mani96

Staceyfreddy16, if you go Google "UCSD jobs" it will take you to the job site (duh) and you can look for RN jobs at UCSD. They often post "New Grad" RN jobs for different units (often ICU), so look for those. I got the job I have because I came here as a travel nurse and then signed on, however, the very first nursing job I got was from "stalking" a recruiter on LinkedIn for the hospital (different than UCSD) I wanted to work at. I didn't really stalk him, I just messaged him a few times and asked him for an informational interview, then boom, he remembered me when there was an opening. It's a time-consuming process to find jobs, and will continue to be even after you have years of experience under your belt. Also, try the county of wherever you're living in...the public health department hires new grads too.

You're still in the game. I got a straight up rejection email after my interview.

Does anyone know how to transfer all credits already entered in NursingCAS to a new application? I entered my coursework under a program I thought I would apply to and then changed my mind. I would like all that work to transfer to my new application/new program, but nursingcas is telling me it's impossible. I have had more than one frustrating and confusing chat with nursingcas chat reps and this last email response I got put me over the edge. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Please tell me it's possible to transfer info you've already entered for one application to another application?

I do not recommend going into debt for nursing school. I went 75K into debt for my accelerated BSN and I have been regretting it since. I made the decision at the time because I was also being continually wait-listed for CC programs in my area; plus, I thought it would pay off because I went to a well known private university on the East Coast. I moved back to CA and nobody cares about my degree from my fancy school; I make exactly the same as the ADN RNs. I just think if you persist and continue applying, OR, relocate to a less saturated area, you'll get into a cheaper program. It's not worth it to go into that much debt for school.

Racking up overtime to finish charting is very common; I see this even with experienced nurses on my floor (acute rehab). Not every shift, but it does happen. Management always mentions OT in performance evals because nurses cost the hospital money, they don't make the hospital money. You'll get better with time when it comes to getting everything done during your scheduled shift, including charting. I've been on my unit for 2 1/2 years and I am still learning how to be more efficient, how to do better, faster, more accurate assessments, what each individual MD prefers in terms of patient info, getting charting done on time, etc. There's a lot to learn in nursing, especially because you're dealing with humans who are all different -- from the patient all the way up to management. Learning how to take care of patients safety while at the same time making your colleagues and managers happy is a juggling act and takes time. (Some people will say that making colleagues happy isn't your job, but your life will be so much better at work if your co-workers, charge nurses, and managers like you and think you're helpful and easy to get along with.) Go easy on yourself, nursing is hard. And if you do get an offer from the ICU closer to home, I'd take it in a heartbeat, because long commutes can be a huge stressor, especially if you're doing 12 hour shifts.

I used all the books they required when writing care plans during nursing school. Borrowing would have been a really difficult. I purchased all my books first semester (~$800), then rented the rest of of the time through Amazon. I sold all my first semester books. Mainly I didn't want books around that I would have to move each time I changed houses, which ended up being once during nursing school and then a major move back to my home state after nursing school. The only book I truly wish I still had as a practicing nurse is my Jarvis Physical Examination & Health Assessment book.

Hi all, I'm looking for some feedback and advice. I work on an acute rehab floor and have recently had some challenging TBI patients. Our therapy team has all kinds of advice for, and requests of, the nursing staff when it comes to these patients, yet each therapy session is only 30-60 minutes; and the patient can refuse therapy, which means the sessions may not even last that long. (The patient won't stay on our unit very long if he/she continually refuse therapy because in order to stay, they must participate in a minimum number of hours of therapy per week...but I digress). What I'm getting at here, is that it feels like the therapy team is making suggestions based on their 30-60 minute interactions with these patients, while nursing is responsible for the patients for the entire 12-hour shift. At any rate, I'm looking for some feedback/support on dealing with TBI patients from a nursing perspective. My most recent TBI patient was screaming at any time that he wasn't occupied with a staff member. He was so agitated and restless that he would request to go to the bathroom, be taken to bathroom, and then start screaming to go to the bathroom again before I even left the room. He was successful in voiding or having a BM 25% of the time he was taken to the bathroom. He would press the call light WHILE I was in the room talking with him. And that behavior was ALL DAY. I wish I was exaggerating. I gave him all the PRN anti-anxiety meds available to me, but they didn't touch him, and the docs are fully aware of his behavior. He's got other underlying physical triggers (nausea, abdominal pain, etc) that are likely contributing to his behavior, but he's also essentially bored when not in therapy. He requires 1:1 in order to stop screaming. I don't believe that the therapy staff understands just HOW needy patients like this are because all they see is how the patient behaves during their session. Can the rehab RNs, LVNs, and Techs offer some guidance to me on how to deal with a patient like this so that I'm able to get my other work done? He is on restraints: netted bed and wheelchair belt. Many thanks for any advice or feedback you can give. I'm struggling and feeling alone in dealing with this at work. (Incidentally, I'm a relatively new RN -- I've been in acute rehab for almost 2 years and it is my first RN job.)

