DemosthenesRN

Yes, you absolutely wear a suit for an interview. Nursing is a professional job, and anything less than professional interview attire does not leave a strong impression. Business casual is not appropriate for an interview. Your suit choices are good, but you should know that skirts are seen as more conservative. I elected for skirts when I interviewed for a business position, but I wore a pantsuit to my nursing interviews. Make sure the fit is good and not too tight. Maybe a scarf to make it more interesting? Black and white looks a tad boring to my eye, but it also is professional and the most important thing is that you feel good in what you're wearing.

Hi! Can you direct me to the threads that address "do not rehire"? I haven't heard of this before. I'm so sorry this happened to you. My recommendation when you go in for an interview after this is to use only positive words. I was in a group interview for new grads a while back and one guy got into a long story about a learning experience, but he referred to his own ignorance and pride. He was trying to show the interviewer that he had learned these things about himself, to show that he was teachable and had made a lot of positive growth. Which is probably true, but we must know something about human psychology to know why this was a huge mistake. Studies show that when we use words to describe other people or situations, the listener associates those words with the speaker. If you describe another person as being "impatient and impolite", the listener associates those terms with you. If you describe another person as "patient and kind" the listener associates those words with you. It seems counterintuitive, after all you are talking about someone else, and not yourself, but it has been replicated in multiple studies. In this case, the new grad was describing himself as he was in the past, to try to show that these terms no longer applied to him, but that is not the way to do it. If you want to show that you were prideful and learned to be humble, you say, "I learned a lot about demonstrating humility to my coworkers." Avoid using the word pride, and Bam! You're humble! If you want to say that you were ignorant but you learned to ask questions, you say, "I received some very valuable feedback that reinforced to me how important it is to ask questions and ensure total competence when providing patient care." See what a different impression that leaves, compared to, "It was my own ignorance that got in the way of providing patient care, and I learned that I have to ask more questions." That was basically the way he framed it, by the way. Totally understandable mistake, he was trying to show that he was capable of taking responsibility for his actions, but he could have done that without using negative words and made a vastly improved overall impression. You can benefit greatly from this knowledge by framing your experience ONLY in the positive. "I learned so much about advocating, safety checks, etc." "I know I will be a better nurse from this experience." Use whatever words that are appropriate for your situation, and don't use anything negative to describe it. For example, if asked to address the end result, don't say "They fired me" or "They let me go" when you can simply say, "I had to move on." It's the same thing, but framed completely differently, and leaves a more positive impression in the listeners head. That's my two cents, and the very best of luck to you!!!!

1. How many places have you applied so far? A grand total of six completed applications, each with individualized cover letter and resume tailored to include as many keywords that were used in the original job description as possible. Each complete application took over 8 hours. 2. How many new grad postings vs. regular postings? One was a posting specifically for a new grad, the other five were postings that did not bar a new grad from applying (In other words did not specifically require experience.) I also called all of these places before submitting applications to ensure that they do hire new grads. 3. How many have you heard from one way or the other? I heard back from five out of six places that I applied for. One job I had a phone interview for and nothing further, one job I had a call-back, one job notified me they were moving forward with other candidates, two locations offered me interviews and positions, and one I have yet to hear from. 4. Any job offers yet? Two offers. I took one and can't wait to start work next week!!

Thank you everyone for the comments and advice. I can't do both because the per diem position starts with 3 months of full-time work while I'm on orientation, and the start dates conflict. I took the med/surg and I'm feeling very confident about it. The recruiter told me that positions open up frequently enough that though she can't guarantee anything, chances are good that I'll be a full time employee very soon. And if not, I think that long orientation on med/surg and being a currently employed per diem med/surg nurse will help me find a full-time med/surg position with another hospital if that becomes necessary. Thanks again!

