new_grad

Check out this website: http://www.bon.state.tx.us/olv/faqs-msr.html. Since you say the Texas BON says you're not licensed in the compact states, it sounds as if you applied and received an endorsement on your Massachusetts license to work in Texas. Therefore, if you were to obtain employment in another state in the compact, you would need an endorsement on your Massachusetts license from that state as well. It is my understanding that you can get as many endorsements as you please, you just need to keep track of them all. Compact state licensure only happens if you reside permanently in a compact state and get your license there. So if Texas was your permanent residence, and you had a plain old Texas license (rather than your endorsement) you could travel to work in other compact states as long as you maintained your Texas residence. If you moved to another compact state, you would need to get licensed in that state, and then you could once again travel to other compact states as long as you maintained your permanent residence in that state. Long story short, it sounds like you're still licensed in Massachusetts but you should contact their BON to confirm this if you're thinking of moving back or working there.

The way I've known temporary agencies to work best is for you to give your company set days when you are available, say M-F, or Th-Mon, or only days - whatever days/shifts work for you. Also, be very clear with them about your strengths and weaknesses. That way, no one's time is wasted and you can decline anything that wasn't agreed upon, and you can easily and happily say yes whenever they call you during the times/shifts you agreed to and the kinds of jobs you told them you could do. There are some people who will say 'Jump at anything they offer you', which is good advice for getting work in administrative positions, but I don't think that advice is applicable in nursing largely because of the differences in responsibility on the job and skill levels of the nurses. It is entirely okay to say 'I'm not available to work today' and leave it at that, IF you haven't told them you are available. If, however, you have told them you'll work a day, and they call you on that day with an appropriate assignment, it would be very bad form to decline. It's okay and healthy to set boundaries and limits on your time and energy so that when you do work you are the best nurse you can be.

Same boat. Same med checks. Same terrified feeling of messing up. I've talked about it with a few of my instructors and they all say they've made med errors and anyone who says they haven't is lying. Um, am I cheering you up yet? An interesting thing happened to me last semester; I went into the semester terrified of running IV meds because I had only had a few opportunities before that. The last semester I ran IV's every day of clinical and by the end, I was no longer terrified (I am still a little scared, and I kind of hope I can keep that aware 'edge' going forward). This gave me great hope I can get comfortable with many other tasks as well. Looking back at my CNA experience, I remember being so very hesitant and gentle giving a bed bath; now I'm a pro at it. Repetition, familiarity, experience, whatever you want to call it - I've got it, and I know it. Remember, the vast, vast majority of RN's work their entire careers without so much as a ding on their license. Allowing yourself to freak right out about the worst case scenario (and I know, I've done it) is anxiety talking. Keep the "edge" but cut yourself some slack. You're no different than any other new nurse, EVER. :-)

OKAY ROOKIELPN88, START YOUR ENGINES! This is where the rubber meets the road. You repeat after me: "I KNOW MORE THAN I THINK I DO." Now, believe it and get to work on remembering it! Because you admit you didn't pound the stuff into your brain in school you need to do some catch-up. I know, because you're a good nurse, while you are providing care every time you have a question you will ask someone. In addition, every time you don't know something while NOT providing care write it down and look it up at the earliest opportunity. Homework you didn't do in school will become your homework now. Don't be deterred; because you are "living the dream" all of this will come more easily and will "stick" this time. Good luck! Keep us posted!

Precisely. I can tell you are trying to make me feel better about giving out the information, and I do appreciate your taking the time to post. :redpinkhe:redpinkhe But still... as a matter of principle, potential employers should not ask for information unless it's needed. Especially not the names of my references and my social security number. My privacy feels violated. In this economy, employers tend to forget that interviews still work both ways. If I don't want the job then I want the opportunity to decline to provide my information. Tsk. TSK, I SAY!

Yes, critical thinking is definitely one of my strong points! I'm just as picky about the information I give out on my behalf as I am about the information I give out on a patient. Who needs it? Why? Is it appropriate? What will they do with it? What will happen if I don't give it? My point is that these online "applications" aren't actually applications, they're just screening tools. Nobody runs background checks on 300 applicants - it would be cost-prohibitive. Nobody checks references until you're one of the top 3-5 candidates - it would be too time-intensive. Here's how it should go: Open your position announcement. Accept resumes and cover letters. Take the first 50 (out of hundreds) that look good and screen them down to 10. Ask those 10 for transcripts and letters of recommendation. Invite your top 3-5 for interviews. Then ask your top 3 for background check information and permission to call their references. Then make your decision. Simple, effective, respectful. Look, to everyone who is giving me these "Well, you must not understand about job-hunting" replies - yes, I do understand. I'm not saying I'm not giving out all of the information (and more). This post was a vent. If I ran the world (and I will someday! :rckn:) I would ensure my facility was an employer of choice by being respectful of my employees (and potential employees).

Thanks for the tip!

Thank you for your reply. You bet, I've read lots of threads (this is actually an anonymous account because I wanted to vent - but I've been on this site for at least three years). I understand the economy. It's because of the economy that I feel the tables are turned on new grads and the "vetting" process is unnecessarily information-intensive. To get the cream of the crop means to skim off the top. The real cream is on the resume. The recruiters should screen these, but the computers won't even send your resume without the additional information, which is what I'm objecting to. Background checks, on the other hand, are de rigeur for nursing school applicants - there isn't one person in my class who couldn't pass one or else they wouldn't be in the school, and they wouldn't get to go to clinicals at the hospitals. This is usually the last step an employer will perform before offering a job. So why do I need to provide this information at the start?

Thank you for the reassurance. I feel you hit the nail on the head in your reply though. If they're not going to make any calls or run any background checks before inviting me for an interview then why are they asking for all of my information? Especially SSN! In this day and age, sending all of that information out into the universe ('cause it's certainly not winding up on any hiring managers' desks!) makes me feel vulnerable. Also, OUCH! Banging my head against this wall really hurts.

Yes, for job applications, but not for screening processes, which is what these all are. If I had an interview first, and then was asked for the information, I would have no problem giving them exactly what they wanted, and more.

Just graduated! For the past few years, as I did pre-requisites and entered nursing school, everyone has said nursing is a growing profession. "You'll have no trouble finding work!" Well, guess what? It feels like facilities are drunk with power in this new economy. We are the SAME kinds of nurses they hired just a few years ago, yet it feels like we are being punished. Just to submit an application they want 2-3 letters of recommendation and/or the names of 3 references, your school transcripts, your resume and cover letter, your work history, and your social security number (no joke!). I understand that these automated application systems ask us for all of this information because it used to be the facilities would interview a lot more candidates and a greater percentage would be hired. However, these days, that never happens. I feel that if they're going to ask for the information, it needs to be used. The current process is not respectful of applicants' time or privacy. There needs to be a 2-step process that screens candidates based on their cover letter and resume and invites them for interviews. AFTER the interviews, THEN the top 3-5 candidates' references are requested, background checks are run, etc. That way, the candidates can decline to give the information if they don't want the position. But like I said, it's a new economy. Grrr. And it gets worse; if you decline to give them the detailed personal information you get automatically screened out by the computer! Personally, I don't want to exhaust my references with a bunch of calls before I've even met anyone. I don't feel at all comfortable giving out so much information just to get an automated reply. But they have us (new grads) at a disadvantage and I feel they are pressing us for things they have no right asking for at an early stage.