future_hero

Hi everyone, This is a question for nurses who are now practicing and have undergone the job hunting process. On May 21 of this year, I wrote the CPNRE. I honestly left the exam feeling uncertain of how well I did. Overall, it was a great experience to have gone through it. I can say I've done my absolute best and so regardless of the outcome, I am willing to live with the results and continue to move forward. My question to those who have experience with the job hunting process is, in your opinion, would it be a good idea to begin applying to vacant nursing positions? I have been struggling with the decision to be proactive with my job hunting venture because I feel it would be essential to know the results prior to. Almost all job postings state "must be registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario in good standing". As a result of seeing that requirement, I felt hesitant with being proactive in the job hunt which can potentially lead into an interview process and being offered something. Thought it would music to my ears, I would then go through the process of obtaining a temporary license. My concern is then finding out a few weeks later my results for the CPNRE don't turn out to be what I was looking for. As an alternative, I plan to volunteer at one or two health institutions as a way to "try working" in a potential work place of my interest. I always feel personal and professional development can always be something to improve and so I have been investing time into things like working on my resume, linkedIN profile in addition to getting regular exercise and just being holistically healthy. Visiting old friends is also something I plan to do too. I hear once the nursing journey begins, time can be very limited and scarce by then. I would greatly appreciate any counsel that may assist with my current circumstances. I can certainly use the wisdom of those who have already been there. Thank you in advance for your consideration to reply to this inquiry. I greatly appreciate the insight and support. Respectfully, Sean

Thank you so much for your sharing your insight Fiona. That does sounds like a solid approach. I definitely do have a few areas that will require a thorough review and some others that will just require a refresher. I had my mindset on studying everything front to back from day one - I don't think it's possible. But weakest to strongest does sound realistic! I plan on making a list of all the areas in that order and spread them out across 15 weeks. Thank you again for sharing. Every little bit helps!

Thank you so much for all the feedback!!! I'll be sure to utilize your suggestions when preparing for the big dance. I'm so excited to hear you're writing!! May confidence in everything you've learned be your best friend tomorrow. From what I've read, I have no doubt you'll do great!!! Thank you again for the heads up and best of luck to you and those in your group tomorrow!

Hello fellow nurses/nursing students: Hoping everyone is off to a good start this year. I wanted to ask you all for counsel on how to prepare for the RPN Exam (CPRNE). Currently, I am in my last semester of the RPN program in Ontario. Being in the home stretch, I will be responsible for practicing with a preceptor who works full-time which means being in clinical roughly 40hrs/wk. In addition, I will also be accountable with preparing for 4 comprehensive tests, encompassing everything I learned in nursing school and also the provincial exam. Despite having some depth of knowledge, skill and judgement on what I learned through out nursing school, I still feel there is a lot for me to review (everything beginning from my first semester). My challenge is trying to figure out how to create a study schedule that allows me to review everything I've learned in the program within 15 weeks outside of my full-time clinical placement for these tests and importantly, the provincial exam. The resources that were suggested by Faculty was the CPRNE Prep Guide and maybe one other NCLEX-PN Exam Review Textbook. I personally feel that this may not be enough - If it is, I would greatly appreciate your feedback on how to go about studying using these resources. Your ideas and thoughts on how to effectively cover all this content on such a limited amount of time would greatly appreciated. Thank you very much in advance. Nursing ROCKS!!! I look forward to being a member of this heroic profession soon! Sincerely, Future_hero

Hi there rpnjames! I too am looking for some exposure. Aside from what the placements offer. Can I ask for your feedback on volunteering/working in a hospital setting? Are housekeeping attendant positions easy to come by if they they know you are a nursing student? I plan on volunteering in the summer just so that I can be in the field even if its not nursing related. Working alongside them would be great!

For what college? If its GBC - There is a thread on here regarding what the Pre-admission test mainly covers. You might want to try searching George Brown College should you not get a response from others. Good luck to you!

Congrats and good luck!!!! RN program for January?

Hi There AngelicDarkeness, I am a nursing student entering the RPN program in January 2012. I am so excited to get started to pursue a career in nursing. Whether it be through the RPN or RN route, despite the vague differences in practice, I truly believe that the most important charactoristic and goal both level of nurses have in common is to achieve health for all in whichever setting they decide to practice. I know that I am just scratching the surface of this profession (literally just a baby) so unfortunatly I can not comment on anything specifically. I do hear alot that the RPN's are underappreciated and they do frequently get scrutinized. Yet I hear they do practice to full scope which is quite similar to the scope of RN's. I really hope that RN's and RPN's learn to appreciate one another and advocate for one another. That way, the nursing workforce can be a powerhouse and conquer greater challenges. It would be the perfect time considering the current economy and the current condition of our health-care system. I would be very interested in reading the link if you happen to find it. Thank you, future_hero.

Yup = ) that is the HP & Technology Campus (right on Morningside & Ellesmere) Did you get your fee statement yet by any chance?

your welcome and good luck!

