Calzonan RN

I'm not sure when she applied, she actually used to work with me and then moved to Florida. I found out from one of the midwives I work with that she was going in June and then I contacted her via facebook. I'll ask her details, I'm curious about when she applied etc. too. Frontier did get my package and I've received an email saying they are reviewing it for the June class. I'm excited/nervous about all of this. I just graduated two years ago and I'm not really looking forward to diving back into the books. I am excited to start learning new things though!! I'll let you know what my friend says...

I have actually just sent my application for June. I'm hoping to hear back fairly quickly since the deadline for applications was tomorrow. A friend of mine was placed in the June class in December so I'm really excited to see her at Frontier bound. A good friend of mine is just finishing up at Frontier, in fact she's starting clinicals in April. She said when she was at Frontier she asked about how easy/hard it was to get placed and they told her that if you're going for Midwifery and you have all the qualifications, you will get placed. I've been waiting over a year to get started on this, I'm really excited!!!

I work in a hospital with a lot of midwives and most of them have been educated through Frontier. It's a great program, I plan on applying for it very soon. Good luck, maybe I'll see you at orientation

I've seen this argument over the years that I've been posting on this board. I personally think Apollo is a waste of money. You caN get an ADN from a CC for around $6000 and if you work it the right way, you won't have the huge wait that most people have. OR you can go to a 4 yr college and get a BSN for around the same cost as Apollo (maybe even less expense). There are ways to get into the 4 yr colleges without a huge wait and you'll have a BSN when you're finished, just one step ahead of everyone else. Where I work they won't hire Apollo grads. People who graduate from Apollo think that it has a good reputation, but it really doesn't. I've asked around (my friend is considering going there) and the consensus among the RN's I work with is that the school really isn't that good. Sure you may be able to pass the NCLEX but as a new hire skills are really important too. JMHO

Where I work we do about 250-350 deliveries a month right now. We circulate for all of our c/s's, scheduled and unscheduled. We have a dedicated scrub tech who sometimes acts as a HUC as well. We always bring in a Neo for the delivery and someone from nursery comes as well to assist the Neo. I love circulating in the OR, I originally wanted to be an OR RN, but discovered L&D while in school and I was hooked. Now I get the best of both worlds.

My college offered the choice of the GRE or the MAT. I chose the MAT because it was only an hour long. I just didn't have the time to study up on my math or take a class to prep for the GRE or to spend the day testing. I ended up getting a high enough score on the MAT to qualify for the school I'm applying to, so it was a great experience for me. Plus it was easy to set up a date/time to take the test and since I'm restricted on time, this worked out really well. Good luck

Wow, I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I have been in L&D for 2.5 years now, 1.5 years as a new grad nurse and before that a year as an extern. I unfortunately, had a similar situation happen to me, that you've described. I took a job at a new hospital as a new grad and found out that the nurses there were the most cutthroat people I've ever dealt with. They constantly set me up for failure. I too, am an older new nurse. This is a fourth career for me, lol. At that hospital no matter what I did, I could do nothing right. It made me question why I went into nursing and why L&D especially!! A good friend of mine (who posts on here often) gave me some good advice and said she believed this is where my heart really is. She had worked with me while I was an extern and knew that I loved L&D. With very low self-esteem in place I managed to find another hospital. I wasn't sure I'd make it there even. My first week my preceptor worked with me in triage. She asked me a bunch of questions "what would you do if...". I was able to answer all correct and she looked at me and said "you'll do great here". I started crying, I hadn't realized how stressed I'd really been. But she was right. I've been there almost a year and I'm excelling (if I can toot my own horn). I'm even looking into starting on my Masters in midwifery soon. I love it where I'm at now, I'm supported by my peers, the doctors have confidence in me, my managers praise me and my patients get excellent care and a birth experience they'll cherish for a lifetime. Those snooty nasty nurses at the last place I worked at lost a valuable RN in my opinion. So to make a long post short, sometimes where you're at isn't the right fit. For you or them. Maybe you should look into other hospitals in your area that may mesh with your way of doing things. You've got a lot of life experience to draw on, anybody would be lucky to have you working for them.

