Stacilator

Hey All, I've just finished nursing school. My school has recently added in a "bootcamp" NCLEX class, that occurs after pinning. At first I was really excited-the school that I transferred from used a great outside source that really helped the students. However, I've recently found that THIS school does not-they are using the same professors that have been with us, and they are not using a curriculum from a outside source. This upsets me, because they had us pay an extra 200 in our tuition for this, which was money I could of put to my own class, or even UWORLD. I'm tempted to not go, it comes at a very bad time and I could put that time to much better use. What do you think??

I adore the 4 Way Stretch Winkys. Soft, don't wrinkle, pants have a yoga like band.

I work in the northwest region of the panhandle, so I'm not hugely familiar with Jacksonville area hospitals. However, I know that HCA hospitals (which I believe Memorial is)have a cap on nursing $ per hour, at 32.00. I recently requested PIB in a nonprofit, and was refused, their reason being that ACA made that "impossible to do" (*their words, not mine) and you get no compensation at all for declined benefits. You might consider finding out their staffing needs, and considering a PRN position, that allows you to pick up FT hours. That is what I'm currently doing, and I end up with the base +20%, with no option for benefits, which works for me, and get all the overtime I can handle.

Hi, when you say you applied for deferrment and were quoted to pay 1/3, what exactly does that mean and how did it work? I thought deferrment was just for when you postponed payment?

I downloaded an app called "Self Control." (I have a mac, but there is a program for both) once you install it, you can set it for up to 24 hours to either A)only allow you to visit sites you set on a "white list" or B) prevent you from visiting sites you add to a "black list." Once that sucker is activated, you can't turn it off. You can try uninstalling it, shutting off your computer, resetting everything you can think of, but until that timer is up, you can't turn it off. Seriously, works great.

The only reason is gas. He drives a dually, I drive a Prius. Round trip for him is $240, for me roundtrip is about $70. He only comes down when the guy he's staying with has to so they can split gas. Once we sell the house though, he says he'll come down more often, since we won't have the mortgage.

Oh! I should of been more clear. I stayed behind :/ so I'm still near my school, but want to move up with him ASAP.

Hi! I can see that you posted this quite some time again, so I can only hope that you still check this site! I was wondering how your transfer went, as I am looking to do the same thing (except for transferring from about 7 hours away to NW). Any advice you can give would be awesome!

Hi All! Long time no post- but I'm sure you can all relate to how busy life is :) So here is my plea for advice, thoughts, opinions, etc... So this past summer my fiance and I decide to dip out and elope, which was fabulous. However, pretty soon after, his job moved him about 7 hours away to the Pensacola area. So right now, I'm juggling a household (no kids thank goodness, just two rowdy dogs and a way too big house) which we are trying to fix up to sell, driving to visit him 1-2 times a month on the weekends, working almost full time, and of course nursing school and clinicals. When he first moved I looked into some schools in the area and none accepted transfer credits. Finally a couple days ago I stumbled across Northwest Florida State College and they accept transfer students and invited me to send in my transcripts, which I did. However, I could find precious little from students/employers regarding the school (i.e. happiness, fairness, instructor reviews, etc). I desperately want to move to be with my husband but I don't want to risk anything regarding my education. I fought hard to get into a program and I'm hesitant to jump ship for unknown waters. So, if anyone knows anything, has thoughts about transferring three semesters in, etc, have at!

I'd never get all that charting done- I HAD to clone myself!

Love it. Every step to prevent med errors is great.

Looove it! They must be retired nurses....

That's so exciting!! I'm going to have to look in this facility to see if they offer those kinds of courses and how I could start them. I got offered a hospital two minutes away from where I lived, but I'd already accepted this one so i went with it instead as well :/ It's a larger facility, so hopefully that will make up for it. I had my drug test, TB and FIT test, got my badge and orientation packet all today, and I'm just waiting for the manager to sign off on the packet and start!

That's awesome :) I "start" Monday too, but it's just my processing. I think it'll be about 1.5 weeks before I get to be on the floor. What type of unit are you working in? I got the ED-super nervous, but so, so excited!!

I think all of you made excellent points about the experience you can gain as a PCT. Thank you for everyone's input! I'm super, super excited to say that I was able to land a position as a Nurse Tech!! Persistance definitely pays off!

I'm not a nurse yet, so I don't have this kind of experience, but have you considered taking the Certified Emergency Nurse class? It might help you develop an emergency response mindset, and then you have an additional resume builder for the future if you decide corrections isn't for you.

Yea...those are the "Nurse Tech" positions- they're specifically for nursing students. I've applied to them as well, and been considered, but no in person interview, only phone, then notification that it's been filled They're also pretty few and far between. The 4-6 I've found in the past week or so has been the most I've ever seen.

I would like to take a poll of opinions. I have been applying (and applying...and applying) for a PCT or Nurse Tech position in every hospital, LTC, etc that I can find. I am applying under the assumption that they accept people who fulfill the following criteria from their job description: "Medical Assistants with comparable hospital experience" and/or "Nursing Students who have successfully completed first Fundamentals semester coursework." As of yet, no luck. I know my not being selected could be because of the strength of the applicant pool, but I am looking for your opinion on whether I should continue to apply as the above, or if I should challenge the CNA exam and become licensed (as a broke nursing student, that $140 will have to be carefully budgeted out) and see where that gets me. Thank you in advance for your responses!

Even though all of the job descriptions I've been reading list "Medical Assistant with comparable acute care experience" or "Successful completetion of FON coursework" I had two peers mention it may be better if I challenge the course and become licensed.

Congratulations tnicnat! Let me ask you. Did you apply as a nursing student, or did you actually challenge the CNA exam first while networking?

Hey! Thanks for the tip- I always see nursing career fairs and never thought of going there for a PCT job. Thank you!

I did this several semesters, as I worked full time and the classes I needed were often difficult to get into at the times I needed. I also did the transient student route- you should check with your advisor/administration at both schools because it may be required even if you're not accepting financial aid and are paying for your second degree.

Thanks for the tip about references. I have one of my clinical instructors, and two recent employers that are great references. My current employment definitely knows my plans about nursing-and I actually intend to keep this job as well. It's per diem, and I can do my homework, so it's great to have. I'm not assuming a PCT job would be a foot in the door as a nurse, but I would like to get more experience with bedside, partial and total care that PCTs in hospitals and nursing homes usually provide. I feel like it's a lot more "hard" work then a MA. Though I am keeping my feelers out for the medical assistant positions available, typically medical assistants are hired to work in a doctors office, and that's usually a 9-5 type schedule, which doesn't work with my nursing school schedule at all. Congratulations though, on finding your job!

Hi All! As the title states, I'm in the last few weeks of my second semester, and I'm doing my best to find a PCT job. In addition to completing these semesters of nursing school, I'm also a registered medical assistant with two years of experience in a PCP office, one year in a weight loss clinic, and coming up on one year as a "medical" receptionist at a behavioral center. I've applied to 37 PCT jobs, most in the Fl. Hospital network. One after another just bounces back as no longer considered. I've talked to two different managers, one which said "challenge the CNA," the other who did as well until she realized I was an RMA and a second semester student. I've heard it's downright impossible to get in without knowing someone...I'm trying to work that angle too, but I'd love to get in on merit alone, yknow? Does anyone have any tips or tricks for how to either get your resume noticed to at least land an interview, or perhaps draw notice to the fact that I would love to make Fl Hospital my lifelong career? Other then bluntly saying it I'm having difficulty working that in to a cover letter. Any advice, tips, or tricks are welcomed!

It's kind of funny, too, SopranoKris, but this was my third Med Surg exam as well. ahh!