Shiner50

I am, but they don't know yet if they will accept my experience. My last two years of nursing experience have been in PACU, and they don't seem to want to consider that as acute care. I had 6 months on a critical care unit as a new grad and that will count, but the length of time is not enough. I'm just gonna roll the dice!

One of the admissions representatives just told me yesterday that the admission for AGACNP is competitive. I think the program is becoming more and more popular each application cycle.

I got an email saying I'm an alternate. I think that the fact that I was not enthusiastic about the contract or having to start from square one regarding patient care may have come across during my interview. Just wasn't meant to be! Congrats to those who got it!

I have not heard from SICU, either. They interviewed 60 and are picking 10-13, so every one's chances are not bad! Regarding ED, I received the same email last week about the next step/hiring manager, but have not received an email with interview dates.

Yeah, maybe the email we got a couple of days ago was just for the first round of applicants. They will hire people up to a week before the residency starts. You're right... who knows!!

Dang it on the ER contract. I want to get my hands on it and read the fine print. How can they expect any nurse to be able to pay $20K if they need/want to leave. As I said, ridiculous. I mean, I understand it costs a lot to train new nurses, but that is way too much of a penalty. About the skills check list, I definitely don't think it would hurt. I will probably put together some sort of portfolio of the types of patients I have cared for.

Anyone hear anything about the ED residency? I wonder if it has the same contract......

Did y'all get the SICU fact sheet? 3 year contract or $20k? Ugh. I think that is ridiculous.

Applying a couple of days ago might have been too late...... the email we received said that we only had 24 hours to accept an interview. But who knows!! Good luck!! I think I only submitted my resume, but I have experience. As a new grad, submit everything you have, haha!!

Got an email a couple of hours ago. There are still no interview dates for the ER residency.

SICU interviews are on September 10th and 12th.

I applied for the ER residency earlier this week. I received an email today asking if I was still interested in interviewing and that the start date is October 28th. That's all I've heard.

Yep, no October cohort... It's going to get harder and harder to find a nursing job in Austin!

There was a new grad open house/career fair at Parkland last year... I think I recall that it was around this time of year. A few of my classmates went and they were all called for interviews. That would be a good place to start!

I work on a critical care unit at a Level 1 Trauma Center. We are REQUIRED to clock out and go to the break room, cafeteria, or wherever for 30 minutes during our shift. They don't want us carrying our unit phones or pagers during those 30 minutes, either. It's nice! As a student, I did clinicals on an ICU unit where the nurses didn't take true lunch breaks, but they also seemed to have a lot more down time to sit at their station and read, snack, etc.

I emailed him last night and he replied back today asking me to call him. We discussed the course over the phone and at the end of the conversation he said I could enroll. He said that some nurses are very successful with Biochem and some really struggle. He suggested finding an old edition of the textbook and doing the objectives for chapter 5, which I believe is the O-chem chapter. He said if that is not too overwhelming then I should be fine in Biochem.

I heard back from Baylor and UT Houston... they both will accept UNE and UC Berkeley online chemistry. I also heard back from the UNE Biochem professor and he is allowing me to register for Biochem without taking Gen Chem II or O-Chem.

It's probably different for every unit. I think my interview was around 45 minutes.

The recruiter from Brack called me and asked if I was interested in interviewing for some of the positions that I had not yet applied to... that's how I got my job in IMC. Definitely keep in constant contact with the recruiters & managers!

The UNE website says: "If you have a degree in nursing, you are qualified to take this course. Prerequisites are one year of college chemistry and a general course in biology. Our experience is that most nurses have an informal background in organic even though they have not had a formal course. Most of nursing chemistry is taught under other titles." I only have a half year of Gen Chem, but the website also says to call/email to discuss your certain case. I am going to send them an email right now to see if I qualify. Yes, it is ridiculously expensive ($1320)! I have tuition reimbursement through my current RN job, so I will be fine paying it. If I didn't have tuition reimbursement, I would probably be looking at other options. UC Berkeley Extension charges $770 for the course. If the CRNA programs I have contacted will accept these courses, then I am going to pick one and go with it. If not, I will keep searching and let you know!

The Seton hospital system in Austin, TX is great! They are very invested in making sure that their new nurses are happy and successful. The Dallas/Fort Worth area also has a great job market for new grads (I got my BSN in Fort Worth). No state taxes and relatively low cost of living in Texas, too!

I have actually been researching this very topic this week! I only have one college level Chem course, General Chemistry I. I am planning to apply to CRNA programs this year, so I don't have the time to take Gen Chem II and then O Chem. I am looking into taking online Biochem from either University of New England or UC Berkeley Extension. They are both completely online and you can start them at any time. Yesterday I sent emails to the CRNA program directors of the schools I am interested in to see if they will accept these courses. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I think that all nurses should read Bed Number Ten by Sue Baier! It was a requirement to begin my nursing program. It really opened my eyes to the needs of helpless patients.

How was the open house?? Are y'all talking about it on another thread?

I think it took at least 2 weeks for me to receive instructions for part II. It seemed like forever! I emailed HR a couple of times to remind them that I was still waiting for part II.