A friend of mine works in peds at Banner Desert and told me that they just laid off at least 6 nurses from their NICU. Things are getting tight here in the valley. Most hospitals are not hiring new grads. If you have experience, make sure you have a solid job lined up here in the valley before moving. On a side note, Banner has a tendency to overstaff their shifts and call off nurses if not busy. All the people I know who work at Banner are having a hard time even getting their 3 shifts a week. Investigate fully before hiring on, it's not like it was a year or so ago where nurses had their pick of jobs.

You'll need a good stethoscope, a lot of people say you can go cheap in NS, but you'll miss a lot if you do. I bought a really good Littman on Allheart.com (or it might be allhearts.com) one of those, and I"m still using it. I can pick up unusual lung and heart sounds pretty easily. You'll probably need just two uniforms, don't worry about the jacket, I never wore mine (it's still brand new) and they let you wear a nice white one anyway (which is a lot softer material). Nice, comfortable shoes (all white, no designs). A watch with a second hand that you can push up on your arm while you wash. As for the books, I wouldn't buy the whole package at school. You'll do a lot better by ordering what you'll need from Barnes and Noble (make sure you join and get the 10% discount), usually they'll ship right to your door for free, it'll save your back!! They were also cheaper than at the on campus book store. Don't think you have to buy every book they have on that list. If money is tight, find out what you NEED for the first semester and get those books. I found that a lot of the books I bought that were required, I never used!! Some essentials are the Med-Surg nursing, Pharm book, Davis drug guide, Mosby's manual of diagnostic and labratory tests, and the best nursing diagnosis book I"ve found ' Ackley/Ladwigs Nursing diagnosis Handbook', which was a lifesaver while writing care plans. Some extras I bought before nursing school were a PDA and software for it. It was a lot of help while at clinicals and saved me from having to carry any books to clinicals. make sure you have a really good alarm clock as well, those clinicals are early!! Can't think of anything more specific right now, just save save save your money. Things come up and you need to have a safety net. The urine test was only about $35, you can get used uniforms at the end of the school semesters from the lab for around $5 each. Enjoy it, learn lots, and welcome to the program

I hate to say it but the 'stimulus package' that the new president is trying to pass will only make things worse. We can't count on it to make things better. A good analogy of it is if you owe $10,000 on credit cards and you borrow $10,000 to pay off those credit cards, you're not only not out of debt, you're further behind than when you started. We're just borrowing against our children and grandchildrens' futures. As for no jobs out there, it is getting pretty bad. The best thing you can do is to try and find any job and then hope in 6 mo or so you can transfer to a different area internally. Jobs that are opening up are getting filled by experienced nurses, or are filled internally. I"ve been trying to get a friend of mine a job at the hospital I work at for over 6 months with no luck. I TG everytime I go to work because I'm making great money, love my job, and love the people I work with. I'll do everything in my power to keep my job right now...no complaints here.

It's not all bad everywhere. Where I work I"m still picking up at least one extra shift a week, and they're still paying double time for it. We've been unusually busy lately, and this is usually OUR slow season. Summer L&D is really busy, but during the holidays it typically slows down. Not so right now, we're doing about the same number of births as we did during the summer. Last summer was slower than '07 though, probably due to the E-verify program, that's what's been speculated at least, but we're busy enough to keep all of us working. We have a new grad who was just hired, but she's externed in our dept for a year now. Flexibility is the key as a new grad. You may not get the area you want at this time, but just get your foot in the door. Once you prove yourself it's easier to move to a dept you really want. Hospitals like to keep their good employees. As a student if you can find an extern position somewhere it'll be easier to get hired once you graduate. Good luck,

