dog with my tail between my legs. Is this something I should just keep quiet about? I feel like telling my Director (who always encourages the new people to come to him if someone isn't treating us right), but I don't want to come off as "weak" or unable to handle it. I don't want any trouble or to make a fuss. In fact, I just wanna forget about it and crawl under a rock. WWUD? Thanks for hearing me out.

Thank you so much everyone for the useful info! I really appreciate all of your answers. :)))

I work full time with benefits...would I lose benefits for not making up those 12 hours? Do we have the option of using our vacation hours to make up for lost time? Thanks for your help!

Congrats KaLynRN! I am very happy for you and glad it worked out for you :))

I work on a med/surg tele unit and worked damn hard to land my first job with the constant rejection of new grads, bad economy, and "come back when you have 1 year of experience" line. I was so, so, sooooo excited to start in the beginning that I even dedicated a whole entire post to help others on how I landed my first job. Well its been 3 months and i just got off orientation (which was inconsistent and had preceptors who told me they were "forced" to precept and didnt want the position to begin with) and I can honestly say I'm overwhelmed and don't know if I can handle the constant stress, anxiety, and incompetence that I feel as a new grad. I work nights, and it's been hard trying to adjust to that schedule, I feel physically and mentally drained by the end my shift that I barely muster enough strength to try to give a decent report and even then I feel like I could do better. I have to stay late to finish my charting when everyone else seems to be done so fast. AM nurses get annoyed if i cant answer a question they had even though i try my best to find the answer. I wish i could answer all their questions but there are some things i am still new at and need to learn. I apologize and gracefully take their criticisms--i just wish they werent so rude about it. But i just shut my mouth and take it and try not to break down and cry. The only good part is when patients compliment the care I give them and they even say how other experienced nurses they've had were horrible. Anyway I got a job offer at a medspa clinic for a full-time position, less stress, only 2-3 patients a day, and higher pay and willing to train. I have nothing against bedside nursing, but I dread going to work everyday and never had a real "passion" for this type of nursing even though i try my best to take care of my patients as if they were my family members. I feel guilty for even saying this because I really do love helping people, but I hate my job already if that makes sense. What should I do? Bedside nursing is wearing me out physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Whenever I'm with my preceptor, it seems like she always knows EXACTLY what to say to the patient when we make our initial rounds...they always ask her questions and she always knows the answer...how do I do that?? So far, all I'm capable of doing is: 1) Introducing myself..."Hi Mr./Mrs./Ms. ______, my name is ______ and I will be your nurse for today." 2) Then I ask, "How are you feeling today? Are you still experiencing (whatever the problem was)." 3) Today, the plan for you is (I usually get this information from report from the other nurse) Do I need to check the charts prior to making rounds in order to know more about the patient? Should I come in early to work to review the charts? (I've heard some nurses do this off the clock). It seems like my preceptor knows EXACTLY what tests are being ordered, what tests were done, WHY they needed to be done, exactly when the pt. will be going home, etc. even though it wasn't mentioned in report. How does she do that? Please give me tips on how to be more informative with my patients....

I'm a new grad and just started out on a med/surg tele unit. I am very grateful for having a job and for all of the things I am going to learn. But after just 2 days of actually working with my preceptor (who is somewhat abrasive, passive-aggressive and rude but weirdly friendly when she wants to be), and seeing how she gossips about all the other nurses to me, I don't think I would want to work in that kind of environment for long. I also get very anxious the day before going in to work for so many reasons (being the newbie, still not knowing a lot of things, being worried about not being able to handle a situation, UGH the list goes on). I really want to be a great nurse, one who not only creates a friendly work environment, but one who also knows how to take care of patients and their families COMPETENTLY. I would like to work in a different field of nursing outside the hospital environment/politics. I just don't think a big hospital environment is for me. Is this normal? I was considering going into aesthetic/med-spa nursing, public health nursing, or even school nursing. I've always been told that you "need to" put in at least a year in med surg so that you will have honed in on your nursing skills. Is this true? I dread going in to work; will 6-8 months in med-surg be okay if I can find another job in any of the other fields I was interested in? I don't think I can stand the stress that mainly comes from co-workers (it mainly comes from some of the unsupportive, experienced nurses) and would rather work outside of a hospital, in a smaller environment...what do you think? I appreciate any advice!

