NurseCJV

I have worked the night shift for about a year and a half now. It was my first job. 3-4 times a week 12.5 hrs each. Never had trouble being tired and sleepy at work. They always keep us busy with looming admissions. It is during off work hours that I have trouble being productive. I'm always sleepy driving home from work. I eat then immediately sleep for 7 hrs then get up to return to work. On my night on, after having 2-3 days off. I wake up extra early, hit the gym, squeeze a few errands then nap 1-5, to get ready for work. I force myself to return to normal sleep pattern as soon as I know I'm off. But I get into trouble because I love yo sleep especially when I don't have to return to work. If I get up at 7-8 pm then I'm in trouble because I can't fall asleep until 5 in the morning. Then I end up wasting my 2nd day off sleeping. Best case scenario I force myself to get up early like 3-4 pm early. Then sleep regularly that night. one thing that I learned that works for me is that normal night sleep during your days off, gives u more energy on the night shifts. I don't know how other people keep the night shift schedule when they're off work. does anyone do something similar to what I do

I'm a new grad about to start the night shift in a few weeks. I've never did anything in my life overnight other than sleep haha. Am I in for a rude awakening? All this talk about being sleepy while driving back home is kinda scary. You guys stay safe!

In my opinion, it doesn't matter how old you are, its a matter of how mature you are. I basically went through Nursing school similar to your situation. I was among the youngest in our group, straight out of high school. I was also one of the few guys in the program. I didn't work and I lived with my parents. Sometimes I felt insecure that I had things very easy/convenient and that I didn't have to work or pay for my tuition or take care of any children which some of my classmates were doing. Sometimes they would joke around say that I didn't have any responsibilities and that's the reason why I had so much time to study and get really high marks. It slightly makes me annoyed because Nursing school can be a full time endeavor and definitely time consuming, and its not my fault that I want to be fully committed to what I'm doing. I didn't want to work in the first place because I wanted to focus on my studies and I kinda enjoyed Nursing school. So I was very fortunate to have that luxury. Not having to work or have extra obligations pushed me to to strive really hard. I set my standards very high because to be honest, there's no reason why I wouldn't excel - having totally focused in my studies without any distractions. I graduated last year having the top gpa in my class and I was also the class President. I recently got a position at a hospital and I am only 22. I currently work alongside nurses who have been in the field longer than my existence.

Im in NY and even though I did not expect the harsh job market in here, my fellow classmates and I did fairly well in the job hunt. Most of my classmates have jobs in great hospitals with extensive orientation. It took me a few months to land an interview but I think we need to be patient and persistent. Don't get me wrong, it can be very frustrating as you may already know. In the meantime, we can network, improve our resume, practice interviews, and volunteer or join relevant organizations. I recently joined a local organization that helped during Hurricane Sandy. Most of these people were healthcare professionals and have given me contacts. Having current BLS, ACLS, and other certifications won't hurt either.

2-3 years post-grad and can't get a job? Wow, they don't even remotely come close to giving you a heads up in Nursing school. I'm in NY and its also tough here but a lot of my fellow classmates have gotten jobs via perseverance and networking. Ask your clinical instructors or professors, not only can they write you a letter of recommendation but they also can refer you to their former colleagues and hospitals. Try to keep a positive outlook and tell yourself that this is what you want to do.

Why do u think they take so much time? And any tips on how to go about asking for an update? Email or phone call?

I'm pretty much on the same boat as you. In the meantime, what can we do other than keep applying and be patient?

Wow thats awesome. Have you done their phone interview before?

did you try emailing the recruiter directly?

Right. They are more so OR/Peri-Op.

Try a different internet browser. You can also try to clear your cache and clear cookies. What browser are you using?

you gotta word it out ? CTU - Cardio-Thoracic Unit PACU is critical care too right?

Soo many specialties and sub specialties! Critical care in itself has so much more sub specialties. Can someone list off all the ICUs? :)

Yep, ALL new grad residencies are competitive. I hope they take a large cohort.

I like how you are keeping a positive attitude. This was a devastating thing to happen to a competent new grad nurse. Your perseverance and outlook are inspiring. The hospital doesn't know that they're missing out on a great nurse. Wish you the best :)

Hehe... one things for sure that its going to be competitive. They're not here because they're too busy with their applications :) Are all you guys from the Cali area? I'm all they way from NY. And does anybody know if they do phone interviews?

do they do phone interviews? and did anyone travel from a different state just for an interview?

Nice. How many days after you applied did you heard from them? and when is your interview?

Has anyone gotten a call back yet?

How quickly do they call you for the first interview? And has anyone heard back from sicu and neuro icu which they posted last week?

Can you guys comment about being offered the position and having to refuse it for any of the possible reasons? How does an applicant go about doing that? And what is an appropriate time frame where an applicant has to make his or her decision after getting the job offer?

I think that is why big teaching hospitals have CC Fellowships or Residencies for new grad nurses. They are selecting the best among candidates that they can train and mold into excellent CC nurses. In the long run, the hospital will save a lot of money. Studies have shown that a quality residency program can reduce turnover rate and increase job satisfaction in general. Retaining these nurses can save the hospital a lot of money. I like the fact that they are hiring new grad nurses into CC fellowships/residencies. But then again I'm biased because I am a new grad. But I also understand why some nurses feel like a year or two under your belt is highly encouraged. Btw, the CC residency I am hoping to get is a 1 yr program. (which means its a VERY expensive program and they are really investing heavily in these new grads).

I felt like Kaplan really helped me familiarize myself with the wording and types of questions of the NCLEX exam. I studied a lot of content but I felt like doing the Kaplan Qbanks and the Questions trainers 1-7 really put everything together. There are a lot of resources out there and a lot of questions to do but the main thing is the quality of questions you are doing and what level of difficulty the questions are according to Bloom's Taxonomy (passing level Questions in the NCLEX). The majority of Kaplan Q's are passing level questions. In the end, passing level questions are all that matter AND as graduate nurses we are all going to get there! All we need to do is to tell the computer that we are competent enough that we can stay at the passing level. This doesn't mean you have to get them all right but you must be able to maintain and stay above the passing level and create a pattern so that the computer reaches a set percent of certainty. Yes content is important and it is preferred to brush up on weak content areas but A LOT of the content questions (failing questions on the NCLEX) can be answered by recalling what you learned in Nursing school. I'm not sure if I make sense, sometimes I just blabber.

Congrats!

Can someone explain why this happens?