NurseStelri

Hi, I was in a similar situation as you when I was 22....and now I am 26 working on a Med-Surg floor in a crazy county hospital and I love it! Like you, I had never held a job when I was 22 and had been in school my whole life. I was accepted into nursing school while simultaneously being drafted to play professional softball. I had no way to do either so I had to choose. I decided that I didn't want to be 26 and still wishing I had gone to nursing school so I hung up my cleats and went to school for 3 more years. While in school I sometimes thought that I am too old to still be in school and not in a career (especially when I saw my friends building their careers) BUT I was the youngest in my class and now that I'm working I feel silly for even having that thought because who really cares!? I am doing what I truly love to do and those careers I saw my friends pursuing right after HS or college really weren't for me. I think if nursing is something you want to pursue then go for it! You will be so glad you did by the time you are finished. Is there a possibility of you working while going to school? I had a classmate who was a substitute teacher throughout our nursing program and many others worked call-in, per-diem or part time jobs (waiters, CNA's, coaching, etc) to help with tuition or get their foot in the door of a hospital for a later RN job. Instead of looking at the present situation look towards where you want to be in life when you are 30 or 40. Then decide if becoming a teacher now or staying in school for nursing will help you achieve those life goals. :) Good Luck!!

Some things that I found helped me a ton when I started in MedSurg: 1. I created my own brain sheet with things that I personally wound forget when getting/giving report. For example, we have to chart q2h on patient's with restraints so I have a spot on the bottom of my brain for restraints even though I do not have a restraint pt everyday, it always reminds me to chart when I do. I also have a column for activity and voiding because I always forget to ask "Can they walk" or "How do they void" unless i have this sheet lol. But this is just how my brain works so find what you always seem to forget to ask at report or tell at report and then create your brain that way. I know my brain sheet doesn't make sense to most people but it really leads me when I give report. 2. Whenever I draw blood, urine, etc I always draw a checkbox on my brain with the lab draw so I know to keep checking for the results, once I get the results and write them down I can check the box! 3. ALWAYS CARRY A HI-LIGHTER! lol I always hi-light things on my brain that I A) Have to do like wound care B) Need to assess 3. When I see the oncoming shift start arriving I start preparing myself for giving report. "Did I empty all the drains? Did I double check with the MD about this confusing order? What questions will they ask me, because I have time to look back in the chart now and get prepared". ((Although, yes some days are busy and I can't be fully prepared but usually my noc shift is understanding when I hand off after a trainwreck of a day lol)) 4. Read the MD's note. I know a lot of people say there is not enough time for this but that is the first place I go when looking up my patient. They tell us the plan and rationales so I have a clearer picture of what I am doing with that patient vs just completing tasks. Just by reading these notes I am able to give a much better report because even if I miss something about the pt, I am able to give them the overall plan and report which is always appreciated. You'll be okay, it gets better and you are most definitely NOT incompetent. I started in Med Surg with about 10 other new grads and I would say about 5 or 6 of them had preceptors similar to yours. Once off orientation they all said it was 10x better because they were able to find out what worked best for them and they didn't have a preceptor that was making them feel inadequate. Just the other day a new-hire gave me report and her preceptor added in clarifications as necessary however if the preceptor wasn't there I could have easily gotten the info from the new-hire-- I think the preceptor jumped in to start give report out of habit lol

Haha I love this thread! Last week I had a post-op pt with a PCA. I am fairly new to my hospital so it still takes me a while to work the IV pumps. Within the first two hours I had my first W.O.W battery die mid-med pass, second W.O.W. with a broken scanner so I had to find a third before scanning his meds, then a broken blood pressure machine that I discovered only after waking him up for a BP and finally a pump that kept beeping because I would forget to press "okay" on the safety screen after checking/changing rates. The patient & his wife had a good sense of humor about everything but after I had apologized the 3rd or 4th time time I said something like, " Sorry everything I touch today seems to break or die." The wife yelled, "THEN DONT TOUCH MY HUSBAND!" Lol oops :/ I had to clarify "Technology! Everything electronic!"

Almost all nursing schools have different requirements & application processes but I can almost guarantee that if you are willing to do the research you will find some programs that require all the prereqs you already have. My nursing program did not require a lot of prereqs that you would think nursing schools needed (and after a lot of research I found another school that had the same requirements and a lot that just required one or two more classes. I was lucky enough to get into my first choice however I also was not planning on to sitting on my hands and counting on one school. Find backups and research alternate programs such as GEPNs but if you aren't willing to fill out more than one application then you are making things much more difficult than they need to be.

I can't help with the L&D vs NICU side of things but when I was deciding between residencies in different specialties I looked at the type of education and training I would receive. I didn't want a job where I felt ill prepared so I opted for the position with classroom training in addition to a floor preceptorship. As I'm sure you've heard, you learn everything nursing school did not teach you with your first RN position so make sure you choose the best learning opportunity :) I personally would opt for NICU as it seems the transition to L&D would be easier rather than the other way around; I also think the more prominent hospital may offer you great training. But I'm no expert so I look forward to others answering either way good luck and congrats!

When I was in nursing school I saw some of cheaters and it bothered me a lot. However now that I am a few years out and looking back I see that it really did catch up to them. None of them got kicked out (one was suspended for a year then picked up right where she left off) but most failed the NCLEX multiple times, complained of impatient/mean preceptors and/or ended up getting fired from their positions because of their lack of skills. Just let things play out as they do because in the end you are paying for your education and they are paying for theirs. It is tough to see cheaters get higher grades than you but I feel that all of my positive experiences with preceptors and jobs are because of my solid knowledge & skills learned during school--I love learning. Those who cheated must not have and I would theorize that this carried over into clinical and made preceptors and coworkers dislike working with them.

