gastro2012

I started as a new grad at cedars and I have no complaints so far! I think it really depends on the unit. The other nurses on my unit have been very helpful and supportive. During nursing school at other hospitals I encountered many rude nurses who made me feel like a burden to the floor, I have been pleasantly surprised not to encounter this yet at cedars. I work nights and maybe the personalities at night are just more laid-back though! It is definitely a fast paced place and there is definitely a lot of emphasis on joint commission and magnet status! Benefits are great. The only times I have heard of nurses being called off is for overtime shifts they signed up for. Maybe as a new grad I just have nothing to compare it too, but I think it's been a great supportive place to start my career!

I worked a similar gig after graduation while trying to find a full-time acute care job. I replied to an ad on craiglist for seasonal flu shot clinic nurses. The interview wasn't really an interview, more of an "here's the job, when can you start" thing and I thought a little sketch. Turns out it was a staffing agency hiring 15-20 RN's to work the flu shot clinics for employees at a large, world renowned academic teaching hospital near my area. The initial contact was a month and the vast majority of my contact was with the hospital administration, not the craigslist agency. I made great connections at that hospital though and,in the year I spent applying to acute care floor jobs, I was personally asked by said hospital to return and run a satellite clinic for flu shots, tb clinic's, and fill in at the occupational health office when people called in sick/jury duty/vacation/etc. Eventually I got hired at another large academic hospital in oncology/BMT (which I love!) in a different part of the state, but I left the flu clinics with 2-3 awesome references in hand! Don't underestimate the value of networking and don't be afraid to start at the bottom.

Thanks! I graduated in May 2012 with a BSN, so I spent a year unemployed looking for jobs! The last 2 months I really got a lot of interviews and things picked up (maybe it just took me that long to get good at interviewing lol). So don't give up! It takes a lot of patience and preservation. I had a lot of interviews I bombed as well. I really think it is a numbers game. So many of us have the same qualifications and its just a matter of when you get called :) I got a snail mail generic rejection letter from desert regional, signed by the versant recruiter. It seems they are sending both email and mail?

I got a phone interview and then received a rejection letter in the mail about a week ago. I was offered and accepted a great job offer at another hospital though, so i'm not too bummed about it! Good luck all :)

cohort 2: I've completed the reference check, background check, and drug screen. It sounds like we are all in the same boat. I think I must have checked the box requesting a free copy of my background check, because I got a copy in the mail this weekend. So I am assuming cedars has it and am just waiting for the next steps! Anyone know if we get our official offer letter/contract before or after our physical and 2 step tb test? Just wondering because I am relocating and trying to find housing. It's rather hard to sign a lease without proof of income! Thanks.

During the cohort 2 phone interview phrase I missed the initial call and played phone tag with them for several days also. They won't forget about you and will call back! You can also just call back a lot of times but not leave messages if they don't pick up...I did that when I was trying to catch the recruiter and got lucky eventually. I don't know if they ever noticed that they had a lot of missed calls from my number, but I eventually got hired so it didn't hurt my chances too much :) Best of luck!

Thanks everyone for all your helpful comments on LA neighborhoods! Much appreciated :)

I was wondering the same thing! From my initial brief search it seems every apartment near cedars is $2,000/month! I'll be relocating from the Bay Area so I don't know the area that well. What are the affordable apartments/neighborhoods close to cedars?

I just got a call with an offer!! :)

I haven't heard anything yet for cohort 2, hoping "no news is good news" and for a phone call this afternoon! In the meantime, trying to be patient :)

well today has been another long, slow day. Anyone hear anything about cohort 2 hiring decisions? I hate the post-interview waiting game! It's been a week now and friday will be 10 days, which is when some of us were told we would hear by. It sounds like cohort 1 had 3rd interviews on a friday and heard by the next wednesday, so were already past their time frame. I think I'm over thinking this haha :)

thanks for the info sandymickey! I feel better with those cohort 2 odds :) Hoping tomorrow is the day!

My phone hasn't left my sight all day waiting for it to ring! I really thought we would hear something about cohort 2 today! Sandy Mickey- what time did they call you at? And try hired 25 just for cohort 1? I wonder if its the same for all the cohorts...

Anyone hear from cohort 2 yet today? My status is still "open" after my 3rd interview...I've been waiting by my phone all day!

Just realized that tomorrow is a holiday and tuesday is prob the earliest we will hear anything...more waiting!