thefmgirl

I am looking at the DNP with Purdue University Global and talked to them. The people I have talked to are not 100% sure of their information. Do the classes where you work on your DNP project count toward clinical hours? I'm looking for programs where I don't do additional formal clinical hours but instead the program counts the DNP project hours as clinical. It sounds like they do, but I wanted to confirm this. Between working and family life, I would be unable to fit in more clinicals during business hours. Thank you.

Currently per diem in Texas, not a large city at all. FNP working in an after hours clinic (not specialty). Offered $45/hour, but negotiated to $50/hour. No benefits, being per diem, but they have mentioned when the need expands they might hire me FT. If I were working 40 hours/week it would be just over $100,000/year. I'm actually really happy with that, as I talked to recruiters and was told the average in this area was 90,000 for new grads. Have been told new grads at Baylor Scott & White in the specialty areas have successfully negotiated ~120,000/year. Hope this helps. I had a friend who told me not to settle for less than $100,000/year in this area in spite of what I'd been told. Thanks to her I refused to let them offer me less than $50/hour. I probably would have settled for less if not for her. Don't be unrealistic, but don't be afraid to put a good value on yourself. You have a lot of school behind you and even if you have to be taught/trained, you're providing a great service.

As everyone mentioned, it's completely normal to feel this way. I had many preceptors tell me it would take a year to begin to feel like I knew what I was doing. I worked for a while and one day noticed that when I paged a doctor and he asked me what I wanted to do...I didn't get sweaty palms and feel like he was testing me. Nope, I actually knew what I wanted done. So, I counted back and realized I was almost exactly at the 1 year mark. It feels so much better after that. You'll still have days where you wonder if you ever even saw a certain situation in nursing school and you'll feel unprepared to deal with it, but those days become fewer and fewer. Just remember: nursing is a profession where we should always be ready to learn. Medicine changes all the time. If you ever feel 100% certain you know it all, then you've stopped learning and need to reevaluate. So, go with your feeling of not know it all and take notes and ask questions and feel proud that you graduated school. You're expected to be minimally competent...not know how to do it all. Besides, you were only exposed to certain things during school and a lot of it depended on individual clinicals. You'll do great if you keep your good attitude!

I'm sorry to hear you feel this way, though I'm glad you've come to a decision. I realize you have a family, which impacts your ability to move. However, when I graduated nursing school, no one would hire me. I got lots of interviews, but jobs always went to people who were less mature, had less customer service experience, less education, etc. and all because they had CNA experience. It was frustrating, but I finally started applying in a wider area. I landed a job in another state, where BSNs were rare, making me a find. I didn't like the job due to many reasons and left after 4 months. I was worried this would tank my career. No new grad should ever quit with less than a year of experience, right? So, I started applying to areas that were smaller and more rural. I ended up landing a job in L&D because the area was understaffed and found it hard to fill spots. It was wonderful to get my year of experience and then move on. It made me more marketable, for sure. Are there any rural areas nearby that might be driving distance that would be more likely to overlook your lack of BSN, since you are working on it, and retrain you to an area you might enjoy more? Good luck!

Hi icurn3366 Good luck! I'm sure you'll do great. The program is really well done. It's difficult, but everyone ahead of me says Simmons does a fantastic job of preparing us for clinicals and boards. I'm really excited to progress through the program and see how the rest of it is designed.

Like everyone else, I think waiting to apply is the best idea. Not only does the experience you gain give you valuable insight into understanding all the conditions/meds about which you learn...but your idea of which NP you want to be might change drastically after landing a job. In addition, if you want a specialty track (such as critical care NP or neonatal), they WILL require experience. If you choose direct entry, you are limiting your program options. Good luck with nursing school and finding the area in which you want to practice!

Congratulations, jlb1985. That's fantastic that you've been accepted. And yes, I would suggest starting a facebook page. The ones I'm a member of offer valuable advice (both for finding out about which professors to take and info throughout the courses). I'd suggest joining two established groups for Simmons: Admitted Nursing@Simmons Students and Professor Reviews Nursing@Simmons. Good luck!

