biomimetical

Oh, absolutely. That, plus a better externship, or maybe previous work experience or a resume that looked better than mine. But I'd absolutely bet on them knowing someone on the inside, too. That's how things work, although of course one might not feel so objective right after getting a rejection letter. :-/

I know how you feel. A lot of my classmates and I applied to the same New Graduate Nurse Residency Program at a hospital that is very friendly to grads from our school. Despite having the same if not better qualifications as my classmates, I got rejected (not even an interview) while 3 of them were accepted. So it must be something other than just background experience. It is easy to feel angry and jealous, especially when others deny that the market is discriminatory (wrote a post on that, and everyone who wasn't a minority denied it) and tight.

Whoa now everyone. I only wanted to point out that discrimination towards ethnic/minority names occurred in the hiring process (and backed it up with sources). Please don't go pointing out that life sucks more for you because you're white or black or were bullied or didn't get enough scholarships - it sucks for all of us, all around, for different reasons, and griping at each other just kills the community spirit. Rather than pointing fingers at each other for not suffering as much as yourself, the least we can do for now is to try our best to make sure that the place where we DO work is less violent or discriminatory. For EVERY race or ethnicity. In the meantime, like I said: If you have an Anglicized nickname (or even if you go by Jen instead of Jennifer), use that name when applying for jobs instead. Bonus: If you're still stuck on racism, here are a few different articles to get you thinking. Stunning Study on Anti-White Racism in America Got whiteness? Studies say you're racist Why Jasper Lee is Wrong

Curious - are you volunteering? I am planning to go this route myself. Has it helped you make any connections (that lead to job opps)?

I don't believe anyone would deliberately or blatantly discriminate that way (by tossing a resume strictly based on the name). But in the face of many, many applicants per job, they might narrow the list down per requirements to a smaller pool of candidates. Then they might "go with their gut" and offer interviews first to the people who "feel right" without consciously knowing why they feel like better applicants. Very few people consciously discriminate, especially in the HR department. But when the data is added up, it shows discrimination. So even if no one is doing it deliberately, it's still happening. http://news.efinancialcareers.com/69374/canadians-with-ethnic-names-less-likely-to-get-resume-callbacks-study-finds/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/oct/18/racism-discrimination-employment-undercover http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/how-an-ethnic-sounding-name-may-affect-the-job-hunt/article555082/

No matter how many self-righteous managers and nurses might deny it, there is still plenty of discrimination against job hunters with ethnic names. All you have to do is Google to find plenty of articles, stats, and studies showing that people with minority names must complete 2-3 times more job applications in order to receive the same number of job interview offers as their Anglo-Saxon sounding counterparts. For those of you lucky enough to go by an Anglicized nickname, here's something interesting from a manager/HR blog: you are NOT obligated to apply for jobs with your legal name. If you've been going by another nickname for ages, then for goodness's sake, apply with that name! Resumes, cover letters, and even digital applications are not legal documents. When HR is interested enough to need a background check and social security number, that's when you give them your legal name. But of course, not everyone has been lucky enough to go by Jennifer or Lauren or Rachel. So is there no other advice for them except to keep their chin up and keep applying? In a job market where even "white-named" job hunters are having no luck with 100+ job applications, that is surely disheartening.

Hey there, I'm from the 2011 APL program, so I can answer that for you. While the traditional program is slower and includes more classes, many of those classes are things like socialization, nursing science, and nursing ethics. The accelerated program combines all of those into as few classes as possible, and as far as I can tell, everyone prefers it that way (nursing theory is awful). Our clinicals are actually more focused; we spend 2 semesters on med-surg floors in hospitals (thereby focusing on nursing skills), a semester on ob/peds, and we have a preceptorship the last semester. We also have a few clinicals in rehab, psych nursing, and hospice. Traditionals, on the other hand, spend most of their clinicals in nursing homes, rehab hospitals - I don't believe they get to try med-surg until much later. I mean, that stuff is very important too, but some students never get to start an IV until their last year! So I assure you that the accelerated clinicals are on the right track. The traditional students are also bogged down with a good deal of busy work - extra papers, charts, etc. However, you might feel this is better training for you. I think the traditionals tend to do a little better in pharmacology than us, because we have so little time to learn it. Accelerated is really 'bare-bones' kind of work; they strip off anything we don't really need so that we can finish in one year. Of course this means it is really condensed, and everything you do get is very important; you can't really afford to blow off any classes (well, maybe nursing theory...). It's also terrible if you want to work, or if you have kids (the moms in our class sometimes have trouble finding childcare when our clinicals/classes run late). So whatever you think works best for you. I've noticed that everyone seems relatively satisfied in their respective programs, so hopefully you will be too.

Aw, you guys are a semester after me! (I started in May, and am in the APL program.) I wonder if you guys have to buy the same stuff that we did? Because I definitely didn't use most of it this semester and wasted quite a bit of money...just sayin'. Oh! And I'm totally selling a textbook or two as well...

This reminds me of an article I read in the New York Times about how the market is being saturated with law school graduates - just because a law school exists, or that it accepts you and your money, or that it gives you a degree - none of that means that you will be able to find a job as a lawyer. Now, while it is true that we might not necessarily need more lawyers anyway, it is true that we will need more nurses - it's just that hospitals and clinics can't necessarily afford to hire more now. Just think, at least you're not a law student!

Hey guys, if you're having trouble finding the facebook group page, why don't you just post the URL? Then everyone can click on it and then request to join.

Runnermom - oh man, I totally just saw your post on the JU thread saying you were accepted! Congrats! So now you have three schools to choose from? I was the Asian girl in our interview group. Were you the one with the wicked awesome heels? Readynow, as of yesterday there were still about five people who had not RSVP'd, so you never know! Also, I'm going to sneak into that facebook group...even though I'm in the accelerated program, we all start in summer and have to get the same stuff done, so I'm in!

Waitlisted! Oh well, UNF - here I come. Congrats to everyone else though! Please let us know if you were accepted!

FLmomof5, what school did you go to? I've applied to both UNF and JU but I still can't decide! I've been told to pick the school with better clinicals, but since there are so many hospitals in Jax, it seems students of both schools can get a well-rounded experience of a lot of different hospitals for their clinicals.

Hi guys, sorry I'm late to the party. I interviewed at 9:30am in group 4 and was also accepted to the Accelerated program. Congrats to everyone else for getting in too! I'm also waiting for JU's response, as I am still torn between the two schools. So I kind of know how it is for you, pitterpatti! How are you planning to choose? I've listed pros and cons for each school and they both come out equal, for me. However, I don't think I will hear from JU until after UNF's deadline to RSVP. :/ I kind of wish the schools would coordinate their responses a bit.

Hi guys, I just spoke with Chris in person today and as of yet letters have not been mailed out. He said that there was an unusually large number of applicants this year so it's been taking longer. Hopefully things will be finalized today or tomorrow and mailed out by tomorrow or Friday...meaning you won't get your letter until Saturday or Monday at the earliest. This is really frustrating for me since I have to RSVP to UNF by Monday before 8 am. It's likely I won't hear back from JU by then, so I don't really have the option of 'choosing'. Speaking of which, what made you guys choose JU over UNF?