I know you've already made your decision, but...I'd just like to throw in some advice because I was in your situation 4 years ago. After applying to a local ADN program and being wait listed for 2 years, I started applying to other programs. The third year, I finally got into the local ADN program, and was also accepted to private university accelerated 2nd degree BSN program that same year. The BSN cost: ~$70,000 for 17 months. ADN cost: ~$13,000 for two years. I went with the BSN program and justified it by wanting to be done with the BSN as well as feeling that my experience at a "prestigious university" would be valued by nurse managers when I started applying for jobs. I'm now over $80,000 in debt. I do have a job on an acute floor, which I started as a new grad. I looked for a job for 9 months after graduating from nursing school (I had left the state to go to nursing school) and had several interviews, and in those interviews, nobody really mentioned my BSN from the "prestigious university." I was just another new grad, trying to get my first job. Nursing is my 2nd, 3rd, etc. career and I had several other work experiences before becoming a nurse. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, and I now feel that taking on that much educational debt was really stupid. Some debt can be forgiven through various gov programs (that you have to apply and be chosen for) but my private educational loan is going to be with with me probably for the rest of my life. It's not worth it. Just my 2 cents.

I went to nursing school when I was 40, you're not too old. However, do NOT go into debt to get a nursing degree. I repeat, do NOT go into debt. I graduated from a very highly ranked nursing school and incurred a ridiculous amount of debt, and spent almost a year trying to get a job after graduation. I've heard NYC is tough for RNs (esp new grads). Keep in mind the job market for nursing your area and research that thoroughly before you declare your major in nursing. The advice to get a job in health care as a patient care tech is good because it's a great way to feel out whether you want to do this work.

I just experienced my first code as a new grad, and in the aftermath of the code, I was told by a nurse that it was a good learning experience for me -- to be sure that I charted everything that was said and done every single day of my nursing life and to trust no one. The reason for this is that both MDs and nurses will not hesitate to throw me ("me" being all RNs) under the bus to save themselves. If this is what the profession does to nurses, I understand why they leave, and why I may not stay very long myself.

Agreed. But hopefully we can work to change things in SNFs so that these types of forum questions will be a thing of the past. That's my goal anyway.

The question we SHOULD be asking is: why are these working conditions acceptable in any facility, SNF or not? The "reality of SNF work" should not be these kinds of ratios. We need to be advocating for change in the SNF environments rather than accepting that new grads or those who can't find work in acute care "end up" there, and then leave as soon as they find a better job. Every single patient deserves better than that.

haha, nice one ursuscalifornia

How does someone "fail" a personality test? What does that even mean? Many of the questions on these test use words like "every time" and "very" and "always." We were told to watch out for questions that used those types of words during nursing school and for the nclex.

I just graduated from a BSN program outside of CA, and had planned on returning to CA after graduation, but am finding everything that the posters on this thread have said is true. It's almost impossible to find a job in CA as a new grad. I never dreamed I would have such a hard time. I thought I had done my research and knew what to expect but nothing has prepared me for the CA job market. Not sure what my next move will be as I also had not planned to stay in the area where I attended nursing school, and made zero connections there. Ugh.