thejadedmonkey

Hospitals in my area have started what sounds like an identical program for new grads. 8-10 weeks of training (no promise of a job), committing to 40/hrs a week. If you don't qualify for their reimbursement program, you actually have to pay the hospital for the training (approximately $4k). I personally chose to not do it, because nobody could tell me if there would even be any openings after the training program. I was told it's possible that nobody doing the program would be offered a job due to a lack of openings afterwards, and that was enough to scare me off it.

Thanks everyone for the tips! They are very much appreciated! I have a Florida license, but I'm willing to endorse/move to wherever the work is so it's definitely helpful to know where to target my efforts.

Definitely the chronic sleep deprivation. There were days I slept in the library so I could sleep the extra 45 min. it would take to drive home and back for class the next morning. This is coming from a guy who can't even sleep on international flights because he has trouble sleeping in a chair.

In your position, I would sit down and make an honest list of what I want from my career. For this case, I would definitely include the items "Financial security/Earning potential," "Doctor" and "Nurse" (among others) and rank them from 'Most Important' to 'Least Important.' After sorting everything out, I think the list may prove revealing with regards to what you really want out of your working life. The idea may sound silly, but making lists like this have helped me to make good decisions in situations where I can't have everything the way I want it.

Thank you everyone for your comments! This is my first resume and cover letter and I'm just trying to figure this all out in an employer-friendly job market. Bayat, your suggestions are greatly appreciated, especially with regards to my cover letter (which I felt particularly clueless when writing). I'll adjust it and my resume to fall more in line with your recommendations. Hopefully, both are enough to get me noticed.