I had the same problem once I moved to CA and found that my applications were not getting through HR and into the hiring managers hands. Although it is time consuming (and annoying) I had to rewrite each application for each job posting even though I had (what I thought) was an impressive resume. I found a website where I could paste in the Job description and paste in my resume and it would calculate if I had enough key words to prevent the HR computer from screening my resume out. Once I had above 90% key words I would submit it. Trust me I've been there. I spent 4-8 hours daily applying for jobs for months and receiving rejection emails weekly. I took a Med Spa RN position because I felt as though it was better than nothing; I soon left because I felt they were doing illegal things and my license may have been jeopardized. While at my lowest I ended up getting called for an interview at which I was told I would be getting the job! Then 5 days later I received a rejection email from that same hiring manager. Fast forward one week and that same unit called me back to offer me the job! So don't give up, even when you get rejected stay polite and gracious because people will remember you and look out for you when the next position comes along.

When I was accepted (a few years ago) I found that it was my personal statement that really set me apart. I had pretty much "middle of the pack" grades and extras but the thing about those who are on the acceptance committee is that they love to look for "the X-factor" students who will make great nurses. I had tons of people with surprising nursing-related experiences and jobs but those of us with little (or in my case no) healthcare experiences had highlighted X-factor type things in our personal statement....also I'm not sure if you guys still do statements or if it is now it's a youtube video like I heard but either way just try and play up parts of you that no one can compare to. And really make sure whoever writes your letter of Rec is glowing about you lol.

I am a new grad who just moved to San Jose after seven years in Hawaii. I agree with NickiLaughs that if you haven't done clinical here it is tough to compete with those who have as they cannot even get jobs. There is a facebook group called "New Grad RN--Bay Area" that will confirm what has been said here but is also very helpful with job postings and advice. I was lucky enough to get a New grad position 3 months after moving but I was told to expect 9-12 months of job searching before I landed anything It is possible to get a job but my advice is line up any job (preferably healthcare) before moving here because it will be a while before you get a RN job. Good Luck!

Hello all! I am a new graduate RN, with my masters degree as a CNS not an NP. Now first let me say, I am not trying to utilize my advanced degree right now because I went through a MEPN program and know I need to gain some years of RN experience first before I apply for any APRN positions. Here is my question: I just got hired on at a Medical Spa as a Aesthetic RN. Assuming I love this area of nursing what would my career look like down the road when I want to start utilizing my MSN? I have researched a bit and can't find any info on CNS, only that NPs can do initial assessments & have their own Med Spas. CNS's typically are in the hospital setting but I did have a preceptor who was a NP and her hospital asked her to take a CNS position (in an anesthesia pre-operative evaluation clinic) and she received training to be a CNS. I know the schooling is different so I can't see myself going back for an NP but hopefully there is a place for Clinical Nurse Specialists in Aesthetic Nursing? I know I am getting ahead of myself but I am just curious if anyone else has been in this situation or knows someone who has? I am not against hospital nursing (and hope to get a position in acute care soon) but just in case I stick with this job I don't want my degree to go to waste :/

Hello all! I am a new graduate RN, with my masters degree as a CNS not an NP. Now first let me say, I am not trying to utilize my advanced degree right now because I went through a MEPN program and know I need to gain some years of RN experience first before I apply for any APRN positions. Here is my question: I just got hired on at a Medical Spa as a Aesthetic RN. Assuming I love this area of nursing what would my career look like down the road when I want to start utilizing my MSN? I have researched a bit and can't find any info on CNS, only that NPs can do initial assessments & have their own Med Spas. CNS's typically are in the hospital setting but I did have a preceptor who was a NP and her hospital asked her to take a CNS position (in an anesthesia pre-operative evaluation clinic) and she received training to be a CNS. I know the schooling is different so I can't see myself going back for an NP but hopefully there is a place for Clinical Nurse Specialists in Aesthetic Nursing? I know I am getting ahead of myself but I am just curious if anyone else has been in this situation or knows someone who has? I am not against hospital nursing (and hope to get a position in acute care soon) but just in case I stick with this job I don't want my degree to go to waste :/

I know this is a late post but how was the Voice Advantage Interview? I am preparing for mine and I had a friend tell me she completely bombed hers so now I'm nervous!

Sorry I can't provide any answers but stumbled across this thread because I am now preparing for this phone interview too! How was it? I had a friend go through it and she knew she did terribly and ended up not getting the job so now I'm worried.

There is a facebook group you can join for Bay Area new grad RNs that you can become a member of and see for yourself. Every other day someone is posting how hard it is to find a job or tips for finding a job in the Bay Area but warning it can get pretty depressing at times! Haha especially when you see someone got the job you applied for But it's a good resource nonetheless.

I was in a similar situation the very first week of nursing school I met up with a group of classmates to study before we took our online exam (which was individual). When one of the girls turned on the test and started asking us for help I had to walk away. It was so hard to take that exam on my own knowing that my classmates were turning this individual exam into a group exam! However I did what most people here are saying; I focused on myself and tried not to compete with classmates and only my own scores. It became clear in clinical who was doing the proper readings and one girl even got kicked out for cheating (thank god I left that situation when I did!). I think that cheating really manifested itself when we all took the NCLEX because those who got through nursing school with the help of friends were unable to do so on the NCLEX and they failed....yes they ALL failed. So moral of my story, and all of those before me: why cheat when you are paying your way through school to become a nurse? All you are doing is wasting the valuable years of nursing school that should be spent soaking up as much information as you can :)