Thank you very much for your informative answer!

Hi there! I'm a new grad RN, about to start in Med/Surg/Tele in a hospital that doesn't have a new grad program. I will, however, be assigned to a preceptor. I don't start until another week or so, and I want to be as prepared as possible. I have some questions and would appreciate any help: 1.) How do you organize your patient's info onto a sheet of paper? do u have a format? If you have a link or can email me what you use I would really appreciate it! 2.) What meds should I study up on? Anything specific? 3.) In what format do you give report on a patient? I want to report the right information in the right sequence...although I've done this in nursing school, I've heard of nurses who laugh or think that new grads are too informative or give information in the wrong sequence... 4.) How do you make sure you have enough time for charting, passing meds, taking care of patients without feeling overwhelmed? Any secrets? lol 5.) Anything else that I should know or be prepared on so that I can be as best prepared as a new grad could? Thank you so much!!

@ fireline: My resume was 2 pages long and my CV was also 2 pages long. I also made business cards and got them for free at vistaprint.com. All you need to pay for is shipping, which was under $5 if I remember correctly. Good luck!! @ herowneulogy: thats sounds like a good idea! Anything that can make you stand out in a good way is sometimes the very thing that will give you the edge and show how passionate you are. Good luck to you!!

I'm a new grad RN, BSN; was jobless after 3-months of depressing job-hunting. After applying to countless hospitals, SNF's, LTAC facilities, and behavioral health facilities, I finally landed my first nursing job at a small hospital less than 10 miles away from my home! I will be starting out on night shifts on the Med-Surg/Tele unit!!!!!! I can't wait to start!!! Anyway, I know that there are other new grads out there who are still struggling to find a job, and TRUST me, I know how depressing and discouraging it feels. I felt like I had some kind of disease as every single place rejected me as soon as they had learned I was a new grad. I felt inadequate as I learned that all of my other classmates were getting jobs one by one, even my other friends who had ADN's managed to score some jobs. I was beginning to have low self-esteem and question what I was doing wrong. I just kept at it, and replaced each feeling of rejection with persistence. All I can say is keep your head up, stay positive as much as you can, and NEVER give up no matter how much you want to. Here are the things I did that lead to me finally getting a job: 1. Revamped my resume (printed on nice resume paper). Make sure there are absolutely NO mistakes. Since I had a job in retail, I put things on there that translate very well into nursing such as: delegated to 5-6 employees, computer data entry, learned how to successfully diffuse disgruntled customers, communicated to management substandard service, etc. For my resume, I used the format on this website (Sample Resume 1): http://www.nursing.umich.edu/studentresources/resumes/index.html 2. Created a CV (curriculum vitae) that breaks down all the things you learned or procedures you've done in nursing school and how many hours you contributed to that clinical. My CV looked similar to my resume and I will describe it from top to bottom. At the top it has my name, RN, BSN, PHN. Then, I included my education section, followed by my Student Clinical Experience, volunteer activities, and then Honors and Awards. I didn't use a template (I just formatted the page to 0.5 margins, and kept changing fonts and font size as needed). Here is an example I found on google (keep scrolling down once you get there to see the CV): http://www.jobaspirations.com/Samples/Nursing/StudentNurse.html Of course, I made mine look nicer. I formatted an image of a stethoscope and heart to appear before my name and printed my name out in blue so I stood out more. Make sure to also put this on nice resume paper. 3. Create a portfolio to present at the beginning of your interview. Here's a tip, after you shake hands with your interviewer(s), just politely let them know, "I've prepared a portfolio that contains my resume, certifications, mission statement, etc. Feel free to browse through it and base any of your interview questions on it." I just bought a nice black 3 ring binder with the clear cover to put a cover page. My cover page has my name and title in all caps, centered in the middle of the page and then I included a nice little image of medical caduceus RN. You can get creative and pick your own little symbol whether it's a heart, stethoscope, or what have you. Get sheet protectors to put each piece of paper in. I made a table of contents page as well as dividers to separate each section. My sections included: Mission Statement (one short paragraph on why I wanted to become a nurse) Cover Letter (make sure you address it SPECIFICALLY to the name of whoever is interviewing you, as well as tailor whatever you said in your cover letter to match what that hospital is looking for) Resume and CV References (have at least 3. I picked my nurse preceptor and previous nurse clinical instructors) Here is an example: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/637/01/ Letters of Recommendation (I included 4) Certificates/Honors (here I included copies of my diploma, ACLS/BLS, awards I've gotten over the years, certificates, etc.) Volunteer work/Leadership (here I included my volunteer hours and broke down when and where I did them, I also included extracurricular things I did during nursing school) Evidence-Based Essays/Papers (remember all those essays we had to write in nursing school? well I put my favorite ones and made sure they were ones that got me an A. 2 of them were more scientific-based and the last one was based on my nursing philosophy (i.e. why did I pick nursing essay). I believe this gave me an edge because when I showed this to the Director who hired me, he was very impressed. Not only by my essays, but also because he said no one else prepared a portfolio for him to look at. Also, if you don't have an interview yet, create a mini-portfolio to drop off in-person after you've applied online. I went to hospitals in person to drop this off directly at Director's offices. It was a nice, laminated folder (they are approx. 