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@peanutbutterandspoons My interview wasn't too bad, just the one interviewer and myself. He asked me about me and my background and any previous previous research. We talked about my goals. Be prepared to discuss exactly why you want to be an FNP and what area you'll work in. Good luck!!!

Hi everyone, I applied to the BSN-DNP FNP program late December and had an interview today. Hoping to heard back soon... About how long after your interviews did those who have been accepted find out? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I applied to the BSN-DNP FNP program late December and had an interview today. Hoping to heard back soon... About how long after your interviews did those who have been accepted find out? Thanks! ?

Thanks! I'm excited about it! Does GS time in a military hospital carry over to the VA?

So I just accepted a position as a PCU RN at Tripler, working for an agency (NSR). Currently I work at The Queens Medical Center in the med-surg float pool. Queens is a great hospital that has an outstanding reputation, is Magnet and the pay is good. So I am taking a pay cut of about 7/hr by moving to Tripler. The reason I decided to make this move is because since I was a military LPN 7 years ago, I've always wanted to work in critical care. So now I'll be a critical care nurse. Also my wife is a military nurse working at Tripler and we'll be PCS'ing every couple years. So I hope I'll be able to get into the GS system soon, so that when we PCS I can just transfer to whichever hospital she is stationed at. The thing is I'm a little nervous making this change. I'm leaving a job at a really good hospital. Am I making the right decision? Does anyone know what it's like working for NSR at Tripler?

FYI, Queens starts new grads @ $36, 6 month- $40 - 1 yr- $43 & job rate is in the 50s

I just finished 3 consecutive 12-hour shifts and was doing a bit of reflecting this morning. I work on a med-surg floor in San Antonio, TX. The hospital is in an economically deprived area of town, and serves that demographic. It makes for some challenging days. Patients who are more sick, non-funded, uneducated, and may seek hospitalization for refuge. Also, me not speaking Spanish is proving to be an obstacle. Then there's the typical community hospital politics and staffing issues. Here the maximum patients they can legally give us is 7. However, they utilize team nursing with an LPN and give up to 14. Then you constantly have admin asking you "when are you discharging your patients," only so that they may have that extra bed to fill. This makes for some exhausting days, with multiple discharges and admissions. Most days I'm on my feet for the duration of the shift. I make $23/ hour, with some differentials for weekends and such. This comes out to about $42k a year before taxes. I understand that salaries vary in different areas based on the cost of living. I know there are nurses making 45-50/ hour in places like LA, NYC or Honolulu. So say on the high end a nurse takes in 80k a year before taxes. Are nurses really compensated for what they're worth. I think that is a very important question and should be addressed on a higher level. Personally, for what we do and what we're responsible for, I do not think we should make less than 80k a year. A physician makes from 170k to 400k+ a year. I understand they have more invested to be able to make the decisions they do, but when you really look at the numbers, I don't think it quite makes sense. What do you guys think?

Next summer I'll be moving to Honolulu with my wife who is an active duty army nurse. We are currently in Texas and I've been an RN with a BSN, working in med-surg for about 2 months now. By the time we move I'll have about 7-8 month of med-surg experience as an RN. I was also a military LPN back in 2008 and 2009 working in the ICU and PACU. I was wondering if anyone has experience as a nurse in Hawaii and could fill my in: how difficult is it to get a job? What are the staffing ratios like there? Or just what is it like being a nurse in Hawaii? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :)

I'm a new grad BSN in Texas and was offered around 26/hr by a couple LTC facilities. I would expect a larger hospital to be at least 30. I also have peers who I graduated with making 35-40/hr in southern California. These positions are not easy to come by though. I absolutely agree that nurses should be treated better overall. Interesting post!

I have just started a new position in a long-term care/ assisted living facility. I am a new grad BSN, RN and searched for hospital jobs for a while, but found it was easier to find a LTC facility that was ok with hiring a new grad. I do have a couple years of hospital experience as an LPN. During my first shift I found many things different in LTC than what I was used to in a hospital or large medical center. One thing in particular was the methods of medication administration. All of the patients' medications are sheets stored in a cart in bins. It just seamed very messy and potentially dangerous to me. I have always worked at a place with automated medication systems (pyxis). I'm wondering what other nurse's experiences have been with medications administration systems in long-term care facilities. Are there other places that use pyxis? It just seams to me like that would be safer and prevent medication errors. Why wouldn't a LTC facility want to use a safer method? Is this strictly related to cost?

You've clearly either not read all my posts or misunderstood them...

Has anyone attending or graduated from GCU's online Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Nursing with an Emphasis in Nursing Leadership in Health Care Systems (Dual Degree)? If so, how was it? How was the online learning format? Thanks for any info :)

Thanks for your reply. You're probably the first to actually answer my original question. Just a couple questions: What type of law did you practice? How was the transition from nursing into law school? What ultimately made you go back to nursing? Thanks :)

As long as your BSN is from a ccne or nlnac accredited school. Make sure your GPA is high though. Army Nursing is becoming a great deal more selective and competitive. We had a Nurse Corps recruiter come talk to our graduating class a few months ago. She told us that they had several hundred applicants last year with only a few being selected, all with above a 3.7.

Thanks again SoldierNurse22!