Below is my cover letter and resume, targeted at a correctional nursing position, edited to protect my identity. I used tables in the original resume which formatted strangely here on AllNurses. The actual resume does not have such giant spaces between everything and generally looks better than it does on here. Please feel free to rip apart either my cover letter or my resume or provide any criticisms you feel are valid, no matter how small. Thanks! Cover Letter: Some Person 123 Fake Street Anytown, USA 123456 Telephone: (XXX) XXX-XXXX E-mail: [email protected] June 24, 2013 Ms. Hiring Person Human Resources Recruitment Some Company 321 Fake Street Anytown, USA 123456 Dear Ms. Hiring Person: I am writing in response to the opening listed on [website] for [City], [state] at the [facility]. I am deeply excited for this opportunity to join [company], a leader in correctional healthcare and the only correctional healthcare provider with [fact about company]. My attached resume shows the profile of an entry-level registered nurse. What my resume does not show is my passion for serving the underserved. My unfailing professionalism and strong ethical center allowed me to provide compassionate care to inmates admitted to my clinical site for advanced procedures, including offenders other students and staff declined to care for. By the same token, my alert and conscientious approach to nursing practice allowed me to always maintain a safe environment for the patient and staff while maintaining firm professional boundaries in interactions with the patient. I sincerely believe I am uniquely suited to correctional nursing and would welcome an interview at your earliest convenience. I am certain that I would be a valuable member of the [company] family. Sincerely, Some Person Resume: Some Person, ASN, RN 123 Fake Street | Anytown, USA 123456 (XXX) XXX-XXXX | [email protected] Registered Nurse Loyal, motivated professional able to remain calm and use critical thinking and analysis to respond to crises. Desire full-time position with Some Company. PROFESSIONAL PROFILE Dedicated registered nurse recognized by faculty, preceptors and peers for professionalism and strong work ethic Independent with strong critical thinking and problem solving skills; was routinely able to act with a high level of autonomy in clinical settings Consistently exceeded expectations in completing accurate, timely assessments and delivering excellent patient care Experienced in collaborating with and managing healthcare teams including unlicensed assistive personnel and licensed practical nurses Proven leadership and ability to achieve diplomatic solutions with a wide range of personalities as elected class representative and informal student mentor and clinical group leader EDUCATION [TABLE] [TR] [TD]Some College, College of Nursing[/TD] [TD]Anytown, USA[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) with Honors GPA: 3.94[/TD] [TD]May 20XX[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] CLINICAL EXPERIENCE [TABLE] [TR] [TD]Nursing Practicum[/TD] [TD=align: center]Some Hospital - Anytown, USA[/TD] [TD]Spr 20xx . xxx hrs[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Pediatrics[/TD] [TD=align: center]Some Hospital - Anytown, USA[/TD] [TD]Spr 20xx . xx hrs[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Obstetrics[/TD] [TD=align: center]Some Hospital - Anytown, USA[/TD] [TD]Spr 20xx . xx hrs[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Psychiatric[/TD] [TD=align: center]Some Hospital - Anytown, USA[/TD] [TD]Spr 20xx . xx hrs[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Medical Surgical 2[/TD] [TD=align: center]Some Hospital - Anytown, USA[/TD] [TD]Fall 20xx . xx hrs[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Critical Care[/TD] [TD=align: center]Some Hospital - Anytown, USA[/TD] [TD]Fall 20xx . x hrs[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Operating Room[/TD] [TD=align: center]Some Hospital - Anytown, USA[/TD] [TD]Sum 20xx . x hrs[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Geriatrics[/TD] [TD=align: center]Some Hospital - Anytown, USA[/TD] [TD]Sum 20xx . xx hrs[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Medical Surgical 1[/TD] [TD=align: center]Some Hospital - Anytown, USA[/TD] [TD]Fall 20xx . xxx hrs[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Summary: Experienced in working with patients with wide range of diagnoses including coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, neurovascular disorders, diabetes mellitus (Type I & II), sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), pneumonia, asthma, and others Maintained a consistently safe environment for patients and staff by diligently adhering to facility guidelines and protocol Trained in current evidence-based practice and techniques, including complex dressing changes, intravenous therapy, intramuscular & subcutaneous injections, nebulizer treatments, tracheostomy care, and assessment techniques among others WORK EXPERIENCE [TABLE] [TR] [TD]Tutor, English for Speakers of Second Languages (ESOL)[/TD] [TD]May 20xx-April 20xx[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Maintained detailed records of student strengths, weaknesses, preferences and overall progress Contained costs for clients by organizing group purchases of common study texts/materials and by securing discounts from retailers [/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] LEADERSHIP AND AFFILIATIONS [TABLE=width: 661] [TR] [TD]Member, Some Nurses Association (SNA)[/TD] [TD]May 20xx-Present[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Volunteer, Relay For Life of Anytown 20xx[/TD] [TD]April 20xx[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Aided in establishing a tent to represent the Some College chapter of the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA) Managed walks and games for charity during the event [/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Class Representative, Some College Nursing Class of 20xx[/TD] [TD]Aug 20xx-May 20xx[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Elected 1st and 2nd year by peers to represent the student body at weekly faculty meetings Tactfully presented student concerns to faculty and communicated faculty responses to student body [/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Member, National Student Nurses Association (NSNA)[/TD] [TD]Aug 20xx-May 20xx[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Organized and recruited for NSNA sponsored volunteer opportunities [/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Volunteer, English for Speakers of Second Languages (ESOL) Tutor[/TD] [TD]May 20xx-Present[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Provided free 1-on-1 tutoring for public school students from non-English speaking countries [/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] LICENSE AND CERTIFICATIONS RN License Number: 123456789, State of Some State, issued xx/xx/20xx American Heart Association BLS for Healthcare Providers issued xx/20xx

The helpfulness of a class Facebook page depends entirely on the class participating in it. I know that's a terrible non-answer, but it's held true in my own experience. My class Facebook page was pretty much worthless, but I've seen other class pages which were amazingly helpful. Something you might want to consider though is that many (hopefully all!) of your classmates will eventually become RN's. Facebook is a convenient tool to network with your classmates and to stay in touch with them post-graduation. You never know when a former study buddy might suddenly tip you off to a great opportunity down the road. It'd be a shame if they heard of an opening, immediately thought of you, but then couldn't get in touch to let you know, right? I can't speak for employers and their stance on Facebook, but I will say that I have seen several nursing students expelled from their programs due to misuse of social media. It seems like you're aware of this issue from your post, but seriously, HIPAA is an amazingly broad and powerful piece of legislation. I've never heard of a nursing student who deliberately violated HIPAA; it's always a tragic underestimation of the scope of protection HIPAA provides. Tread carefully if you do decide to join the Facebooking masses.