I was in exactly the same situation 7 months ago. When I had originally started my orientation I thought my preceptor was great, friendly, a really nice person. By the end of it I would cry every morning on my way home. I could do nothing right, I would work my a** off all night long and she would mention the one thing I forgot "you were 15 minutes late on a temp". She got to the point where she was downright hostile towards me and would sit around with little sticky notes making notes about what I was doing wrong. They ended up extending my orientation (my preceptor never mentioned it to me I had to find out from my manager) and when I finally met with my manager about it she was just rude and condescending to me when she had always been friendly. I didn't get it at the time, but I just didn't pass their 'tests' and so there was no way I'd ever make it. I've come to find out that this unit has a horrible reputation as being hugely clicky and rude. They never even fired me, the manager just never scheduled me for another shift and never even called me. Looking back this was the best thing that could've happened to me. I found a job at another hospital, in L&D. I was a little nervous, my confidence was at an all time low. My first couple of days of orientation my preceptor asked me a bunch of questions about what would you do if... what does this mean... would you do this. I answered everything correct and she told me that even some of the experienced nurses would've answered some of those questions wrong. She looked at me and said "yeah, you'll do just fine here". It was such a relief I started crying. I really thought I would never be able to work in L&D, but now I'm at a hospital where they're supportive of me, they don't mind my questions and in fact, encourage them. I've been able to switch to a 36 hr/wk pool position (which wasn't offered at my last hospital) I"m able to pick up extra shifts if I want to. I've found that at some hospitals L&D nurses are not only competetive, they are just mean and nasty. It may not be you, it may just be the nurses you're working with. If they feel like you won't make it (for their standards or for their personal reasons) they'll cut you from the herd and feed you to the wolves. Find a hospital where you're appreciated and where you don't have to leave crying everyday, life is too short to work in that environment. Take care and keep us updated,

Really, you should've started looking in Aug/Sept if you were due to graduate in December. Most of the new grad (Dec) slots are filled up by the beginning of November at the latest. I graduated last December and some of my classmates chose to wait until they graduated to start looking, they were still looking for a job in April. One of the best kept secrets here in Phoenix is this...yes, there is a nursing shortage, but there is NOT a new grad shortage. It's tough competition out there and if you want a specialty field you have to be very aggressive and set yourself up for a job in that specialty by externing or doing your preceptorship in that area at the hospital you want to work at (except they may not have any openings or they may not hire new grads, but sometimes they do). Hospitals only allocate a very few amount of new grad slots, some of which are taken by their new grad employees or by the fellowship participants. Just keep on applying, call the manager personally if you haven't received a response, a lot of times it seems like HR doesn't even forward applications. You may have to take a job in med-surg and then wait 6 months and try to internally transfer to another area. Try applying at the larger teaching hospitals, I know Good Sam and St. Joes hire a lot of new grads. Good luck,

LOLOL, couldn't have said it better myself. I'm still trying to figure out which way I want to go as far as an advanced degree. As an RN I've come to realize that a BSN really doesn't make a difference, an RN is an RN is an RN... and if I want to advance it won't help me either, I'll need a Masters in one area or another. I love floor nursing, but realize I can't do it forever so I'm looking into areas where I can advance. I thought about CRNA, but just can't commit to full-time school again. We'll see, one thing I love about nursing is that the possibilities are endless! There's always a place where someone will feel like everything clicks, and there's so much room for advancement!

I'm one of the people that chose to go the ADN route as well. I thought about going to ASU or Grand Canyon but under the advice of three different RN managers chose to go through an ADN program. I also figured if I really needed a BSN I'd let my new job pay for it while I worked as an RN. The ADN route was the quickest way to an RN when I started (even though I already had several of the BSN pre-req's completed due to a BS I already have) and I needed to start working to help with family finances. Now that I am an RN (one of the few who post here as well) I can say I'm so glad I went through the MCC system. There is absolutely NO difference with how a BSN RN and an ADN RN are treated or given assignments! It's all in how well you do your job. A lot of my coworkers have gone on to further their educations and the hospital has paid for it! No extra student loans or anything, PLUS they're working as an RN at the time. If you really want to go into leadership a BSN doesn't really do you any good anyway, you usually need a MSN from what I've seen. There are several RN to MSN programs available if your goal is management. I personally am considering going into FNP or becoming a midwife, both are MSN programs and I'll end up just zipping through my BSN on the way to my MSN. I've already got a BS in another field, I've had plenty of management training. I really didn't feel I needed that BSN after my name to validate me as an RN. I feel my work speaks for itself and from the feedback I've gotten, my managers agree. If you're wondering about other states, yes there are some states where it matters if you're a BSN or an ADN. But this is an Arizona forum so most answers here apply only to Arizona.