10 for $10 at Staples, Office Max, etc.) that contained my business card, resume, cover letter addressed appropriately, CV, copies of my license, certifications, application for employment (if they still had paper application), and mission statement. I just went to HR and nicely asked if it was okay to drop off my portfolio to the Director since I have already applied online and wanted to show that I am still interested. I was never denied and was always welcomed. They probably sneered behind my back, but who cares? I was dedicated. The Director to where I was finally hired said he was very impressed by my attention to detail and how professional my portfolio looked! 4. Don't get discouraged--at least not for long. Whenever I was rejected, I allowed myself about 1 day to complain, cry, feel sorry for myself, then I dusted myself off and tried again. I've heard that the average job search can last anywhere between three and 10 months (maybe even longer in this economy) for new grads -- and that means a lot of rejection. Keep at it: Your dream job is out there. I even meditated to this (it's based on the law of attraction, which I heard about from a nurse on here. There's a book and movie out called "The Secret," which I never heard of until allnurses.com led me to it ): 5. Always be prepared. If you have an interview, browse the website and get to know EVERYTHING about the mission statement and values, leadership and WHY it's such a great place to work for. This will prepare you for when they ask: "why do you want to work for us?" 6. Dress and act the part. I went out and bought a nice suit (Burlington Coat Factory has great deals if you are near one). I've been to interviews where other candidates weren't even dressed nicely and that doesn't give a good impression. 7. Be loud, be proud. I let everybody and their mama's know that I was desperately looking for an RN job. Finally, I got help from a classmate who already had a job. She was in the process of interviewing for another hospital and turned them down since she was already hired elsewhere. Knowing that I was still in need of a job, she then asked if she could recommend a classmate who was still searching for a job (that was me) and I was able to drop off one of my mini-portfolios with the Director. I followed up a week later, and he set me up with an interview the next week. I was beyond stoked!!! At the beginning of the interview, I shook his hand, asked him how he was blah, blah, blah, and quickly presented him with my portfolio and he was impressed right off the bat. He said he initially had a list of questions he wanted to ask me (I even saw his clipboard with a list of questions on it), but since I threw him off w/my portfolio, he wanted to take some time to go through it and read it (took him about 15 minutes). He finally read my nursing philosophy essay, and said he was very impressed. He said to be honest, he has been interviewing for years, and he always hires someone based on 2 factors: 1. whether or not he can sense if that person is a good, genuine person and 2. if that person has something none of his other applicants had (in my case he said it was my portfolios, attention to detail, and my personality/genuineness). Although I prepared for all the basic nursing interview questions including the nursing scenario ones, the only questions he asked me was: "What makes a good nurse?" "Describe a time when you went through feeling discouraged. How did you overcome it?" "How would you respond to a nurse that is yelling at you in front of everyone? How about a CNA?" "Why would it be appropriate to put your coworkers before your patients?" Just remember to be yourself. He told me that he was tired of interviewing people who seemed fake or just trying to say the "right things." We then ventured off into a conversation on how I survived nursing school while having a family and a job, to how he and his wife moved from another state. It became less of an interview and more of a conversation. I tried to be very candid and honest in all my answers and be as genuine as I could. I also asked him questions about turnover rates, nurse/patient ratios, what his leadership style was, what changes he wanted to implement and how I could help, and also asked for a quick tour of the unit. When the interview was coming to an end, I left 4 letters of recommendation. Then, I sent a thank you card the day after my interview. Two days later, I get a phone call and I find out I was the person he chose for the med-surg/Tele position!!! He is setting me up with a preceptor and I start next month!!! So for all of you new grads who think you don't have what it takes, think again. Yes, it's imperative to know your labs, and what you need to do in certain situations. Yes, you must prepare for every possible interview question, even the scenario-based ones. But don't forget, sometimes your personality and your TRUE reason for wanting to be a nurse is all it takes to get your future employer's attention and finally convincing them to give you a chance. And to allnurses.com, I thank everyone who helped and encouraged me along the way when I was down in the dumps. I want to pass on my good luck and good karma to those who are still searching. I hope I have provided some help and encouragement. I pray for you and send good vibes to you. Please hold on, and keep trying. Then post your story of how you got your first job on here and pass the luck to others by sharing how you landed your first job!! God bless and take care! :redbeathe:heartbeat:redbeathe:heartbeat P.S. Shout outs to Indigo Summer!! Your thread especially helped me during my interview!! Thanks!!! "Every day is a new day full of potential. Good things are going to happen; the world is going to change in beautiful ways…"