I've been told Pearson can place a hold on test results if they notice an unusual response pattern from the test taker. One of my nursing instructors told us that a girl from a previous class had a hold placed on her results because she suffers from massive test anxiety and bombed the first portion of her test (dropping her way below the passing line) but then recovered and did phenomenally well on the rest of her questions until the test shut off. To the computer and the test reviewer, this looks like a student who had no business taking the NCLEX suddenly turned into a nursing savant mid-exam. Hence, the hold. Not to say you have test anxiety or did anything similar, just sharing some additional info.

How was your relationship with current friends during nursing school? Did you lose any friends while in school? Did you find your friends supportive or not really caring too much? I'll answer all three of these together. As others in the thread have stated, nursing school is a huge time sink for most people. For me, I found that my friendships based on "having fun together" (i.e.- drinking buddies, fellow hobby enthusiasts, etc.) seriously suffered. Those groups of friends just continued making merry minus my participation, and while an open invite for me was always there, I never seemed to have the free time to accept it. This definitely led to us drifting apart as I found myself no longer "in" on inside jokes. When the group laughed over their most recent shared experiences, I was left grasping at second-hand accounts of the action. We were all still on good terms, but we were no longer close. I knew some nursing students who were a little bitter/upset that their friends had fun "without them" or felt they weren't being supportive, but I disagree with this line of thinking. Some experiences defy anyone's ability to accurately portray them with mere language; I believe nursing school is one such experience. Even if nursing school isn't particularly difficult for you, trying to explain what it's like to watch a patient pass on or the warm feeling in your stomach when you really touch someone's life is pretty much a futile endeavor. Either you've been there and you get it, or you don't. This is one of the hallmarks of entering a profession, where your knowledge and skills elevate you to a position where only your peer group can truly, 100% understand where you're coming from. I believe this is true of any profession (law enforcement, engineers, PR reps, you name it!), and incidentally, one of the big draws of a site like allnurses.com. Friendships that ran deeper than a mutual enjoyment of each other's company survived because the bond was strong enough to withstand my drought of free time. Did you meet any long term friends in nursing school? Definitely! Spending half my week with the same group of study mates night in and night out gave everyone a chance to forge some iron-clad friendships with each other. The competitive nature of my nursing program also let me know who really had my back and who didn't. Nursing school is filled with adversity, and helping each other through it all brought everyone closer together in a pretty unique and amazing way.

Don't let "weed out" courses scare you. These courses don't have terrifyingly complex material (you don't have to be a genius to understand what's being taught), but "weed out" courses do tend to throw a lot of material at students at a rapid pace. This makes it very important for students to not fall behind. Even just one or two days of slacking can really put students in a hole they may never climb out of. As long as you make a concerted effort to stay on top of your coursework (and that may mean dedicating 2+ hours to studying a day if the class really moves fast), you should be fine. In my experience, the people who fail "weed out" courses either lacked a strong work ethic or had unfortunate setbacks that cost them vital study time (death in the family, financial crisis, sudden illness, etc.). I've never heard of a student failing such a class because they weren't "smart enough." I believe if you diligently adapt and maintain the study habits that got you this far in nursing school, you should be fine moving forward.

As a fellow Floridian, I can second everything the OP said. There were huge differences within my cohort on the amount of time it took to receive an ATT ranging from 3-5 days after graduation to almost a month or more. My nursing program explicitly told us to wait until 2-4 weeks before graduation to send stuff in, but early birds who sent in their applications online months in advance were the first ones to get an ATT and secure a favorable testing date at a nearby site. My ATT arrived only 7 days after graduation and I had to drive 5 hours out of town to snag a date that wasn't more than 2 weeks away from the receipt of my letter. If I wanted to test at the Pearson site in my city, I would've had to wait 3 1/2 weeks!

