Valnoslo

Thanks for the feedback justkeepdriving. I'm hoping things turn out good. The staff seems really great, and everyone has been nice. I was a mental health worker prior to getting my RN, but in a much different setting. =) Hoping I can make it in this new environment.

I'm curious about others thoughts on the ratios I am about to face... I am a new grad starting at a state psych hospital. It is a pretty big facility with several units- the unit I am going to work on has approx 20-24pt, with 1-2RN and 1 LVN and 2-4 aides. I have experience in psych (I was a mental health tech), so I felt comfortable in taking this job.. But I am worried about these ratios.. When I accepted the job, I don't think it really clicked what those ratios would be like (or look like). I am still in orientation (we have only been out to observe the unit once- they do a long 2 week orientation). Is this abnormal for a state psych hospital? I am going to stick it out... but I have a gut feeling that this isn't what I imagined doing as a psych nurse.. =/

Hi- I just moved to Austin with as a new ADN. The market is tough, especially if you don't have contacts/networking or a BSN (the universities here are pumping out BSN nurses who have done there clinicals at the local hospitals.. which makes competition a bit more fierce). But I did get some interviews with SNF and psych facilities. I also interviewed for the new graduate program at Seton Hospital, although I didn't get an offer (I think this was because I had to interview over the phone and because I lacked CNA experience, which I was told they were looking for). If you are truly interested in working at a hospital through a new grad program, plan on traveling to TX during your last semester of school to interview/go to open houses. This is the only way to get in. Definitely do some research- but if you are determined, have some good references, a good resume.. Well anything is possible. Just a little harder =) Best of luck!

You can't look up your license number online? Mine was available about a week after I took the test. Usually you can do this on the states BON website.

If you are looking for a more in depth explanation, you may be better off on a different forum on a different website, or talking with an accountant. This may be especially true if you are not a citizen- I'm not sure if there are differences. And yes, it is a bit more confusing, but I think we generally pay less in taxes. Best of luck!

If you know your salary, just divide It by 12 and use one of the online paycheck calculators to figure it out. Yes, TX has no state income tax. But your monthly salary will be specific based on how many exemptiona you claim on your federal taxes and any other deductions you have taken out of your salary (for health insurance, 401k, etc). No one on this site can really answer this question for you any better then the paycheck calculator sites.

Hi, I know you said Houston and Dallas, but I wanted to comment that Austin is still ADN friendly. I recently moved here from out of state- I definitely felt a bit disadvantaged with an ADN VS a BSN (especially with the Universities here spitting out BSN) but I did get interviews with both hospital new grad programs and SNF. I didn't get the hospital positions, but from my understanding with an ADN they are really looking for you to have other hospital experience (such as tech or CNA) which I didn't. I would think with LVN experience you would have some offers. I had two offers from SNF positions and a psych position. Most the hospitals have email contacts for their new grad programs, it wouldn't hurt to send out some feeler emails and ask what they are looking for in potential new grad hires. The job offers I got from SNF and other non-hospital positions ranged from $22-$25/h Good luck!

Honestly, to get the best answer for your question you should just call the TBON customer service line. They are usually friendly and helpful, and answer right away (I dont think I was ever on hold more than a minute). The number is listed on their website bon.texas.gov Good luck! =)

Hi, I am a new graduate and have been working at my job hunt for the last month or so. I've applied for about 15 positions (I'm trying to take my time to write cover letters and adjust my resume to suit each position). I have applied across the spectrum or nursing practice, because really I just want to get my foot in the door and get some experience. I would really like to work in an acute rehab or LTC- somewhere where I can keep learning and growing. My dilema is that a month in and I have been offered a position in an inpatient psych facility. Prior to my nursing degree I worked as a mental health tech for 5 years. I have always had a passion a for mental health, but I went after a nursing degree in hopes of expanding my horizons career wise- to have the opportunity to work with a variety of populations. I know I won't be miserable at this job right now, but I'm worried that I may end up stuck in psych for the rest of my career- and I may eventually burn out. I have been unemployed since school ended in May and would really like to start working, and I'm worried this job may be the best offer I get right now (the job market is tough where I am). I have not heard back from any of the other positions I applied for. Does anyone have any experience moving from a psych nursing position to other nursing positions? I have talked to several nurses who have moved from acute care to psych, but not the other way around. Thanks =)

I know in NH (where I am from originally) our state nurses association has a listing of nurses who are willing to be mentors or interested in talking to new nurses/students/etc. A little leg work found me this link to the Texas nurses association site that may help you in finding an experience/someone to talk to: Texas Nurses Associationood luck. =)

If you think Psych nursing is interesting definitely take some psych and sociology classes, and if you have never worked in mental health before, see if you can get into an internship/field work experience in a psych setting. =) Majority of psych nursing jobs are on inpatient units, with patients in crisis, so it can be very intense. Prior to nursing I worked as a mental health worker in a supervised mental health group home where we had interns from local universities. It was interesting to note which interns would last, and which discovered within days that this type of psych was not their cup of tea. Any psych, sociology, and any behavioral science class can only benefit your future career as a nurse- as nursing is a holistic profession, dealing with patients as a whole. Good luck! =) and PS- take the honors class. One of the things I regret the least about my overpaid bachelors in a non-nursing field (prior to getting my ADN) was taking some awesome elective classes.

