im_melba

you may have to do what i did. i wanted to work in a hospital, but everyone was wanting to hire nurses with experience. i had to start at a LTC/Rehab before landing my "dream/ideal" job. The job was out of state, so i moved myself away from everything i knew: family, friends, etc... just to start my job and get experience. Now, i was able to move back to my homestate after almost 2 yrs working and life is grand. good luck

When I graduated with my BSN, i wanted to work on a med/surg floor at a magnet status hospital and a residency program. Needless to say after 9 months of nothing, i took a job at a rehab/LTC facility... it was horrible, but, two months into that job, i got an offer to interview with a hospital out of state that offered me everything that i wanted. and it was probably bc of my experience at the rehab place that i talked about during the interview that got me the job. moved out of state, worked there for a lil under 2 yrs and now im back in my home state working for a hospital that i wanted to work for when i first graduated. funny how life works out.

Be engaged and present. Do not act like a know it all and show initiative. Don't wait around for me to tell you to fill the water or empty the commode or take the pt to the bathroom if you know that the water jug is half empty and they hadn't peed for 4 hours or so. Make acquaintince with the other nurses and aids on day one and tell them that if they have something interesting that you would like to have the opportunity to assist. But my main rule of thumb is stay off your cell phone! I precepted a new grad and if upset me that she would do an assessment, leave the patients room and immediately hop on her cellphone to look at facebook or text friends. Her assessment had not been charted yet, but she was acting like she had all the care in the world. I was only a relief preceptor for her, not her main preceptor. But i find late charting due to personal phone use to be so disrespectful and annoying.

I rented/checked out a NCLEX review book from library to save money. I went over all the info, took the practice test provided. Looked over my school notes that I had saved. Passed the first time and it took me 5 hrs and I was the last one out of the testing room. I know a few of my classmates who paid money to take a rewview course on campus. They all seemed to pass the first time with only 75 questions. The review was kaplan, and its my understanding that kaplan doesnt really teach you content, but rather how to read/understand teh question to deduce the right answer. maybe the kaplan course is something you might want to look into...

gosh, i took the test 3 yrs ago, and i cant really recall what happened. I just know it took me 5 hrs but i passed. studied for a month before and was sure that i failed. For me, i think the most important thing is to study the last time the night before. Get a good nights sleep and then give urself plenty of time to wake up, shower, dress and get urself to the test site (keep in mind traffic). You dont want to come in late frazzled and dont study the mornign of. you will onlyfreak yourself out more and doubt your abilities. It's either you know it or not by now. You got this! good luck!

ive been working in LTC for about a month now and i was being trained on evening shift, which i find to be challenging and overwhelming do to the intense load or responsibility. i was feeling stressed and felt like i was being pulled in a million directions. i had one pt who needed her toes to be wrapped in cotton and taped together b/c her toenails had dug into her toes and it hurt. so im there in the pts room, wrapping her toes in cotton, thinking about the million other thigns i have to do as soon as im done and she says to me, "you do that very well." wow. it felt great to have a moment to sit down from my busy shift to just sit there and wrap cotton on someones toes and to be appreciated for such a simple task. i also think its funny when i work noc shift and im in there giving pts meds and i give the pills to them one by one and as they are swallowing they look at me and make comments like "gosh, you have the prettiest hair" or "you are so pretty" lol... i think it may be the narcotics talking.... but its great to have the time to sit there with them for three minutes giving them their scheduled meds and not have them be in pain or discomfort

hi all, got my Oregon RN license. If i get a job in idaho, i dont have to pass Idaho's nclex, right? i just have to fill out paperwork...?

just say u were inadequately trained and that you didnt want to jeopordize the care and lives of ur pts... who can fault u for that?

hi all. im a new grad and after 9mos of searching, finally found my first RN job. Working at a LTC in the rehab facility. i work night shifts and i only get 6 days with anouther night nurse to orient with, then i am working alone, as the only licensed nurse in the facility taking care of 29 pts with 2 cnas. I will admit that if everything goes according to plan and no residents have any freak occurences, i feel confident that i can manage to do all my scehdled meds, PRN pain meds, assessments, charting and other RN tasks. however, the constant fear that on the 7th day when i am no longer being trained, something horribel will happen and i wont know what to do. I feel that working night shift and being the only RN there with no other support from other Rns is frightening. please, may i have ur opinions on how i can best be a nurse in the situation and provide quality care to my residents? i dont want to run screaming from the place burnt out ( i have been told that the facility has been having a hard time retainig night shift ppl... ) (what doesnt help is that I have called HR, just to touch up on a few office/paperwork stuff, and she has yet to cal me back or e-mail me. I did this thursday, friday passed, the wknd passed(i wasnt expecting her to call me on wknd as it is her day off) and now monday and still nothing. I find it a little rude that she wouldnt call back a new employee of the comapny to see how everything is going. gave her all my contact info, so she has no excuses.

