seb1202

I don't have much advice, but I also just got a job that will be involved in care coordination of medically complex foster children. We should keep in touch!

The information I have applies only to the Florida Hospital central FL area. This incudes Florida Hospital South (main campus downtown Orlando), Florida Hospital East, Florida Hospital Celebration, Florida Hospital Altamonte, and Winter Park Memorial. This does not apply to other Florida hospitals (tampa, st. aug, heartland division, etc) The central FL system is wrapping up their Feb/March program, but the next programs will be July, August, October, and November. The downtown Orlando (main) campus only has theirs in Feb, July, and October. This also includes FH for children I believe, since it is located on the same campus. The August and November classes are probably only at the others, like Florida Hospital East, Florida Hospital Celebration, Winter Park Memorial, Florida Hospital Altamonte. I know they posted the Feb/March one around the end of November or December, so I would look out 3-4 months ahead of these program dates. When you apply, there will be one posting for all jobs available, and it will not specify which areas are available. It will be very general, something like 'Graduate nurse- all areas, all locations.' During the application, you will have the opportunity to choose areas of interest and preferred locations, but you will not know which ones are actually available until you have been called for your pre-screen phone interview, deemed to be a good applicant, and then put into non-public job codes according to any of your areas of interest that they may have available. Then HR and mangers will look at the applicant pool and pick the appropriate candidates for interviews.

This is a link to a scores chart that compares the old scores with the news ones. The chart is on page 24. https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide.pdf I don't know what school you are trying for, but I know a lot of masters nursing programs I have looked at require a minimum of 153 verbal and 144 quantitative, so don't beat yourself up- you did pretty well! Plus, if your program doesn't specifically state the required scores, maybe their specific requirements are a little more loose. If this was your first time taking the GRE, bravo. I had to take it twice. My first scores were a new level of 'awful.' Good luck :)

oh okay, well that job description is out of the picture. LOL- maybe the nurse specialist is what i am interviewing for. who knows. i would hope they would only choose to interview me because i met the basic qualification, otherwise i will slump into a sad coma after they reveal "oh, nevermind you need experience" I have been looking on PeopleFirst and i have not even seen a position that says "public health nurse" - Is that where you searched for jobs?

@Belle1005, I can't reply to your PM because it says your box is full. But here's my response and you can just PM me back if you want- my response was going to be: What is your job title? OR what was it posted as when you applied (if you even remember). The positions I applied for were Registered Nurse Specialist and Senior Community Health Nurse. Judging by the words "specialist" and "senior," I was afraid that these positions were meant for higher level nurses, more experience, etc. but it didn't say anything regarding experience in the posting and I did get called for an interview so....... I guess that's a good sign? BTW What department do you work for? Sorry for the incessant questions

oh! And after looking at your threads, I gather that you are in FL? Me too! What county do you work with? Gives me a little comfort in knowing that a fellow new grad got into FL public health! Any tips for interviewing? I pm'd you if you don't want to give public info

Thanks so much for the response! I am very excited. I loved comm/public health clinicals and my instructor predicted me to work in this setting. I love the community focus and the one-on-one care. I looooove teaching and honestly, the highly technical and emergent aspects of hospital nursing is not something I was very excited about. I have always preferred primary care and prevention/teaching. I was just not aware public health was open to new graduates. I have my BSN and had my senior practicum on a pediatric med/surg floor. Loved family interaction, loved the kiddos. Did not love the hospital, did not love the acute care. I am very excited and everyone I've read on this thread really seems to love their job. I am the kind of person who thinks less money is worth a better experience, so I have no issues (mine is also about 2-4 less than in the hospital). I actually also prefer more traditional working hours too. I think this job is right for me and I am right for it. Thank you for the insight as to what I can maybe expect!

I have an interview coming up for a children's public health position. I am unsure what the duties are specifically, but I know that the facility has several services like primary and specialized care for low-income chronic kids, primary care for these children's siblings, early outreach for infants and toddlers to detect illnesses and begin their care planning, home health, and possibly high risk maternal. One position was a nurse specialist and one was a community nurse, both with the same facility, description, and pay- leaving me a little unsure of the details. Because of this, I have familiarized myself with all their services, but I would like to hear any advice as this is my first go with public health! Thanks in advance

i think you are okay, i have even been through 2 interviews and mine still says under initial review. lol

merrr i interviewed for two Feb jobs and didnt get either, i am sadfaced. :'( but, i think you guys whose application says "under initial review" are okay. seeing that others have gotten rejection e-mails, i would assume that you didn't get one for a reason. i dont know when they start interviewing for the march positions and i dont even know what positions are open. i asked HR and the most they would say is "there are several" although im pretty sure there are no peds or women's spots because most, if not all, of the peds jobs are at FH for Children in the orlando campus and i read in one of the GN informationals that orlando campus will only have GN programs in Feb, july, and october. so i am guessing the march positions are for the other hospitals. as for women's, late last December HR said that they hadnt gotten word of any womens openings at the moment and i was also never put in any kind of womens pool (i applied last year and was put into one). again, i dont know anything for certain so i wouldnt take this as 100% fact

well that makes me feel a little better. i felt kinda down for a couple days (okay fine, i bawled my eyes out)- but i have done my grieving and am now moving on. good luck to you too

well, i didnt get the job. my search continues....

hey Glad2baRN, i got your PM- did you get my reply? it doesnt show up in my sent box but ive read that this happens unless you manually request to have a copy sent to your sent box, which i still cannot figure out how to do. lol

agree with above posters. first look into how to get into a nursing program, etc. after you graduate from nursing school, you will be eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN. it is how you become officially certified to work as a registered nurse. by the time your nursing school is wrapping up, you should start to think about applying to new graduate positions at hospitals near and far. i know that by the time this all happens, the times may be different, but right now it is pretty difficult to find new grad positions, especially in pediatrics, and especially especially in neonatal. i would definitely think about joining some neonatal nursing organizations (AWHONN, NANN), getting NRP your senior year (Neonatal Resuscitation Program- makes you eligible to participate in the resuscitation of newborns, they pay for this during your hospital orientation but i have heard and found that it just looks good to have on your resume not because it prevents them from having to pay for the training (its in their budget anyway, they expect to)- but more so because it reflects qualities in you: dedication to this field, initiative, etc. i was able to get mine for $80 and i think it has been worth it.), also- after your first semester in nursing school you can become a nurse aid/tech, and you could try to work in a mother/baby unit (new mothers and healthy babies) or just a level 1 nursery (health babies). also you could try a level 2 NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) which are moderately sick babies, and then a level 3 NICU (critically ill babies). all of these will give you experience and therefore be desirable when managers are considering you for a job on these types of units as a new graduate nurse. if not a nurse aid/tech, research any nearby student nurse externships in these units or just call the units directly to inquire whether or not they offer these and/or are hiring. last but not least, in your senior year you will have a practicum where you 'practice' being a nurse with a real nurse. many times you are able to put in a request to your school about which specialty/unit you prefer- DEFINITELY pick any of the above or even just pediatrics because you would be surprised how much this helps secure or find you a job in similar units. you get to know the staff and are able to build a rapport on those units and secure a position with them after graduation -OR- network and get some good contacts and references. i know this is an extensive post and a little far into the future but it really will be helpful to know these things ahead of time in order to have a feasible opportunity in these areas. good luck!

hey, i agre with the above posts. try Lee memorial health system. they (did) have a new grad posting up recently, i applied one night and got a call back the next morning. it has been pretty touch for new grads around here, at least in central florida area.