I work at an Abrazo facility too and love it there. They're really trying to improve things for the staff and are even giving me the option of going to a 3 shift a week pool position with only a year of experience. We're also still able to pick up extra shifts if we want to and I have never been cancelled from a regular shift (after 5.5 months there). The benefits are improving and I've found our staff to be really close and supportive of each other. Sometimes it can be hard to find some equipment, but I worked at St. Joes and it was the same there so... I guess it depends on what area you work in whether it's good or bad. That can be said for any hospital though. Take care

Hopefully they will keep knocking those classes out before they start school. My point is instead of having 3000(example) people on the wait list who have just completed a couple of classes and then sign up for NS, why not keep it like it was? That way just taking the pre-req's is a type of screening tool to 'weed' out people who really won't be able to pass the classes, YKWIM? It would drop the 'wait time' that people think they are waiting and drop the number of people waiting. I just waited one semester to get into NS, but then I'd had 4-5 semesters of pre-req's on top of the classes that were already completed by me for my Bachelors degree. If I were to apply today it would technically have been a 4-5 semester wait only because I'd be taking those pre-req classes. So instead of being able to apply for NS after one semester of classes we had to apply after 4 semesters three years ago. Total time to get through nursing school, pre-req's and all was 3.5 years for an ADN (non-stop, taking summer classes too), and I already had a Bachelors in another area. Does that make sense?

Sorry, this double posted. I'm deleting the second one

I just wanted to offer a little bit of advice. When I applied for NS I put down 5 choices on my application. No, I didn't really want to go to several of those schools, but I figured the more choices I put down the better chance I'd have to get in. I ended up getting placed late in the placement runs, and was admitted to Glendale CC...I live in Gilbert. To me it was worth it though. I HAD a slot! I figured I could drive anywhere for a year and then apply for a transfer. Being in nursing school (and then being an RN) you HAVE to be flexible. They set the hours you must be there and can switch things around at a moments notice. Do not get into the mindset that there's only one or two schools that will work for you, you'll end up waiting a really long time. Make sure you have everything set up, babysitters, work, everything that could distract you, before you start NS. Also remember that they place people every week (or that's how they did it when I was placed). GCC ended up opening up 10 extra slots a month after the run started, that's how I got placed. They also juggle things around until the first day of school, and they continue to place people up until that time. People also defer, they've gotten pg, they dont' want to go to that school, they don't want to go to any school etc, openings come up. There's always hope of getting placed, up until the first day of school. One of my classmates was placed the week before school started because someone deferred at the last minute. Second thing I wanted to mention is that I cannot believe they are lowering the pre-req's!! How can you possibly be successful in NS if you haven't had Micro or 202 yet?? Those are the building blocks of nursing!! When I went to school we had to have our CNA courses completed before we could apply, and STILL over half of my class did not pass nursing school!! It makes me really that people who just will not be able to make it through, are taking up spots that could be filled by someone who is going to be able to graduate. Nursing school is really hard. Not everyone can be a nurse, even those that want it sooo bad. You have to really be able to not only comprehend the information, you have to apply it as well and it all fits together like a puzzle. If you're missing some of the pieces (micro, A&P, patho) it won't make any sense. I think the schools are so busy trying to get students in, that they're not considering how many of those students actually graduate! I was talking to a girl I used to work with last night and she said she's failed the NET twice. I'm sorry, but if you cannot test well you will not pass nursing school or the NCLEX, it's just a fact of life. I was fortunate enough to take my co-req's while I was awaiting placement. Nursing school was difficult enough without having to take extra classes on top of it, but now they're adding to the co-req's?? It just doesn't make sense.

Unfortunately at the time I saw that mom I was working at a Catholic hospital and we weren't even allowed to mention the BC word! My preceptor told me about a pt of hers, G6P5 18 yo, who begged to get her tubes tied. She said 'you know I"ll just be back here next year, I can't keep my legs closed'! Unfortunate part is she kept going back to the wrong hospital (we did not do tubals for any reason) So sad...