Prior to going into nursing, I worked a mental health worker in a group home for patients with severe and persistent mental illness. One of my coworkers was bipolar, and throughout her youth had been hospitalized several times prior to getting on the right medications. during my time working with her, she was always fairly stable. She took her time telling her coworkers about her illness. She let us know when she was having a bad day, but then again, at our job we worked so close together that we ALL knew when one of us was having a bad day, for whatever reason. She didn't talk about her illness all the time, but I think she brought a unique perspective to our discussions at times, because she could relate to some of the dilemmas and issues our patients faced, having faced them herself. She didn't talk about her illness with our patients, but I think there were definitely some patients who related to her better somehow. I'm not sure what the OPs intention was for this post, but part of taking the stigma out of mental health IS discussing it, openly, honestly, and hopefully without judgement. I'm sorry some posters were offended by this topic.

The SNHU program was just created this year- so I doubt you will find anyone who has graduated yet. =) SNHU is indeed a brick and mortar school in Manchester NH with several satellite locations in NH. It is a well known school in New England and has been around for a while. I do think they just invested a major amount of money into advertising their online program around the country- I recently saw a commercial for it while in Dallas, on the local TV network. The program was created in partnership with the NH technical schools' (community colleges) nursing programs (students graduating form nursing programs from the NH technical schools can automatically enroll right into the BSN program and receive discounted tuition.) I recently graduated from a NH technical school with my ADN and was encouraged to enroll. I know the professors in my program were working with SNHU to help create the program throughout the last year, and as far as I know they were working with nursing professors from other programs at technical schools in our state. I don't think the program is fully accredited yet, but from what my dean told me they will be accredited ASAP. (from their website: "Our online nursing programs were created based on Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accreditation requirements. SNHU is a provisional member of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and is seeking CCNE accreditation.") The accreditation might be the only thing that could hold you back- but honestly I don't think most employers will check or care, but you may run into an issue if you are considering pursing an MS or a PhD at a different university down the line. Here is the bad news- my experience with admissions so far has been less from perfect. The "admissions" counselor I talked to was sweet and nice, but wasn't super helpful and seemed to be reading off a protocol (I had to repeat 3 times that I had graduated this year before she finally got it and was able to deal with my questions correctly). But, honestly I think now-a-days most high level education institutes have pretty crappy beauracracy and sad customer service. I have also never worked with an online only program, so maybe my experience was standard for online programs (I have a previous BS and have attended 2 other universities) Despite this, I am probably going to go ahead and enroll, since I will receive discounted tuition and most jobs where I am now are insisting I have a plan in place for achieving a BSN. I am currently waiting to see what they accept as transfers from my other schools. Good luck!

You are partially correct- I didn't take into consideration that the OP was applying from a non-compact state. I misunderstood. But I was correct regarding initial licensure for new graduates. If you are currently a resident of a compact state, you can only apply for initial licensure in the state you declare residency in- as in the one you hold a drivers license, legal address, etc. Per the NCSBN website: I am graduating from a nursing program this year. Can I take the NCLEX® in a different state?The NCLEX® can be taken in any jurisdiction. However, graduates applying for a license who legally reside in a compact state can only apply to their home state board of nursing. This means that the applicant cannot apply for a compact license in a compact state other than the one in which he/she is declaring as their primary state of residence." https://www.ncsbn.org/2002.htm This is also what the TBON told me when I spoke with them prior to applying. I'm sorry if I caused confusion. My intention was to provide some resources for the OP to investigate prior to deciding to take the time applying.

Texas and Arizona are both part of the Nurse Licensure Compact. I'm pretty sure you cannot endorse to either state without being a resident of the state first.This website has some good info explaining the compact: https://www.ncsbn.org/nlc.htm I am in the process applying to test for licensure in Texas and I had to declare Texas my state of residence and permanent address on my application. (I lived in another state prior to applying and waited until I moved to apply). My conversations with the BON in TX verified that you need a Texas address for your application to test. I am not positive it is the same for endorsing, but I would assume so. TX BON has always been helpful when I called, you can find the number on their website: Texas Board of Nursing It's worth calling to ask before looking further into jobs, etc, just so you know what you are getting into. Calling HR at hospitals you are interested in in TX may also be helpful, but I would go by what TX BON says first. Good luck! =)