Jess RN

Thanks xj3! My husband's cousin works at Kaiser- so I think I will send my resume along to him before the move and see if I can line up an interview for when we arrive on-island. I'm thinking if HI is anything like Boston- then maybe the hospitals don't post all the openings they have, they rely on word of mouth referrals instead. Thanks again!

Hi- I am a new nurse I will have been in my current unit (postpartum and newborn nursery) for two years in Oct. My husband grew up in Honolulu and his family (parents, brother, uncle, cousins) live there still. We are considering moving our family to Oahu this summer. We have three children ages 6,4 and 10 mo. My husband is an internet guy and can work from home. I am starting to look for RN jobs in my specialty, if possible- but I am open. I also plan to sit for the boards to become a lactation consultant in summer '10- so a lactation counsellor or support position would be of interest as well. Any suggestions on hospitals or clinics that may be hiring this summer? Many thanks! Jess

Congrats on your acceptance! I am at BC in the Master's Entry program and I love it. I had med-surg clincals at NEMC last semester, and they were good- but I didn't get to do/see as much as I would have liked. My clincal instructor was incredible though. This semester we have specialty clincals, I'm in pedi (at Mass Hospital School) and childbearing (at the Brigham) right now and both placements are incredible- they throw you right in, but the instuctors are so knowledgeable and supportive it is a great experience. The instructors are great- very smart, very available for extra help, etc. The schedule itself is gruelling, but that is the same at most all direct entry programs, I think. Feel free to post back or PM me for any specifics you are wondering about. Jess

I had graduated from undergrad in '96 and I applied to my DE programs in 04. I asked my prof who I took A&P 1 and 2 with for a ref and he did a great job. My other two refs were from the Medical Director of the hospital I volunteered at and from the CEO of the company I last worked at. I applied to three schools and used the generic form of the refs for all schools, I didn't want to ask my refs to do any more work. When all was said and done I sent a gift and a note to my three refs as a thank you- I think they were a huge piece of why I got into the programs I did. I think a ref from undergrad days would be ok if, like you said, it is clear that you worked closely with them and that is why they remember you and are able to write a reference these years later. On the other hand, if your undergrad was non-science I would try to ask one of your prereq profs for a reference. My A&P prof did a great job tying in my performance and interest in A&P to the kind of nurse I want to become- I definitely wouldn't have gotten that from my thesis advisor from undergrad, you know? Also, they will have your transcripts- and will know where you went to undergrad and how you did- I wouldn't stress over having a ref from a better-known school. Nurses are very pragmatic- they want to hear all about how what you have done relates to and tells a story about how you want to be a nurse- even academic nurses don't seem to be as impressed by pedigree. We have people in my program who graduated from community colleges as well as the ivy league- and they all are smart, hardworking, unique people who will be awesome nurses. I'm kind of rambling- but do you know what I mean? Good luck! Jess

Thanks lilpeanut and NhavenRN for your input and for that great link to the aacn article. I guess my point in my earlier post was that I am in my DE NP program to become a nurse. When and whether I choose to work at the bedside as an RN or in an office in an NP role are secondary concerns to my primary goal of practicing nursing. I chose my program because it made the most sense to me taking into account my background, finances and timeframe. That is the pickle that many who want to go into nursing as a second (or third) career face- the best, quickest and cheapest (if you take into account the time-value of money) option for many is a DE program. Waiting around on a waitlist and wasting time taking useless humanities courses at a community college is just not an option. As a mom to young children, my childcare costs more than my tuition, and the longer I am in school, the more expensive the final tab will be. I certainly wasn't about to pay tuition and childcare on top of that to re-take gen ed courses. Also, many of the BSN programs don't want/can't take us bachelors-prepared non-nurses for just the nursing classes/clinicals. So that leaves direct entry programs. I'm not saying we are better, smarter, whatever. But when there aren't that many other options, you have to work with what you've got. I wish that there was more understanding from experienced nurses (RNs and NPs alike) that we are not back-dooring our way into the profession. If we aren't well preprared by our programs, we won't pass the boards or the certification exams. If we are sub-standard as clinicians, we will either not find or be unable to keep work as an NP. If we are dangerous and cause serious harm, we will lose our licenses. At this stage in my life I think I have a good enough sense of myself to know what my limits are. I'm not in any hurry to be a crappy RN or NP and endanger patients. If when I graduate I need to work at the bedside for a while, that's what I'll do. It feels like experienced RNs and NPs who hold this attitude have little faith in the licensure and certification exams and/or the marketplace to weed out graduates who are unfit to practice. And, honestly I wonder how many of those there really are... -Jess