Oh, and I signed up just through Kaplans's site: click here

I did the Kaplan class in person. You can do it one of three ways--in person, live on the internet, or recorded sessions. I know myself, and knew I wouldn't study much on my own, so I did the 1-week course in person. It was really fantastic, not boring at all. Then I did all the practice tests online. They have 7 you need to do for analyzing, plus the question bank you can access. Do everything they offer. Their questions are HARD. They are meant to mimic the NCLEX. They find that most students who pass the NCLEX get about 65% right on the Kaplan tests. So it's a realistic way to practice, since the NCLEX makes you feel so terrible about yourself :)

A good hospital will offer you a good mentoring. They want you to succeed and care deeply about patient outcomes. Therefore, you should be paired with someone who will work with you and make sure you feel comfortable before you're on your own. In all areas, there are parts that seem scary, and any patient, on any floor, can suddenly decline. Don't let that fear stop you from starting in the ICU if you can get a job there. I have several friends who started in ICUs out of school and they loved it.

There are nurses like that everywhere...and people like that in every profession. At my first job, I deviated from a policy because I felt it wasn't in the best interest of my patient. The oncoming nurse told me I wasn't paid to think and they had that policy for a reason. She was rude and nasty...and wrong. It wasn't best for my patient and the doctor and manager felt the same way. So, just keep being yourself and ignore those who can't accept that. There will be people who act that way for no reason, and that's their problem, not yours.

I used Saunders and the Kaplan review. While expensive, I felt Kaplan offered me a wonderful process for eliminating wrong answers when I had no clue what the question was about. I tend to over think things and second-guess myself. So, having a process kept me moving right along and made it easier for me to just accept that I decided on an answer. With their help and my knowledge...and some luck...I passed. I highly recommend them.

I, too, had a previous bachelor's. I started later, and graduate around 36. It wasn't the end of the world, but I understand wanting to get started earlier. I realize you're hoping to pay out of pocket, which I applaud. I was able to do that, and am very thankful. But one option to look at is the loan forgiveness program. Some offer loan forgiveness if you work for 2-3 years in a "rural hospital. Quite frankly, the job I most recently had qualified and it was only 1 hour from a major city. Perhaps you could see if that was available within a reasonable drive from where you and your family live. If so, it would make it so much more affordable. Good luck!

It can be really hard to transition to a new job as a recent grad. Especially night shift, where you frequently have less support. I have found that patients do tend to remember things differently. It's amazing how you can tell a patient to call the doctor if certain specific things happen--and then they come back to the hospital, don't call the doc, and tell the doc you told them to do that. I see it time and time again. I worked in L&D until a few months ago, and was cross-trained to PP. Cross-trained is a generous term for the 3 hours I received before they took the PP nurse and put her in the ICU and left me with a fresh c-section and two other moms. All I can say, is it does get better. Even if your current job never gets better, remind yourself that the experience you get allows you to go elsewhere. Some jobs will take you after just 6 months of having a nursing job. While it's not ideal, keep a positive attitude and just remind yourself that you CAN move on, and soon. Nurses with the excellent clinical skills your manager says you have will always be in demand. And hopefully, next time, you will have a manager who brings up the good things ans well as the negative ones. Just don't let this one location sour you on the your dream of working with women. And yes, hospitals will always be understaffed...and those ideal ratios they mentioned might not happen (unless you're in a state with mandated ratios), but you will find a job that makes all this worthwhile!

Updating kinda late, but I did get accepted! I'm so excited. I'll be starting the FNP in May, going PT. They recommended that so I could work, but I can't work over here very easily in Korea, so I'm just going to enjoy having some extra time to work on school. Since you can't work and do clinicals at the same place, that makes it impossible for me, as there's only one clinic on base. I had so much trouble getting all the pieces of my application together. I thought I'd never get it done (took 3 times of a school sending 1 transcript for it to arrive). I saw someone mentioned the Facebook page. Is anyone yet a member on the Simmons May 2015 cohort for PT? I asked to be a member, but haven't been approved yet and wondered how long it was taking for approval. Thanks! Paige