etuttle1

You apply for the futures program directly (they have different groups hired about every 4 months). You can list your preferences for certain hospitals and specialities that you would prefer in the application. Unfortunately, it depends on which hospitals are hiring new grads and what areas they have openings, so you are guaranteed a position if you are accepted into the program, but it may not be in the specialty of your first choice. The hiring process is pretty standard: send in your application and then if they are interested in you, they will call you for a basic phone interview through HR. Then, if you pass that step, you will be called to interview in person for specific floors at any hospital that is interested. I really liked the program. Your orientation time depends on what unit you are hired in, but you will be paired one on one with an experienced nurse and they will teach you everything about the floor. You will work side by side on the floor with that nurse, as well as attending any required education classes during orientation. You will also be in direct contact with the education leaders of your hospital, and they will be following up with your orientation progress. Hope that helps and good luck!

I started out as a new grad in St. Louis and a lot of new grads were hired into the NICU at Cardinal Glennon. Have you looked into SSM's Futures Program for new nurses? Feel free to message me with more questions! As for the safety, I've lived in St. Louis as a college student and now young professional for six years now and have never had an issue. St. Louis is like any urban city with lots of suburbs out in the county. You just have to be smart about it :) The wonderful thing about St. Louis for nursing is there are so many hospitals with different patient populations so you really get a well rounded experience and can easily move into different areas. Good luck!

Looking for advice from nurses who have worked outside the hospital. I have been a bedside nurse at an urban hospital for over two years now and have come to realize that bedside nursing is just not for me. I am grateful for the experience bedside nursing has provided me at the start of my nursing career, but I am ready to find my passion! I love providing education and resources for my patients, but bedside nursing does not allow me much time for this. I feel like I'm putting a bandaid on a big problem and never am actually treating the real issues of my patients in the hospital. What careers have you found more fulfilling than bedside nursing and how did you go about transferring out of the hospital world? I feel like all the job openings I keep finding are in the hospitals. Any advice is appreciated!

I have been a nurse for about a year, and as I was starting my career I was very impressed with the amount of mentoring/new grad nursing programs out there to help new nurses transition into the workplace. However, I continue to see a lack of mentoring programs for nursing students in both my nursing school and others. I have yet to find a successful nursing school mentoring program. I personally really struggled on my journey to become a nurse and throughout my first year as a nurse. I would have loved some kind of consistent support and guidance throughout nursing school and as a new nurse. I am very interested in starting a nursing mentoring program involving nursing students, new nurses, nursing faculty, and experienced nurses. Does anyone have any success stories, suggestions, or heard of programs like this?

Advice needed from all the experienced nurses out there! I am a new grad nurse about 4 months into my first nursing job. I have always dreamed of being a pediatric nurse and was able to get a new grad nurse residency position in the ICU at a children's hospital. I never ever thought I would work in critical care, but was so excited to get a pediatric job right out of school so I jumped at the chance. Now I am at the end of my orientation and really questioning whether I should stay in the ICU. My future on the unit is up in the air right now because my managers feel that, while I have made great progress throughout orientation, I still lack the amount of confidence with critical thinking to be on my own. I had a wonderful preceptor during orientation, but for me 12 weeks is just not long enough to build up my skills as a new grad in critical care. I knew early on that ICU was not my passion and not something I wanted to do long term, but everyone says the first year of nursing sucks and you just need to tough it out. However, I am so stressed all the time, have to give myself pep talks when going to work, and am constantly consumed with anxiety and stress that I'm failing at my job or going to do something wrong. It has gotten to the point where it's affecting my personal life. I don't think I can take it anymore and am worried I am going to get fired. Any advice or encouragement from people who have more experience than me is appreciated!