megan005

Hi there, I got a job in L&D right after graduation. Are you close with your preceptor, maybe you could ask her if she still has her resume or cover letter from when she applied to her L&D job. Also if you want to work on the unit you're being preceptored on make sure you speak with the unit manager and tell them you would love to work there.

I'm not sure ow much help this is but I graduated with a low 80's (83 I think) average and I was accepted to all 4 schools I applied to, Trent University, Ottawa U, UOIT and Windsor. I tink you should be okay with the marks you say you have but then again I applied in 2009. You say you're re-applying, did you apply already before? What schools and what was your average then?

Thanks for all your support guys! I called one of the nurses who trained me and talked with her, it really helped. I'm in Canada and we use Code Pink for any new resuscitation. The NICU nurses and a pediatrician come vs. Code Blue were ICU nurses and physician responds. Missing child in Code Amber.

Hi ladies, I just graduated this June and started working in L&D in July. My orientation finished this week and I was on my own for the first time. Last night I had a pt who ended up going to the OR for a STAT section and we had to call a code pink and do a full resuscitation on the baby. It was the first time one of my pt's had to go for a STAT section, the first time I have seen General Anesthesia used and the first time I have been involved in a Code pink. Since I haven't been OR trained yet I had to hand off my pt to another nurse and I felt kind of useless in the OR ( I did things I could like hang meds and the catheter) and I helped with the resuscitation. I'm feeling kinda overwhelmed and I'm not sure if this is normal. Any advice on how you guys deal with things after a stressful shift?

The only thing that I notice is that you mention that one of your goals is proper footwear and to assist with walking and later you state the pt uses a wheelchair. Maybe change walking to transferring? I also might expand on limited ROM, (is it in the feet or hands or both)? Remember to think about the psychological and social impacts the dagnosis might have. But over all I would say its pretty good :)

I've been at orientation all week for my new job but now i'm super nervous... I'm from Ontario so hopefully soon.. This weekend is going to be the worst.

First I just want to say there are nursing jobs out there, maybe not in specialty areas or even in hospitals but they are out there.I'm a new grad I graduated in April and every day since my last exam I put at least 8 hours a day into looking for jobs, filling out applications calling unit managers and going to job fairs and I found a job. Finding a job for anyone in this economy is hard, but the nurses who already have jobs and have been working for 20 years its not their fault New Grads can't find jobs. If anything hopefully the new grads now will learn from this and start putting 10-15% of their paychecks away for their own retirement and learn to live off the rest... we're learning the hard way what the effect of living outside our means can have on future generations lets not do the same to our children.

aubgurl, don't let this get you down, nursing school is hard and I think most of us have failed a test or assignment in school. It doesn't mean you're going to be a bad nurse. I'm starting my first RN job in Labour and Delivery next week, if you have any questions feel free to ask away.

I'm still a new grad so I'm somewhat in the same position as you are but when I did my placement in L & D I thought the same thing as you and almost didn't apply for a job because I felt like I wasn't good enough. My preceptor was awesome and reminded me that L&D is completely different from any other type of nursing so you are essentially starting at square one. From what you described it seems to me like you;re doing a good job, you know when you need help and ask for it. I would suggest having a checklist for admission,epidural,delivery,postpartum ect to help you remember things when it gets crazy but other then that if your co-workers are saying your doing fine then chances are you are.

Prospects, I didn't have a placement in the first semester but I did LTC in the second. I found first year to be a lot of common sense things and talking about feelings and stuff. At the time I didn't understand how it was going to be any use to me but now working in a Toronto hospital with other new grads I realize it really helps knowing what you're good at and what you need help with and how to ask for help. Trent really forces you to be in control of your own learning. Course load wise I found Acute care and Patho in 3rd year to be the most difficult. They give you a ton of reading to do every week but honestly focus on what is most important., and go to office hours of profs if you're having any trouble they are really awesome.

Hey guys I just graduated from Trent so I figured if any of you have any questions about anything feel free to ask :) Its an amazing program and I have talked with a lot of people from other schools in the GTA and Trent is one of the programs with the most clinical hours and the most choices for student in terms of placements. Good Luck!

May try looking for jobs hat are rehab/complex continuing care, the skill are similar to LTC and then you will at least have your foot in the door and can apply for internal job postings. When you're applying for med/surg jobs make sure your cover letter highlights that you have nursing experience and the aspects of the job you already know ie, wound care, time management. Good Luck.

I just graduated from my nursing program and my preceptor on my consolidation placement was amazing and part of the reason they hired me. Some of the things she did that were really helpful especially in the beginning was that she really made me feel like part of the unit and introduced me to everyone. After each pt (we were on L&D) we took 5 mins to go over what happened and she told me you did good a this but here are the things you need to work on. She also quizzed me about thing throughout the day, for me this let me know where my knowledge gaps were and for her I'm sure it let her know what I was confident in doing alone and what I needed support in. I think the biggest thing is communication, let them know what you expect of them and tell them to ask you about everything, because it better they ask you then try and do something they have no clue about.

It's tough sometimes because people really do not understand ow challenging Nursing school is. Do you have any friends who are also in the program, sometimes a few of us get together and order pizza and study together, its really helpful because your peers get it. When I was having a really rough day I would always just picture what it is going to feel like when you are able to sign RN at the end of you name. As tough as it is Nursing school will be over and you will make it though.

Just a random question, are any of you planning on staying in a hotel near the exam location the night before? I'm driving in from about an hour outside the city i'm writing in and I don't want to have to worry about traffic.

Hey guys I just have a question about getting a temporary licence. I just graduated my BSN program and I've been offered a job this week and they require a temporary licence and a recent criminal reference check. I went to get my criminal reference check vulnerable sector because that is what the hospital requires and they said it will tale 4 weeks. Now my job is suppose to start on June 10th which doesn't leave me enough time to get my temporary licence.. I;m wondering if I should go bay to the police station and request a non vulnerable sector reference check and hopefully that takes less time? Any suggestions would be great

K10RN*2012 I had my interview last week and got a call yesterday that I got the job!! Some of the questions I remember were, Tell me about yourself, Why do you want to work here, What is your proudest moment as a nurse, tell me about a time you had a conflict with another person and how you dealt with it, What does patient centered care men to you, tell me about a time you made a mistake and what you would do different, Then I had some situation questions, the ones I remember are, Your on the unit and there is an emergency and 5 nurses go to help leaving you and another new grad to care for 5 patients what would you do?, You are trying to find the fetal heart rate on a women and you cannot find it what would you do? and the one that I think got me the job was A patient s being admitted for induction and wants to stay in their own clothing and you need to start an IV what would you do. Hope these help, I would say just practice lots of questions out loud and during the interview be yourself and let them see how much you want the job and your passion for labour and delivery and you'll be awesome :)

My RN program lets us choose where we want to do our consolidation placements (we have 2) and I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice on what units might be most beneficial for a nursing student.

In my RN program we get to choose what units we would like to do our pre-consolidation and consolidation semesters in and I am just wondering if anyone has any advice. Both placements are one on one with a preceptor working 300 hours on the unit. I am trying to decide if I should choose a more general med-surg placement to work on the basics or if I should try one of the specialities that I am interested in. I really would like to try mental health or labour and delivery but I'm worried if i choose those then i might be stuck when i look for a job after graduation. What do you think?