It takes a pretty incredible amount of effort, strength and willpower to get through nursing school for many people, even those who don't have any obligations outside of their education. Attempting to do so with other (potentially conflicting) responsibilities in tow is going to be that much more challenging. However, that does not mean you can't do it! OP, you can absolutely succeed in nursing school and succeed brilliantly. It likely won't be easy, but, if nursing is truly important to you, it will be worthwhile. As a nursing student, I definitely remember those nightmare days when I would wake up at 7AM, be at school from 8AM-4PM, work from 5PM-1AM, go home, study from 2AM-3AM, sleep for 4-ish hours and then do it all over again. Throw in clinicals and you can get some truly hellacious weeks in a semester. I can't speak to your abilities or your situation beyond what you've chosen to share here, so I can't say if nursing school will be a breeze or a hurricane for you, personally. What I can say is that I'm nobody special, but I managed to financially drag myself and my family through nursing school, graduated with honors, and received my hard-earned RN license this month. I know it can look scary as all get out when you're getting ready to take the plunge (I'm sure my blood pressure was sky high during first-day orientation when I realized how huge a time commitment nursing school would be), and there were times when I doubted myself, even times when it felt like my whole life was a whisper away from all falling apart. But I did it, and if someone like me, the low-born son of first-generation immigrants with nothing to his name but student loan debt and an 11-year-old automobile, can do it, anyone can!

I have to agree with the many others in this thread in saying that the Saunders questions just are not difficult enough to compare to the NCLEX. As much as I dislike shilling for a company, Kaplan really does stand out to me as the best NCLEX preparation money can buy. To give you some empirical evidence supporting the difficulty gap between the two, I averaged ~90% on all the Saunders questions I took from the book and the CD that came with the book. I averaged ~76% on all the Kaplan questions I took (qtrainers). Also, I could consistently get through 100+ Saunders questions in 1 hour, but only about 80+ Kaplan questions in the same amount of time.

My nursing program accepted applicants based on a points system. You earned points for higher grades, higher exam scores, volunteering/community service, for having a military service background, for prior nursing related certifications/licenses (CNA/EMT/Paramedic/LPN), for any prior degrees (Bachelor's or higher), and some other random things I'm forgetting. My application's point score was TERRIBLE. I had full points for grades and exam scores, but 0 points from anything else. I didn't have any volunteer points because I was working full time and going to school full time, I never served in the armed forces, and had no prior healthcare experience of any kind. This meant I failed to score any points on about half of my application. My wimpy little application was going up against people who spent 3-4 years preparing for the nursing program and were close to maxing out on possible points, so I was definitely worried I would not be accepted. However, I somehow still got in! So all I can tell you is every admissions committee values different aspects of your application differently. I would not worry overmuch about a GPA unless you have solid information about your GPA being below the accepted GPA cutoff line.

The OP's situation is eerily similar to one my friend encountered at her nursing program. The same site (Quizlet) was being accessed by multiple students at her program, and their test scores jumped up ~5-10% due to the "free" answers they had by virtue of having seen some of the test material beforehand. The faculty in charge of testing caught on to the fact that a group of students were doing a full letter grade better on their tests than they had in the previous year of nursing school so they were called in for a meeting. Long story short, the students were found to have participated in academic dishonesty because they failed to report their access to test material after the first test and because they continued to take advantage of said access on subsequent tests. I don't know what official punishments (if any) were handed down, but I do know all the students were allowed to continue on in the program. As far as my personal stance on the issue, if the OP only saw Quizlet questions on one test (the 100% one), and did not benefit from Quizlet on any subsequent or prior tests (meaning the OP realized Quizlet gave a potentially unfair advantage and voluntarily stopped using it) then I think some leniency is in order. Yes, the administrators could come down on the OP for his/her failure to report having unwittingly benefited the one time, but I would be very surprised if they handed out more than a slap on the wrist for something like that. Then again, I have seen nursing students get caught with study materials at their testing station and not suffer any consequences worse than a failing grade on that particular test, so maybe I am just surrounded by lenient nursing programs.