Mesencephalon MSN, RN

I received a call from the OR manager. I didn't get an offer but it was nice of him to call. Best wishes on your careers, everyone. :)

You and I were cut from the same cloth. I studied political science at Berkeley with the intention of going to law school (like you, because of family pressure). After shadowing/interning at a law firm, I decided that (again, like you) I didn't like ...

Hi! I'm a fellow Cal Bear (UC Berkeley c/o 2010). I completed the direct-entry RN program at USF. How many nursing schools should I apply to? Nursing school admissions are very competitive. I would apply to every nursing school in the area. Do you pl...

Congrats, peds_nurse111 and apedsnurse!! :)

The waiting is the hardest part; especially if LPCH is your dream hospital. Good or bad-- I wonder if they'll let us know either way. For now, I guess as long as you haven't heard anything bad, you're still in the running.

Your time frame is pretty typical (not too long). It took me five semesters (about a year and a half)-- #1: General Biology + General Chemistry #2: Statistics (summer session) #3: Anatomy + Organic Chemistry #4: Physiology + Microbiology #5: Public S...

For flashcards, a trick that I learned is to keep them in a particular order (e.g., have all of the facial muscles together, all of the abdominal muscles together) and flip them in that order. Don't shuffle your flash cards until you can guess, befor...

It might help you get job interviews if the nursing school has a clinical partnership with a hospital that you want to work at. Prestige-wise, it doesn't matter where you get your nursing degree.

Don't worry about pharm too much. I only remember three pharm questions on my NCLEX and I had never heard any of those drugs before-- never learned about them in school or read about them anywhere. Though, I did figure out one of the drugs since it h...

I know a few people who only did Qbank and passed on the first try. But, it depends on the individual. If you feel that you have a pretty good grasp on the material (med-surg, pharm, etc), then just do the Qbank to help you get familiar with the NCLE...

In SF, the major hospitals are SFGH and UCSF. There's also Stanford/Lucile-Packard in Palo Alto if you're willing to travel. The Bay Area is a WONDERFUL place to live (diversity, food, weather) and if you can land a job here, you're basically set.

The unit WAS amazing-- so team-oriented and very high tech!

This is so true! I didn't like med-surg that much but I LOVED my OR day. I think it's because med-surg and OR are like night and day-- one patient vs four patients (for California), working alongside a team for an entire operation vs working independ...

I interviewed for the OR on Monday. The manager and educator were so nice! :) It would a dream to work at LPCH's OR! I was told we'd hear back sometime next week.

Lauren-- thank you so much for the insightful info! Do you know how many people they are interviewing/will be accepting? What was the unit culture like in the OR when you precepted?

I saw in a previous year's LPCH Versant discussion board that 45 were called back for second interviews for 25 positions. I guess the number of second interview offers depends on how many spots they have. I don't know how many positions there will be...

Oh gosh-- more behavioral questions? Haha. It's good to know that it'll be less intense. My head was spinning on my way out of that first interview. Anyways, Lucile Packard is such an amazing hospital and it's awesome that we've made it this far! :)

I also got a call for the OR! :) Does anyone know what to expect with the second-round interview?

MSNCNL14 - Thanks for the info! Have you started clinicals yet?

MSNCNL14 - How do you like the program (material, pace, professors)? Do you have any advice for our incoming class? :)

Thanks for the information, mscanlon! I just called to cancel my space deposit check so I can pay online instead and register for classes. I really need a spot in the Tuesday skills lab instead of the Friday lab because I volunteer on Fridays. I'm c...

Thanks for the info, JennJeneane! I just saw on the health requirements worksheet that we got in our packets that we must complete the worksheet "prior to first clinical term deadline". I was just wondering since we don't start clinicals until the su...

Hi all. According to our orientation page, the last portion of our orientation (on January 15th) is reserved for "Registration - advising questions, health requirements". So we may be waiting until then to register for classes. Are we suppose to have...

cdim - I just got a call too! We should receive our packets in the next few days. I'm so excited! Good luck to you all!

The academic calendar says classes start on January 22nd, which is a Tuesday. That is cutting it a bit close-- especially for those who aren't from the Bay Area and need to find living arrangements. I've pretty much put everything temporarily on ho...