saminde

Hello, everyone. I am graduating in 15 weeks and have to get a position as a new graduate. My concerns are in scheduling... I have two young children (a Kindergartener and a preschooler). They rely on my 100% for their care. I don't have family to help me out and my spouse works a rotating shift and every other weekend. I'm finding that hospitals all want to hire people who can work every other weekend and rotating shifts. For me, this simply isn't possible. There would be no one to care for my kids. I was planning to accept a position in the OR, which offered 7-3 for a year and then every 4th weekend and 4-5 "off shifts" per month. This is a workable situation for me, but I have heard a LOT of people say that it's imperative to work on the floor FIRST. I plan to continue to grad school and earn my MSN, most likely as a NP. Would I be missing out on necessary skills if I go to the OR? I am desperately nervous now about accepting a position, but feel that my hours are so limited and PRN is not an option as a new graduate, nor would I be comfortable working so infrequently.

Thank you to everyone who responded! My husband is a federal employee and it would be great if we could both work for the same facility! I appreciate hearing about your experiences. As a new grad, it's difficult to sort through all of the options! Thank you, again!

I have found that December hasn't been necessarily a GOOD time to graduate because most facilities have their new graduate programs geared towards June grads. They run specialty training/internship programs from June. So, if you want to go to any specialty area, you have to try to find a floor that will take you from January until June or else not work until June, which isn't really a possibility for me. It has just been limiting. I had thought that I'd have an advantage, since I wouldn't have to compete with as many other new grads, but that's not really how things have turned out in this area (Virginia/Western MD/Central PA). I'm not saying that I CAN'T get a job or anything, I just don't have as many options as a new graduate as people who graduate in June. I started looking months ago at new grad internships because I have been looking for a perioperative one, and I'm finding that of about 8 hospitals... only 2 are possibilities for me as a December grad. I'm sorry if this isn't very good news. If you want to go Med/Surg, I'm sure it's not a problem. There are tons of M/S jobs out there and they don't require internships. Good luck! Sara :)

Harrisburg, PA (pinnaclehealth.org) , Hershey PA (Hershey Medical Center) are both offering 15K for 3 years in the ICU... lots of choices. Also, Sentara Health in Virginia Beach is offering 15K. In Philadelphia Graduate Hospital (Tenet Healthcare) is offering 20K for all of their ICUs. I'm looking myself for an internship after graduation. With kids, that sign on money to repay my loans is priceless. http://college.msn.careerbuilder.com/jobseeker/jobs/jobresults.aspx?argv0=Pennsylvania_Philadelphia_Nurse.htm&ArgURL=/co.ic/Pennsylvania_Philadelphia_Nurse.htm&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=7bf3b6d877c843f2b32dbdcdd3d5a560-172430661-x5-2 Good luck to you~

Hi! I'm not sure how much your scholarship money was... but, have you looked for places that are offering a loan repayment deal? I have been talking to recruiters at some hospitals and a few have offered $15,000 in loan repayment money. This money is given over 3 years, $5,000/year. At the 6 month point of each year, you receive a check for your 5K minus tax. What if you found something like this? Then it wouldn't be a big deal to tell them that you're "out". You'd be getting the money back from your first employer. Even if you agreed to a slow repayment and then used the sign on money to repay them off faster- it's not like they'd argue and you wouldn't have to worry about how this will hurt you. I'm with you... don't work for a company that has low morale. Look at the bottom of the ladder, too. Start with techs... are they happy? If not, why? Are they treated poorly? Do they have opportunities to advance. If not... chances are that everyone above them is kinda "stuck", too. Techs may very well feel more open to discussing this with you than a nurse; at least, that's what I found with my current employer). I'm definately NOT staying after graduation. Morale stinks. People are not encouraged to make lateral moves into other departments if they are unhappy, and I haven't seen a single person move up the ladder in almost 8 months. My family and I are planning to relocate after I graduate, so I've been visiting a lot of different hospitals, talking with recruiters, and walking in the hallways. You would be amazed by what you hear people talking about. ALSO... I have stopped nurses and said, "excuse me, but I wondered what department you work in... do you like it, how long have you been there, is there a high turnover, are they frequently using agency nurses (to fill in gaps of employees that have called out, or who have quit)". I know it probably sounds strange, but people are actually very friendly, and I think they know that I am genuinely interested, not just being nosey. I tell them something like: I have a small children, and i need to find the right fit for my situation. I haven't had trouble figuring out which hospitals I like, but which type of nursing to do is a whole other thing!!! Good luck!!!

My school has used the ATI for a few years and says that it's a very accurate indicator. We are required to take each section's exam after completion of a course (ex. med/surg course, at end take that ATI exam). Strangely, many of us have done what we consider to be terrible... 55%, but we are told that this is still a high probablility of passing the NCLEX. Recent graduates told us that the NCLEX was NOTHING compared to the stuff that was thrown out there by the ATI. They said that they actually felt good while taking the NCLEX because ATI had driven some of the finer points home for them! So, in short... you'll do fine!!!!!! You sound like you are really studying... covering your bases. Hope this helps to relax you!