Congrats on all your hard work and finally getting a job!!! :yeah:It's been 3 months as a jobless new grad for me as well. Things are starting to look up though. I just got accepted into an unpaid RN internship and now have a med/surg interview coming up for a PAID RN position. Thanks for the great tips! How many letters of recommendation do you think is enough? I have 4 of them...should I give all 4? I have more than enough originals...I asked all of my references to print out like, 10 copies each haha! I've been preparing and keeping positive thoughts in mind. Any other advice? Although, I think you pretty much covered everything! I'm a little worried about nursing scenario/meds questions and am brushing up on those...

Actually, I MUST sweat the details! At this point, RN positions for new grads are very competitive and I've been to 1 interview where they asked me what kind of medications would I anticipate giving to someone in chest pain. I completely choked (but didn't show it) and said I would have to look up the answer or ask a seasoned nurse to verify for patient safety and then listed off the 5 rights of med administration. I was thinking I would start off with O2 and nitro, but I wasn't 100% sure, so I didn't say that. Turns out I was partially correct! I DON'T want to be in that situation again. I want to know the most common meds and scenarios I should know for a new grad, but they never taught us this in nursing school--we got all of it!! How do I just pick and choose which info is considered 'basic knowledge' for a new grad?!

Thanks guys. I just found out that I've been accepted, but it seems like they've "clarified" some things during the interview that was quite different from what they said over the phone. For instance, although we get to work with a nurse and learn from her, the only thing we're allowed to do is vital signs, talk to patients, answer call lights, observe procedures, etc. Also, they said the program is 6-months long, not 2 months! You get to shadow a nurse for 12-hour shifts. They also added that you get to learn what they expect from a new grad without the added pressure of being a "paid new grad." They also said they only select BSNs for this internship, and the program is selective, that's why they have an interview process. In their last group, most of the interns were recommended to the Director of whichever floor they interned and were offered a job. I think this is a great opportunity and I would love to participate in while I'm still job-hunting, but man...I need a paid RN job STAT! The reality is, I need to survive and I have bills to pay

Call the nurse recruiter and ask about unpaid new grad nurse internships. A lot of hospitals are doing this now. In fact, I just had an interview today with the nurse recruiters of 3 hospitals. It's not a paid RN job, but at least it gives me a chance to see some procedures and network with the DoN's for future job openings. At the hospital where I plan to intern at however, they only let us do vitals, learn how RN's organize their time, talk to patients, etc. However, the NR said that these interns are given priority at the end of the internship if they decide to work there.

