AlaBro2010

I was in state so I am not sure if it is different but University of South Florida's RN to BSN is inexpensive and an online program. It was great! Also, look into if your state offers tuition assistance/loan payoff for undergraduate and graduate coursework. Good luck!

Have you tried rural health clinics like FQHCs? An old colleague was hired right after graduating.

I've made a med error before. My colleagues told me that a good nurse reflects on their mistakes, learns, and never makes the same mistake again (versus someone who just says oh well). I've made a med error before and you bet I quadruple check now.

In between Brooksville and Orlando you've got Sumter and Lake County. Lake is a bit more suburban- Sumter is rural. I'd say look in Clermont. South Lake Hospital is nice.

I am currently looking at other options because it's not enough take home with two kids. I may be in a "the grass is always greener on the other side" scenario though. I lived in FL and made 46,000 with on call add on, benefits were cheaper, cost of living was super low and no state income tax. I'm hurting at the moment. Although- if I stick with it, the retirement and benefits are pretty awesome. We get a lot of days off and leave.

I'd suggest logging into your old school account and going into library resources. Search evidence based and women's health and pick a topic. That's what I would do anyways. I've worked in women's health, previously worked with an OB and taught a prenatal course.

I don't even want to share but I'm going to. I should have never taken the salary offer but I was excited to move. 1] East coast Virginia 2]RN-BSN with 3 years public health experience. I work communicable disease. No idea about Union- I work for the state. $23.70 an hour. I get insurance for around $300/mo. 3] I rent a two bedroom for $1250. You can find cheaper places around $1000. I think the COL is high for what I make. Utilities aren't too bad around $140 a month. If my kids went to daycare it costs around $1800 a month

Do you live in an area where LPNs typically make more? I made $19 as an RN starting out, this was at a clinic and hospital RNs started at 20.

I had no experience when hired 3 years ago. I now work as a specially trained STI nurse. Different places have different ways of titling their positions. I'm now PHN whereas at my last position I was RN. Our department has community health vs public health. I can try to figure out the difference if you supply a link with an example.

I didn't find the ADN to BSN bridge at all challenging. I took 18 credits the last term to finish a semester early. I also was a single mom at the time. I guess it depends on the program. I could do my Clinicals at my place of employment.

I completely agree with the poster who recommended pediatric home health, you can try that PRN status and see if you like it and add onto your resume! I worked in a peds clinic at a health department in the past- we sometimes saw 18 patients in 3 hours. Does that sound easy? Was my least favorite clinic- drawing blood on babies and vaccines. Never want to do it again. It did build my skill set though.

I'd say thanks but no thanks for $15. I worked as a new grad at the health department (low stress, good hours, learned so much) making $19 and some amount of change. No thank you. The nearby hospital was offering new grad residency for a dollar more- wasn't worth it to me. No contract and it was in a rural area in which cost of living was low. However, if it truly goes up to $22 like I think I read after a couple of months I would go for it, if it is in line with your long term goals. Let us know what you decide and good luck to you!

Ok thanks for your input!

So you think it's more a back up list for call outs for OCC? Who knows, guess I should be patient and wait until she calls tomorrow. I've done immunizations and tb screenings/follow up as a public health nurse. Thanks for the replies.

It said occupational health and I have no hospital experience so I'm a bit confused!

Hi everyone, I currently work full time and I'm looking for two part time jobs to give me flexibility with school. I got a call back for a position that was listed as part time or pool. The voicemail states it's a labor pool position only. When I called back they were out of office. I'm curious- what exactly is a labor pool? Is it like a list of substitute teachers at a school or something different? Thanks in advance.

Do they have an NP association nearby? A lot of students show up to request preceptors.

Get your ADN and then do an RN to BSN online bridge. My BSN has not given me anything... Except being proud I got it! Where I have worked a majority of the nurses have associates. I'm biased anyways because I got my ADN in 2012 and my BSN in 2013 and worked while doing so.

I don't know what the real question is. If the question is about delaying your schooling, then you'll be fine putting your dreams/goals on hold if you'd like to focus on motherhood. I know plenty of my coworkers became nurses later on in life and you're still young. I started nursing school when my baby girl was 5 months. I couldn't even imagine doing it with a toddler AND an infant.

I'll tell you that I worry about scratches all the time on my hands. I WATCH all my needles and I'm still a worry wart. We use paper charts so I'm pretty sure it's from that.

I got my rejection also. I probably wont be applying next year- too much work! I was tier 1.

It isn't easy to get into public health that's for sure. I got lucky because I was fine with moving wherever I had to. I actually moved 45 miles into a very rural county to get my foot in the door. Surprisingly that was a really good move because we do all sorts of different things whereas other health departments specialize their clinics so I've got experience in different things. A good interview and willingness to go where you have to is my advice :) Hope you get your foot in the door! I will agree with you that a lot of health departments do utilize LPN's or MA's but there are some opportunities for RN's with no experience, it will just take extra effort to get.

1. Did you start out looking for a hospital job? If yes, for how long? I was willing to start wherever- I was eager to learn anything. I looked for a position for about 3 months. 2. What made you decide to pursue something other than hospital nursing? Was it a matter of not being able to find a job, or was this something you wanted initially? When I became a nurse it was always because I enjoyed the clinic type environment. I wanted to work alongside a physician at an office. I have never been to the hospital except for childbirth and didn't have any touching stories, etc. I did however volunteer often in the hospital. I ultimately wanted to become a CNM, but lost my interest in deliveries so now it's WHNP. I was willing to commit long term to whoever saw my eagerness to start my career! 3. What area of nursing are you working in now? I work as a public health nurse in a small health department so I wear several hats. I do immunizations, place PPDs, prenatal care, previously did pediatrics, case management, family planning, etc. I've been there almost two years- my first position. 4. How do you feel your lack of hospital experience impacts you in the position you hold now? Not applicable since I am still there, however, I am about to begin a WHNP program with the goal of working in a clinic environment as I do now. I have done things in this position that I never would have signed myself up for in the hospital but gained experience doing, for example, drawing blood from toddlers when our clinic did pediatrics. I never thought I would give 5 immunizations at one time either to kids. 5. Do you have any regrets about not working in a hospital? None. In fact, most of the time I feel as if I regret my choice it is only because a lot of individuals give me grief about how I've never done "real nursing" aka working in the hospital. Sure, my patients are not acutely ill but it's not a piece of cake either. I love what I do.

Well, I am still waiting on my schedule. I'm not really that worried about it I'm just curious as to how they set it up. Seems like I am one of the last few to still be waiting.

I was also surprised to see the video regarding the clinical course- if you are doing the condensed schedule I see it being useful but it's a lot of information I'm just going to have to review when I finally start clinicals a year from now because I won't remember all the "one pager" and "two pager" differences, etc.