So I guess you are at the HP & Technology Campus right? The glad the campus is small. No pressure in getting to our classes lol.

Truthfully that is such a shallow thing for a college or university to do - To reject a qualified applicant simply because they are Out of province. I don't think any college/university would want to have the image of being shallow. Just so you know my friend came from Vancouver and studied at the University of Toronto and came out with a Bachelors degree in Nursing. That pretty much tells you that what you heard are rumors or some form of misinterpretation. I am pretty certain that all nursing programs are grades only. All 3 that I have applied to were grades only programs. If you want to double check you can simply call the college/university and simply ask the question. "Is the nursing program offered at ABC college a grades only program?" (Which means they only look at grades) About the equal consideration date, you are correct. The equal consideration date goes for all programs. However you must pay attention to the fact that all nursing programs are oversubscribed. Here is the advice from Seneca College regarding over subscribed programs: For programs shown in this publication as “Oversubscribed Programs”, apply before February 1, 2011.(THERE IS A REASON AS TO WHY THEY SAY THIS!) Nursing is on that publication. and here is why...... So even though the equal consideration is indeed Feb 1 2011, believe me that Admission offices are already opening envelopes looking at qualified applicants who applied in October-November and providing them with offers. Don't be the one that waits until last minute and be submitting your application on January 31 as I am confident that these admission offices have sent out what they call "Early Offers". Once again, here is an experience i went through. I submitted my entire package the same time as secondary school applicants to the colleges and universities I applied to. The admissions officer had advised me "that EARLY OFFERS have been sent out" In my head was "wait a minute... isn't there a equal consideration date of Feb 1 ?!?!?!. That is very much true, however some students forget to read the fine print which says that For programs shown in this publication as “Oversubscribed Programs”, apply before February 1, 2011. (in other words, we are giving out early offers...but they would never say this to you or put it on the record) Logically it makes total sense for these admission offices to provide early offers to qualified applicants especially when a program like nursing is overflowing with applications. As the deadline approaches, their line of work becomes more hectic and they will need to have sufficient time of looking at all the other thousands too. So why wait and when they can offer these qualified applicants now and reduce the stress of choosing some else later. I call this pool of applicants the " early bird offer for those who qualify and submitted their application early lol. Please do take into serious consideration what it is that I am advising you. The sooner the better and once you get that offer, all you have to do next is lay back and sit pretty until the fall lol. Hope this helps. If you do get an early offer, I also recommend that you start working on the the electives during the summer before. First year I hear "separates the men from the boys" so to speak. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing. I just find it odd that if you pass the CPRNE exam, you still have to take additional education to practice at a certain province.

Loriangel14 and Fiona59 bring upon very good points. Another question you want to consider is what type of quality education you are looking for? I think it is important to think about going with a program that can best prepare you for the the profession. Also from what I hear, the demand for LPN's to practice at full scope is expected and take on the some RN responsibilities; so you would want to ensure that you have the competencies to comfortably practice at that level. @FIONA59 "The exam is written to the lowest level of eduction in the country." so does that mean each country has different difficulty levels for CPNE exams? I thought it would be regulated by the CNA or something?!?

Hi there Paraston, This is a great forum for advice and insight on anything related to nursing or pursuing the profession. I have TWO pieces of advice: FIRST is to APPLY EARLY. I can not stress that enough and the reason being is because it makes a major difference in your application. It is important to apply early (even NOW if they are accepting applications) despite the fact that you are upgrading is because the demand to get into nursing in any college in Ontario is EXTREMELY competitive. Of course your marks are everything to decide whether you get in or not. I strongly believe that you being out of province is a myth. It would be biased if a college or university rejected you simply because you are out of province. Majority of all 4 year nursing programs are classified as "Grades only programs" which means they only look at your grades period. My SECOND piece of advice is try to get those courses done ASAP and advise the schools you applied to in advance that you are currently in the process of completing the courses. That's why it is important for you to APPLY EARLY. I applied as early as January of 2011 (which is the normal time that high-school students in Ontario apply through their Guidance office). I applied with an 86% average to GBC, Centennial and Ryerson. I was wait-listed for all three campuses and unfortunately I did not get accepted to any of them for Fall 2011. The level of competition gets tougher every year as you are going against applicants who did not get in last year, International Students who have degrees, high-school students, as well as mature students doing upgrading too. So I urge you to have the slight advantage by simply applying early as you want to be in the pool of applicants who get offered early acceptance. So I STRONGLY recommend this to you to have the slight advantage: FIRST: APPLY AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE SECOND: GET THE UPGRADED COURSES DONE ASAP with that 89% Fact: For every accepted applicant into a nursing program in Ontario, 2-3 QUALIFIED applicants are turned down. (Reference from the College of Nurses of Ontario) Last years cutoff was somewhere in the Mid to high 80's where I applied which is well above the required averages to be considered. And every year it gets higher and higher. I wish you luck in pursuit of an education in nursing. future_hero