I have an interview for an unpaid 2-month internship. I've been job hunting for about 3 months with no luck YET. I've been applying everywhere so I haven't lost hope yet. I did a board search and it seems like allnurses.com doesn't approve of new grads working for "free." But isn't it also a good thing if this hospital says that in their last group, most of the interns were hired? The nurse recruiter also said that although employment isn't guaranteed, you will get to work with a nurse, have insurance, etc. and will have a better chances of being hired afterwards as a regular nurse without having to compete for a new grad position. I currently have a friend who is doing this at this same hospital and she said so far, she is being trained as a new grad, just not getting paid. Thoughts? Should I accept the offer if I get it?

i'm a 3-month-jobless-desperate-new grad and am currently trying to get into a med/surg/tele position. i have a potential interview coming up, and i need to be prepared as much as possible. i would appreciate advice on the following: 1) which meds should i brush up on? 2) what kind of nursing scenario questions should i be prepared to answer? 3) any other common interview questions for the med/sure tele dept? 4) any other advice? please help me! i have done a board search, but i just want to make sure the meds i brush up on are current/up-to-date. thank you very much! :redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe

Huh? It's not like I'm making up stories just for fun. I network with ADNs and they tell me what's going on in their new grad programs, and who they're working with. They tell me that there are only few BSNs, if at most, one in their programs. I'm not sure WHY this is happening...maybe they interview better? Who knows. In my class of BSN's only 3 have found jobs in acute care. In my friends ADN's class, only 2 have NOT found jobs....I don't know, maybe it's a coincidence? Maybe hospitals don't really care about ADN vs. BSN, but at the fact of who interviews better? Beats me.

To my understanding, the bigger hospitals in my area that either have Magnet status or working towards it, mostly hire BSNs over ADNs. I've been told by nurse recruiters that they are willing to invest in BSNs because they have more education that will benefit the hospital. Of course, in reality, I know that ADNs can be just as qualified as any BSN out there. I've seen ADN students on the floor, and they seemed more hands on and better on the floor than BSN students. The reason I went for my BSN is because I've been told that ADNs wouldn't be able to find jobs since the nursing profession is still trying to make BSN the standard minimum entry level. On top of that, I wanted the extra education; I wanted to be bachelor's prepared. Had I known then what I know now, I would've saved myself some grief and heartache, and accepted the offer from my community college to get the ADN. I don't understand why you think a Magnet status hospital is probably not one of the best places to work? I thought that Magnet status means the hospital has created an environment that supports nursing? Am I wrong? I would love to hear what an experienced nurse like yourself has to say. As a jobless RN, BSN new grad, I need all the advice I can get.

In my area, ADN's are getting paid 50cents to $1 less than BSN. A lot of the hospitals I did my clinical rotations employ a lot of ADNs, and it's not because these nurses school's have ties with the hospital. My ADN friend who just got into a new grad program in a cohort of 15 new grad RN's, aid only 1 BSN nurse was hired and that they were offering her $1 more. I'm not sure why this is happening. I really thought that hospitals who are trying to go towards Magnet status would invest in BSN new grads over ADNs. That's the whole reason why I gave up my spot in an affordable community college ADN program to take up THOUSANDS of dollars in loans for my BSN. As I read my post, it seems as though I'm coming off as extremely bitter, but like I said, I can't help it! I've worked so hard for my BSN and it's not helping me land a job at all...makes me regret not going through an ADN program instead!!!