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Anyone who has been hired on by UHC, I would love information. Ive been offered a position for CM at WellMed, but I have a second interview set up for a home based UR nurse with UHC for this coming Tues. Im personally leaning more towards the UR position, but I would hate to squander the position with WellMed by turning it down, and then not receive an offer from UHC. So all of that said, if you went through the process with UHC how long after your second interview did it take to receive an offer? What was the process like for you? If you are familiar with both UHC and WellMed, which position would you likely take? WellMed is an inpatient case management position for Medicare patients, and will require hospital visits 1-2 times per week. It also requires being on call 1 weekend every 2 months or so and possibly the occasional holiday. There is added compensation for mileage and on-call. The pay is going to be higher for this position (their minimum was higher than the maximum for the UR position). The UHC UR position is work from home position. It is likely (according to the initial interview) going to be in pediatrics, which is my current specialty. There is no requirement for on-call and is a M-F 8-5 type position. The pay is slightly less, but it's more desirable of an employer because of the ability to transfer from location to location, and such. Also, there is no cost for gas or clothing expenses involved for this position. Any advice, or info about the hiring process is GREATLY appreciated!

I posted a few of these questions in another thread, in another forum but upon discovering the WGU specific forum I figured I might get more of a response here. I have been researching RN to BSN programs for quite some time and keep coming back to WGU. However, I have some questions. If anyone can help, I would greatly appreciate it. 1. If you completed WGU, how long did it take you to complete their RN to BSN program? 2. How many credits did you have to complete through them to get your BSN? 3. If you completed your BSN through WGU and decided to continue your education, did you have any trouble transferring your WGU credits to graduate program? I know this is something that people have discussed in the past, so I would just like to ask those who have tried or were able to. 4. Does WGU offer any type of an informal transcript review or anything PRIOR to paying the application fee to get an idea of how many hours you must complete for their program? 5. What is their transfer policy like? I ask this because I know that some schools are very strict and specific on what will and will not transfer, and others are not. For example: WGU's course list contains US History. I have government. 6. If you had to take a biochem course through WGU, what was that course like? How difficult of a course was it? It does not appear to have a lab component (lists a 3 hour course) so I am not entirely sure what to make of this course and what to think of it being an online course. Any additional information that you can offer would be fantastic!

Do you know if WGU offers any sort of informal transcript review to give you an idea of how many credits you will have to take PRIOR to actually paying their application fee?

I have researched RN to BSN programs ad nauseum. In fact, I've looked at so many programs that it has all become a blur, and I can't remember who I have and haven't ruled out for one reason or another. I am to the point that I am may run out of GI Bill benefits before I complete the program if I don't choose a school and get enrolled this year. Having said that, I keep coming back to a few programs. One of which is WGU's program. I have heard all of these stories about how people are able to finish it rather quickly, etc. What is the actual likelihood of finishing it quickly? I know that people tend to either love or hate WGU. With that being said, I would like to hear first hand experience about their programs. Specific questions that I have are: 1. If you have completed their program, how long did it take you? 2. If you have completed their program, how many hours were you required to take to complete? 3. What is their transfer policy like? The person that I spoke with over the phone wasn't very clear. For example, one of the courses on their transfer guidelines is world history. I do not have world history. Instead I took Government courses and state specific courses. Were you able to transfer courses such as these in for credit in place of other courses? 4. What is the course work like? Does it primarily consist of writing papers and answering discussion questions online? 5. For those of you who have personally completed the program and went on to continue your education, did you have trouble getting your graduate programs to accept your grades from WGU with their pass/fail 3.0 based grading system?

I would look into Baptist in San Antonio (they have been hiring quite a few new grads lately), Seaton in Austin, Scott & White in Temple, and then out west in the Lubbock or Midland/Odessa area.

I know of several new grads who, within the last 6 months, have gained employment in San Antonio, Houston, Austin, and the surrounding areas. I believe that the area where new grads are having the most difficult time is in the DFW area.

I've heard both positive and negative things about their program. What I have heard (from nurses graduating from there and staff at local area hospitals) is that the UMHB nurses tend to be GREAT with the paperwork aspect of things, but lacking in clinical skills. My advice would maybe be to work really hard on getting a strong skill set while there.

OUCH! 21.00/hr....ouch! Thats a sizable pay cut (without shift diff). I'm assuming its due to the regional cost of living or something along those lines (I hope). Do you know if the hospitals hire on a regular basis? I'm only familiar with my current area and as a new grad I had a job almost instantly upon passing my boards. However, I've heard of many who have not been so fortunate even with 1-2 years experience. As far as the local area, any info that you could pass along would be greatly appreciated. I only know what I have heard from military spouses about the area, which has been quite the mixture of positive and negative.

Good campus, very expensive. That is about all of the insight that I have to offer. Sorry.

We lost a few of our nurses to the new facility. I hear the pay is above others in the area, but they ONLY hire nurses with a minimum of 1yr experience.

My husband is looking at a short (2-3 year) transfer to either the Columbus, GA area or the Columbia, SC area because of his work. I am a relatively new graduate nurse who works in the ER. Upon transferring I will have about 18mos experience (all in the ER). What I am attempting to do is get some feedback/information on nursing in that area. If anyone is a nurse in the Columbia area and could give me any information on the job market, what hospitals are in the area, etc as well as any other information on the local area (nursing related or not) I would greatly appreciate it as we would obviously like to make as informed of a decision as possible.

My husband is looking at a short (2-3 year) transfer to either the Columbus, GA area or the Columbia, SC area because of his work. I am a relatively new graduate nurse who works in the ER. Upon transferring I will have about 18mos experience (all in the ER). What I am attempting to do is get some feedback/information on nursing in that area. If anyone is a nurse in the Columbus area and could give me any information on the job market, what hospitals are in the area, etc as well as any other information on the local area (nursing related or not) I would greatly appreciate it as we would obviously like to make as informed of a decision as possible.

I was hired directly into the ER as a new grad. It took a LOT for me to get my foot in the door, and I'll be honest with you...several experienced nurses that I had precepted with as a 4th semester student in that ER went to bat for me. Otherwise I would not have been hired at my facility. Even then, with several of the ER staff vouching for my skill set I was met with a considerable amount of scrutiny. In fact, it was something that I had to work through for several months with the vast majority of the staff on my shifts. It took a lot of proving myself (over and over again with some of the staff) to even begin to feel like I was an accepted member of the team and to feel welcomed. There were many days that after my shift was over I drove home frustrated and wondering if I had made the right decision. I stuck it out, and now I feel like I am a part of a fantastic team and in the end my hard work (and patience) paid off. I guess the point to my reply is that as a less experienced, or inexperienced nurse, this is something that you may very well have to face. There is a mixed opinion when it comes to new nurses in specialties and it seems to be about a 50/50 split. Many nurses feel that as a new nurse you need a minimum of 1-2 years med/surg experience prior to going into ANY specialty area. Then the other view is that if you are going to go into a specialty, you should do so upon becoming licensed because then you learn exactly what you need for that particular specialty. Obviously I agree with the second opinion, but many people that you will interact with will not. The best approach is going to be to respect their opinion, but do not let it discourage you. It is something that, should you get hired into an ER nurse position, you should be prepared for.