hi all, im a new grad and have an interview tomorrow for a RN position at an assisted living facility. what are some questions i should ask and what are some points that i should emphasize about myself?

looking at hospital jobs and all the jobs i want say "1-2 yrs acute nrs experience preferred..." if i work at an assisted living facility as a RN, does my experience there count towards the job requirements? im a new grad. with no expereince and i cant seem to get my foot thru the door w/ the hospitals.

im an unemployed new grad. have yet to land a job. but im looking. i went into nursing b/c it is a degree that i could obtain in four years and be useful and practical. Even if i choose to not be a nurse anymore, i can use the skills/knowledge i have learned to care for my own family and friends. its an honest living that pays the bills. also, there is job security. Additionally, there are so many different opportunites that nursing has to offer, all while making use of my bsn and not having to go back for more school.

i graduated may 2010 with my bsn... having a heck of a time finding work. how is the job market where u are located? i am willing to move but still, no job offer to move for! I would say look at residency programs, i applied to a total of three of them, made it to the final interview with the nurse managers each time, but never got the job b/c there are 700 applicants vying for 25 spots! yes, its an accomplishment to make it to the fiinal interview, but to land a job would be great! Right now, I have given up on my "dream job" of landing a spot on a med surge unit in a hospital b/c i dont want to keep holding out for something that may never come and then the next thing i know, its been a full year since i've graduated! i also suggest craigslist... thats how i got my one and only nursing experinece as a flu nurse. it was for two days of contract work, but its something. i have an interview for this friday at an assisted living facility, and i found the job posting on craigslist! u'd be surprised whats there. most hospitals are not hiring new grads at this time unless u get hired via there residency program. I have called some hospitals and spoke with the nurse recruiters and have been told flat out that they dont hire new grads AT ALL. Also, i have a friend who graduated with me and got a job on the unit she had her capstone on and she told me that there was a job posting. it was a saturday, so i went onlilne, applied, and i kid u not, one hour later, my inbox has a message from HR telling me that they are going to look at more qualified applicants at this time. I met the minimum requirements, but b/c i dont have nursing experience (and b/c i cant count nurisng school as experience) the computer automatically kicks me out of consideration, even before an actual human being reads my resume, cover letter or refs!

i graduated from nursing school last may and got my bsn. after the very first week of nursing school, i wanted to quit. i was miserable and freaking out. i thought i was out of my mind for wanting to pursue this career. The teachers talked about the course syllabus and i was overwhelmed with all the material we had to cover. I thought that fundamentals would be pretty common sense, nope, got a C on my first test. major wake up call! Like you, i was a good student. straigt A's in high school, 3.8 gpa in my first two years of college where i did my pre reqs, then i transferred to nursing school and felt i was way in over my head. so how did i deal? well, even though i wanted to quit, i knew i wasnt a quitter and i strongly believe what doesnt kill u only makes u stronger. so my tips for you would be to read the text. im sorry to hear that your the very first cohort for ur nursing program, that must be tough as there are lots of kinks to work out, but read the text. im sure the professor gives you the pages that correlates to what the subject the powerpoints are covering. read them preferably before class so u have some general idea, but if u donot have time, then read it afterwards. what i like to do is during class, i have a printout of the powerpoints right in front of me and i write down what the teacher is saying. then after class, i get out my three subject note book and re-write everything word for word to reinforce learning by reviewing the material again and having to write it down again. while writing in my notebook, i have my text book handy and read anything that pertains to the subject and then add additional notes from the book to my notebook to further enhance my learning. this is the biggest tip i can give and this is what helps me b/c i learn best thru repition. I am happy to say that after a rocky start in nursing school, i graduated with cum laude honors... and you can too! best of luck!

i appreciate everyone giving me some helpful hints. i am trying to locate the hospitals you have all said that are hiring new grads, but am having difficulties pinpointing them with just a basic location, can i have names to the hospitals please? thanks!