FlorenceNtheMachine

You should be a shoo in, I think. It seems mostly whether or not an individual is okay with parting from a RN salary for 2-3 years and living on student loans. It's not easy for everyone to do or possible depending on life circumstance.

Which hospital has more experienced nurses to learn from? If you see a plethora of new grads in one ICU vs another, it may be more telling. I would work in the environment where it seems the friendliest and I could spend years there without pulling my hair out.

Just try to get as high as you can on your BSN. You'll be a great addition it seems like :) Good luck and welcome to the nursing profession.

"You said this is a safe place to talk about unions?" "Administration is getting crafty."

Reminds me of this meme!

The school I go to officially says they don't maintain a wait list but I've read where students have been accepted after being rejected d/t open slots. My school is allotted student spaces by the hospital they are affiliated with and count on a specific number. I wouldn't go to the school unless I was 100% sure I wanted to be there the entire time. It seems like a collosal waste of money and time otherwise. It's a small world and you don't want to put a bad taste in your future colleagues mouth. It hurts their attrition rates too. Anyhoo, if you have good stats and feel like you could get in your local, maybe just wait and earn money in the meantime?

Your experience seems like will put you towards on the lower side eligible applicants. Your poster presentation is great for the resume. Can you join your local nursing organization? Get your ccrn and maybe a subspecialty if you can swing it $$ wise. Start studying concepts of the GRE. Good luck my friend! You may not get in 100% of schools but you have a great chance of enrolling.

I hate weakness/strength questions. Be honest and don't try to spin a strength as a weakness. There's a chance you'll get a no that's not a weakness from someone who isn't feeling it. Everyone has legitimate weaknesses. "I gag when people pop cysts or boils." "I am not great at dropping NGTs on confused patients." "I can't seem to get 22g IVs in as well as larger bore IVs d/t delayed flashback from the catheter."

I'd wait until you are submitting an application to send out recommendation forms to your people. Make it super easy for them, fill out all the info on the form you can, stamp it, etc. However, I would secure your recommendations verbally. Usually, they'll want one from your supervisor, CRNA or MD that can judge your worth, and a professor. Most ad coms realize it may be difficult to get a meaningful school related rec and will sub it. You'll have to ask. If you feel like your manager may not give you a 100% great stellar review, give it to an assistant manager! After 4 years, you've put enough time in to compensate for your orientation. I took my GRE seriously but looking back I could have put more time and effort in.

Duplicate

Make sure you have meaningful references, great GRE (higher than the minimum), and your interview skills should be on point and you'll be a shoe in! Good luck!

When you are new, you miss a lot of subtle clues. That's just how it is until you get experienced. At a year or less, I missed those changes. And, someone a lot smarter than me said "if you think you didn't miss things and let someone die, you did and your coworkers and leads knew it." If a shorter period from BSN to MSN or DNP results in higher GPA or first pass NCE % then I totally can see the logic. But you will be less of a technician with experience.

Ruby is giving sound advice. Get looootts of experience in a bigger icu. The 8 bed icu seems nice to get your feet wet. If you get into crna school you want to be well prepared for any type of patient they throw at you. I still get butterflies when certain patients roll through that door. I've got 3.5 years in a high acuity icu and I still feel uncomfortable with certain situations and need my ICU vets to help me through. Find a nice SICU or CvSICU. That's where I am and I love it.

Anyone still read the boards from this thread? How are you guys hanging? Still in critical care ?

Posts like these can get pretty negative fast. I'll try to be as positive as I can. You feel on the outside, because you are. You are new and feel awkward. I'm very shy initially and really bloom once I get to know my situation. Get to know them, and put some time in. In a few months, you won't be the new guy or gal anymore. It seems like an ego preservation thing, "I won't like them so it doesn't bother me when they don't like me." Hang in there!! It's tough being new.

I'm in a pickle, I'd like some advice from experienced nurses who have been in my situation. I'm a critical care nurse with 1 year of experience (woohoo I made it!). And I mostly enjoy my job. The management is supportive, if somewhat absent at times (I don't blame them at all!). I'm not a squeaky wheel, so I understand they are busy putting out fires. A few months ago, I experienced some life stress that made me want to quit PMs. I put in a few applications here and there and got job offers. The job I was offered, I wasn't sold on. I knew I had good job, and the managers helped me with my schedule, making NOCs more tolerable. I turned one down and the other one never called me back. Well now I have a job offer that was placed in my lap, even though I had stopped looking since that original freak out. My pickle, it's such a step down in pay with loads better schedule. I think I'd enjoy the work environment more. I can try to negotiate more, which I'm planning to. But I'm scared. Should I do it? I know I like my job 80.124% of the time, and there is a chance I could hate this new job 100%. It's a large paycut but better hours and no weekends or holidays! It limits my future career goals (it's a clinic). But honestly, I love my family first. The waitlist for days is years long in my department, and I'd still work holidays and weekends.

I agree. An open door policy about pay/salary only creates a better environment for employees. Yes it's uncomfortable! However, it is an art finding out delicate information.

Man I have been trying my *hardest* to get in one of those darned surveys. Extra mile, bubbly smile, hugs, and everything. Managing their care to the best of my ability. I need to get a common, easy to spell name. So even if I don't make it, someone whose name I share will get in one, and I can claim right.

Maybe the student would have still been rude if you have fully greeted her. Maybe not. You'll never know. I tend to be very friendly with any and all newcomers, even if I'm busy. It's good manners. BUT, her response to the silence is rude and kinda outspoken. I would never say that to anyone, especially as a student.

I usually have a coffee, and jot down other insults to hurl at my coworkers when they make mistakes. :)

Your manager is a butthead. I understand not treating animals like humans because it makes them misbehave and what not, but they're not expendable! THey are part of your family.

Orlando Health CEO talks to WFTV about nurse pay issue | www.wftv.com What I really didn't like about this interview was this quote, "As for the threat of nurses leaving, she said there is not a nursing shortage anymore and while she hopes no one leaves, there are a lot of nurses looking for work." What a lightly veiled jab at "We have hungry nurses out there ready to replace any loud mouths." Okay not exactly so, but very close.

Crumbs, they throw at your feet. If there are any RNs at Orlando Health reading this thread, don't give up! See how standing together can make things change!!

I think he/she was just wanting to fire up a response in the readers. Like "I'm going to change my work environment, dag gummit!" Without too many details, my hospital is cutting bennies and diff's under the excuse ACA is going to bankrupt us. I want to unionize, it's bulldoo what they are doing to us. I have a mind to just throw my career to the wind to try to change something for me and my colleagues. Anyway, I wish I had a least a couple like-minded individuals in my hospital.

The moment she realizes she's laid down on her dirty scrubs.