A few weeks ago I had no offers, now I have two. Unfortunately neither position is a perfect fit, and they both have their positives and negatives. I'm hoping some experienced nurses can chime in and give me some advice about which offer to take. A full-time position at a state psychiatric hospital Pros State benefits and the ability to move around within the system as a state employee Job security (they are expanding their facility and basically guaranteed I would not have to worry about losing my job) I had great chemistry with everyone I met, and many people have been happily working there for over 20 years I have a degree in psychology and would probably be a good fit for a mental health nursing career Cons Will shortly be responsible for 18 patients Will be expected to take charge duty over experienced LPN's (how could they not hate that?) Psych is not considered acute care experience The salary is about $5,000 less I've been having a hard time finding an apartment in this city, and it's not the greatest place to live A per-diem medical-surgical position with a magnet designated hospital system Pros It is acute care experience, which in this economy is priceless Two months of full-time orientation, and they are very invested in the success of their nurses. I would be an employee of this health system, and eligible to move around They said they want me for a full time position, though none is available now. Said they would work to get me into full-time as soon as possible. And because it's med-surg and people move into specialties from there quite often, this could be very soon. I could commute to work. I also really liked the town this hospital is in. Cons It's not a guaranteed full time position

What are some things to be on the lookout for when considering a job at a psychiatric hospital? Can anybody chime in with some ideas of things I should make sure I know before taking a job offer?

Those of you who have students in your hospitals, what verb do you use to describe what they do? Are they "training" ? "Working" ? "Practicing" ? Given that they don't have licenses and aren't receiving pay and yet are partly responsible for their patients and do carry malpractice insurance, I think it's hard to define. I had difficulty understanding the exact parameters of the role throughout the time I was in nursing school, and I want to be able to effectively coach student nurses, so I'd value the group's input. Anybody have the perfect verb?

Can you say more about avoiding HCA hospitals please?

If I may offer a suggestion, I think you would get better results with your survey (and have a much easier time encoding the data) if you switched to a multiple choice format. There are a lot of very open-ended questions which makes the survey quite time-consuming. Are you planning on doing statistical analyses on your data?

For my final project in nursing school I chose the same topic. From what angle are you writing the paper?

I have recently finished applying for a license in Florida via reciprocity and it took a significant amount of time, effort, and attention to sort through all the requirements. I didn't have to get fingerprinted for my original license and I found the process much more complicated than I expected. I can completely understand how you found it difficult to navigate the system. Unfortunately I can't offer any other experience that will help you. Hoping it turns out well for you!

I had a Hep C exposure, and the thing I hate is never knowing when it might surface. Mine also had a very low likelihood of transmission and yet.... apparently it can show up years later. I have never really felt in the clear.

Wow, this thread took off! It's protection from exactly this kind of unexpected bodily fluid contact that I was referring to. In no way did I intend to suggest that glasses should be used as the only eye protection when goggles would be appropriate, and honestly I'm flummoxed about how many thought that pointing this out was a worthwhile contribution to the thread. Yes, it's hilarious, but it also mocks my post, which was intended as a serious topic for discussion. I like the term "character glasses," and I'm grateful to see there are at least some who feel it's a normal thing to be considering. If I were to go this route, I would not opt for frames that look like they were bought for $5.00 at Walmart, and I have no intentions of advertising their true purpose. As it happens I look about 10 years younger and 50 IQ points less intelligent than I actually am. Unfortunately, I have found that there are people in this world who will decide against you immediately and never give you another chance. Every word you say only confirms their bias against you. And I am not in possession of a "who cares what other people think" mentality, I am much more socially inclined than that. I care about the opinions others hold of me, and I want to have positive and healthy relationships with my co-workers. I'm willing to make efforts to achieve that. I don't hold their bias against them, rather I want to help them overcome that bias, and so I endeavor to find ways to appear more on the outside as I am on the inside, while staying true to my own character.

I have wondered how many nursing programs require nutrition coursework, and how much is taught. Shortly before I pursued nursing, I considered becoming a dietician and took a few nutrition courses. When I went into nursing, I found that my program barely scratched the surface and I wondered at the time how much substance my classmates were actually able to get out of the topic. I have seen in multiple hospitals that high calorie dessert foods are frequently provided for nurses by nurses, doctors, and patients. Cookies, donuts, or cakes seem to appear every week.

Thanks for the replies. (And the laughs!) I really appreciate the insight. I tend to consider just about any new idea from a variety of perspectives, and sometimes it's hard for me to estimate how the majority would feel about a given thing. It's not a great leap of intellect to realize that anyone who feels they need an accessory to be taken seriously is trying to compensate for something, which is in itself a ludicrous thing. Confidence, capability, and authenticity favor a reputation, where any facade will ruin it. And yet... people by design do judge others based on physical appearances; the research is not at all vague on this point. Let me just say that I can understand his efforts. (Although I may not be able to prevent myself from thinking of him as a hipster from this point on.)