Hi, everyone! I am a student in a BSN program and will graduate in December (which I thought would be an advantage... and is actually a limiting factor). I wondered how you all have selected a specialty or chosen which floor to work on if you are in a hospital? Many of my school's clinicals are on the med/surg floor of the same hospital. I know what I don't like or what I'm not sure that I can handle... but after that, it's all fuzzy! I loved the OR experience that I had, and interviewed on a post-surg floor that I loved... but how do you really decide? I'm not sure what I'm going to want to do over the long term, other than to say that I want my MSN and to keep learning new skills and advancing. Many career choices seem to limit what you can do and where you can go. So far, I love the OR, the ED, PACU, and the post-surg unit. I'm completely fascinated by the nurse anesthetist, but didn't especially care for the ICU, which you need to have if you are going to apply to CRNA schools. I also have two very young children, so I will have a few years to work before I want to return for more education... and with a little experience. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I feel so lost!

You're in Jersey? Any advice on where to work in Jersey? I have family all over that region (Eastern PA, Northern DE, Western NJ) and have considered returning there after I grad, but have no idea where to apply. I have a sibling in a little town over there... Runnemeade!

hi everyone! i am a student graduating from a bsn program in december 05. i have been seriously considering a perioperative internship after graduation (i have interviewed in two seperate hospitals for the same type of program). it is a year long and offers didactic, scrub, and circulating experience in all of the specialties in the hospital's or. i have always loved being in the or... unlike my peers, i enjoy being covered from head to toe, enjoy the precision of it, the lack of meddling family member! i am an adult learner and have other experience outside nursing in dealing with "challenging" personalities. my concern is that i repeatedly hear that only a certain type of personality is a fit in the or. how do you know if that is you???? i have heard a million horror stories, but i'm still interested. most or nurses that i speak with about the or say that they love their jobs, they love the environment, and that they could never see themselves elsewhere in nursing. what exactly does it take to be good in the or? also, what kind of advanced practice options are there for rns? i would like to have room to grow into my career and wonder what there is for msn's in the or... besides education and administration. i had an interest in nurse anesthesia, but have heard that i would most likely spend years working in the icu (and should go there after graduation) to meet this requirement for entrance, which would keep me out of the environment that i love. any guidance?

I am a Virginia nursing student (about an hour from Walter Reed) and have considered the military. The Army claims to have a 29,000 education repayment program now (when they have visited our school, recruiting). I also love the prospect of having my future education payed for. I love the OR and aspire to someday complete a CRNA program. HOWEVER, my spouse if former Marine Corps and is very upset that I'm considering the military (he says that I would be tricked into joining and then not get to go where I want-department and location; and that going to school would be nearly impossible because of the scheduling). Do you think this is true with nursing (I'm getting my BSN this year and wonder if the difference is officer vs. enlisted???)??? Also, have you ever been deployed? I have two young children and worry about leaving them behind. If anyone has any questions, I was active duty enlisted and am currently am and active duty CRNA.

Thank you both! I have been to the area, and two different systems have offered me OR Internships. I'm a new grad and definately want to get a great learning experience, so I'm leaning towards Hershey. Thank you both! :balloons:

I wondered if anyone has participated in an internship program at either Harrisburg (Pinnacle Health) or Hershey Medical Center? I'm reviewing information from both... but I'm out of state and don't know which way to lean. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I was going to suggest Florida Hospital in Orlando. I know it's a little farther from Ocala, but they offer great Internship programs, and RELOCATION assistance!! Where are you moving from? I have family near Ocala, and have considered a move there myself, and my first choice in hospital was Florida Hospital. It's a huge network, tons of opportunity.

I was curious to know if it is more common to move from the ICU to PACU than it is to transfer from the OR to PACU? I am a student nurse and will be doing an externship this summer in the OR/PACU in a large hospital. I wonder what the chances of working PACU are later down the road if I start with the OR. Do many people leave the OR after beginning there, or after having an established career there? I keep hearing from OR nurses that once they are in the OR, they never want to go to a floor or unit! Is this your experience? I appreciate any information that you can share. It's difficult to chose a specialty area for an internship!!! Thanks everyone!

Wow... What school do you attend? I'm a married, mother of a preschooler and a toddler in an accelerated BSN program in Virginia... there are only 2 married people in my class, and we get screwed over! They schedule classes whenever it's convenient for the traditional students (for example, all classes in 1 day even if they run until 9 PM- when daycares have LONG been closed!!!). Honestly, I find myself having to fight to get a daytime clinical because I have no family here except my husband, who is working 24/7 to support us! Seems the grass is always greener...! Sorry to hear that all of you are lonely; I'm sure it would be nice to have someone to encourage you when you're getting frustrated. I think no matter what side of this thing you're on, it's hard to go to school as an adult. Money is always an issue. For my spouse and me (he's a police officer... you can imagine the pay with 4 of us living off it!!!), it's been one sacrifice after another. And NOW... I've discovered a passion for anesthesia and have been talking about grad school in a few years. I'm absolutely going to drive my husband insane with my educational goals. Good luck to all of you! Thanks for the interesting reading! :)