I have very short fingers, so SVE's have been something I've worried about myself. I had a preceptor that showed me how to do a SVE and she sits on the bed to do it. I can't do it that way, my hand gets all twisted and I think it shortens my already short fingers. Instead I stand next to the bed. Usually I can find the cervix pretty quickly, if you know how dilated the pt is that helps a lot. If they're 1-2, 50% you know it may be difficult to find and is usually posterior (but sometimes to the side as well). I'm still working on figuring out station, but I usually go by how high the baby's head feels to me, if I really have to reach for it etc. If they've got an epidural then it's a lot easier and I have started to feel for the spines and really try to get a correct station. One trick I was just taught a couple of months ago was when a pt gets to be 6-7 it can be difficult for me to find one side of the cervix and stretch my fingers to the other side (again, short fingers don't help). Instead I count from the edge of the cervix to the lady partsl wall, so two fingers side to side would be 7 cm, 1.5 fingers would be 8 cm dilated, does that make sense? I also took the baby measuring tape and taped it corner to corner on the back of my badge (it's exactly 10 cm) . I do the exam, wash my hands and then compare what I got to the measuring tape. I've been pretty accurate so far (except with some of the docs who want the pt to be a certain dilation, lolol). In the end, it all just takes practice. Volunteer to check ahead of any nurses as long as the pt agrees. The more you do the better you'll become and you'll pick up your own little tricks.

If your wife is working the 7p-7a shift then a commute from Gilbert/Chandler/Mesa would be very doable. The bad traffic goes the opposite direction during those times. I live in Gilbert and commute to Phoenix Baptist (~34 miles) and it takes me about 45 minutes. I love Gilbert, the schools are some of the best in Maricopa. If you don't want to send your kids to public schools (public schools everywhere here are overcrowded and not very good) there are plenty of charter schools and some private schools around Gilbert. My kids go to a charter school here which has received an A+ ranking (the first and only school in AZ to do that). Parent involvement is a big deal at my kids school. Instead of being discouraged from helping in the classroom, parents are encouraged to volunteer 80 hours a year. There is always one teacher and at least one parent in the classroom and class size is limited to 21 kids (compared to 30-35 in public schools-to one teacher). Gilbert is a great community, very family oriented, lots of parks, brand new mall, lots of restaurants and lots of new communities that are lowering their housing prices due to the market (you can get a nice brand new house fairly cheaply now). PM me if you have any other questions.

I'm pretty new at L&D so forgive me if I get this wrong, but I thought it was pretty standard to have an IV with any epidural. From what I understand a lot of the BP problems can be a result of not having enough volume in moms blood supply. We're required to give a bolus of about 1000 cc's of LR before an epidural and our CRNA's are in the hospital 24/7 in case anything happens after the epidural. Any problems I've had with a drop in B/P have been quickly solved by giving more fluids (so far). I did finish school at a hospital that had ephedrine at the bedside for every epidural, their CRNA's gave really strong epidurals and a lot of times they would have to use the ephedrine.

There definitely isn't a new grad shortage and as new grads you will find that out. The key to getting a job as a new grad is to start applying well before you graduate!! If you wait until after you've graduated, all the new grad jobs will be gone! A couple of my classmates waited to begin applying after they graduated, one of them still has not been hired (I graduated last December). It's tricky, most hospitals only hire new grads under a 'new grad' opening, all the other openings require experience. If you're not proactive in seeking one of those jobs, you'll miss out. Congratulations on getting your job! The first year is rough, but so worth it!!

I've been in L&D for almost two years now, but only 9 months as an RN. I had a pt come in the other night who was 5 cm, she was a G3P2 and was able to ambulate from triage to her L&D room. When I got her to her room and she'd have a ctx she would just sort of pause, she was really in control. I went to the nurses station to get her consents and my pt's friend came out and said that the pt was having some pretty strong ctx's. I went back in the room checked the pt and she was 7 cm's. I asked another nurse to come in and help with an IV so that I could get the rest of the room ready and my pt started pushing. She pushed twice and said the baby was coming out. I lifted her sheet and sure enough there was the baby's head. Baby had a tight nuchal X1 that wasn't reduceable, I supported the head and perineum, just like I"d seen hundreds of times, and delivered the baby!! Pt had no lacerations and baby was fine! It was incredible, and the funny thing is I wasn't nervous or anything. I'd had lunch with another allnurses board member (whom I met online here about 2.5 years ago and who'd actually ended up being my charge nurse at another hospital I've worked at) and we'd talked about delivering babies and some of the mistakes that OB's make here in the US, and easier ways to deliver babies. I just remembered everything she said and it worked!! Oh, and from the time I got my pt until she delivered, was less than 30 minutes! It's amazing how quickly things can happen in OB, it sure keeps you on your feet :chuckle