Did they have a hard time just because they lacked nursing exp or was it because those helpful, experienced nurses were giving them a hard time as well? Just because MDs can be miserable to each other during their training doesn't mean we should emulate that behavior! -Jessica

See, this is the attitude that just baffles me. Why not reserve judgement and give students what they are in clinicals for- a learning experience, not a whole lot of attitude on top of that. The bottom line is that graduates of DE programs will be "new nurses" just like new BSNs & ADNs. Everyone has a learning curve and isn't going to be running the show from day one. New DE MSNs will have managers supervising them just like other new grads, who will evaluate the competence and safety of their practice. And if the evidence shows that their patient outcomes are good- then really, what is all the fuss about? My word- we should want more nurses, not fewer! When I was applying to programs, I asked if there was any way I could join an in progress undergrad BSN cohort- and there was no such option at any of the schools near me. The only option that would get me into school without having to re-take a lot of useless (non-nursing, non-science) classes was the DE programs. The ADN programs had very long waiting lists and were a joke in terms of pre-reqs (college writing...um, I was an English major, but I guess that doesn't count. college math...does statistics or either of the two math classes I took in undergrad count, no? ok.) I'm far from apologizing for the speed of my program or clinical hours or my lack of nursing knowledge, at the end of my program I'll be a new nurse- just like every other new nurse. Just wondering, what do nurses who are anti-DE programs think of PA programs- same length of program (or shorter), usually more clinicals, same scope of practice once they graduate? Do new PAs need to be put in their place as well? -Jess

LOL I love it! Yeah, I agree that it is probably slightly easier to get into a DE program than to get into Harvard or Princeton as an undergrad... but it's still pretty darn hard! And back me up here- getting in is easier than actually getting through the programs- which are stressful, and tons of work! -Jess

Hi Becky, I took Organic Chem (a prereq for BC and darned hard to find without a qualifying prereq itself) at Curry College in Milton. My teacher Marie Turner was great. It was a summer sesson class called "Chemical Concepts" and it was basically Chem for Nurses. I took it the summer before starting at BC. I did all my other sciences at community colleges (A&P at Mass Bay, and Micro online at ccconline) and I think it was fine. My professor at Mass Bay was on the faculty at BU and was just moonlighting at Mass Bay for the $. I think that is really common. There were at least 4 other direct entry applicants in my class with me. I feel like I learned a lot. I took Psych and Stats through the night school at BC because I thought it might help my chances and BC was my first choice. I have no idea if it did. The classes were more expensive, but they were very good. Especially Stats with Prof. Dan Chambers- I am so *not* a math person. Good luck! Jess

I only ended up taking one prereq online- (micro w/lab through ccconline) but my school (BC) had no problem accepting it. I would check with your schools (where are you applying?) before enrolling, but I bet it will be fine. BYU is an accredited school and I think that's all they care about. Good luck! Jess

Rotavirus is the worst! My whole family (me, hubby, and our two little ones) had it last spring. Ugh. Hope you are feeling better soon! -Jess

ccconline has one- I took it last summer. It was really easy and it had a lab. Good luck! -Jess PS, you do have to buy your own microscope if you don't have access to one in a science lab.

Woo hoo!!!:balloons: :balloons: Congrats on your scholarship- that's amazing! I got into both of those schools, and got a merit scholarship from BC, but nothing from MGH. So I think it's probably likely you will get an award from BC as well. Couldn't hurt to ask! -Jess

It sounds like you already know what you would be most comfortable with. :chuckle I started nursing school this past fall after taking one pre req at a time for the past two years. I have a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old and I lasted exactly one week in my full time program before dropping down to part time. I am soooo glad I did. I would have been a mediocre student and a mediocre mom if I was going full time. Many could do it and pull it off with grace, I'm sure, but not me. I think I know my limits a little better now- and I (now) know how much work nursing school is! Even my part time schedule is tough at times! It will take me 4 years at this rate- but that's fine. I'm going into nursing because I love it and because I want to work part time- so for me to kill myself with school full time for 2 years didn't make a lot of sense. Good luck with your decision! -Jess

Woo hoo! Congrats! -Jess