ForeverDreaming

SiwanRN, thanks to you as well for taking the time to give such good advice. The reigning theme I'm hearing from the two of you is to get experience in some way before starting school. Sound advice from two experienced Public Health RN's. Thank you! Thanks for also suggesting organizations I can contact to get more information about the public health field.

Thanks for taking the time to reply PHN921. You make some very valid points about attaining some volunteer and/or work experience in public health nursing before making the time and financial commitment into a career I may not end up enjoying. I'm hoping to put your advice into action and start looking for some volunteer opportunities in the near future. May I ask what you do in the public health nursing realm and if you enjoy your job compared to bedside nursing?

Hello fellow nurses! I am currently 8 months in to my career as a Pediatric nurse in a hospital and I absolutely LOVE what I do. I love the population that I work with (anywhere from newborns to 18 year olds) and the plethora of diagnoses we see at the hospital I work at. Public health nursing has always interested me, and I'm considering making the switch 5-10 years from now after I get more experience in nursing so that I'll have a more predictable schedule and will be more capable of caring for my daughter without help from my father. (As a single parent working 12 hour shifts, this is the only way I've been able to make things work.) I have my BSN and have been out of school for a year and some change now, but I'm considering going back to school to get a Master's in Public Health, both because I love the idea of expanding my knowledge base and to help me attain a job when I make the switch to public health nursing down the road. However, I'm having a difficult time deciding if it's worth it to spend such a large amount of money on school. I'm $12,000 in debt from my BSN and the well-regarded online MPH degree program that I'm considering would put me about another $28,000 in. As a single mother, I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle the financial responsibility of daily life on top of such a huge debt based on the PHN salary scale I've seen through my research. Should I go for the Master's or just try transitioning into public health with the BSN I currently have? Any input would be greatly appreciated!!!

Wow! That was very detailed. I appreciate that. I'll jump on those ASAP as well!

I'm a new grad in the middle of orientation for my first position in healthcare working as an RN on a pediatric unit. My biggest fear is looking incompetent to my coworkers/patients and their families, not getting the hang of the job, and making a mistake that causes harm. I think it's pretty normal for all new grads to feel as I do, but that doesn't lessen the fears.

Thank you so much! I'll put those on my list of meds to study!

The question totally caught me off guard. I ended up saying that I didn't know much about trees, but I have seen some articles online about an idea to use our bodies to help grow a tree after we die. Rather than being put into a coffin, your body is encased in some kind of pod which gives nutrients to and helps grow a tree. I told them I'd rather do this, so that even in death I could continue to contribute to this world by giving off some oxygen. It's still in just "idea" stages, but I've legitimately talked to my father about wanting this done to my body if something were to happen to me. Here's a link for a little more info: Forget Coffins – Organic Burial Pods Will Turn Your Loved Ones Into Trees | Collective-Evolution

Hi all! I am a new grad starting orientation for a school-age acute care/hem-onc unit at a great children's hospital next week. I KNOW that pharmacology is one of my weakest areas and want to begin to review/study medications that I'll probably run into on the unit. I understand how essential it is to know WHAT you're giving, what effect it's supposed to have on the body, how it works, and side effects. Working with children allows for less room for error and quicker adverse reaction time, which makes medication knowledge even more essential. Can anyone give me an idea of the drugs they typically see on their units? I've researched some threads with the same question, but they're pretty old and wanted to see if there was anything else I should look into. I'm excited for this opportunity and want to prepare myself as much as I can.

I start orientation for employment on a peds unit next week. All of Surprised1's questions were asked in my interview. I was also asked why I wanted to work with kids and about typical patient:student ratio during my clinicals in school. During an interview for a postpartum position that I didn't end up getting, the manager asked me if I could be a tree, what tree I would be. Anything's up for grabs as far as questions go! The biggest advice I can give is to be yourself and let your light shine. If your interviewer can see you and the personality you'd bring to the unit, that's what'll get a call back. Good luck!

Congrats to you as well! Exciting times ahead!

Also, for any other new grads starting in the pediatric specialty, would anyone else be interested if I started a 2015 Pediatric RN New Grad thread to refer to for stories and support? It would be great to connect with people going through the same experiences!

This isn't a post to ask for any advice; I just wanted to share the excitement that I've just been offered and accepted a job offer at a pretty prestigious children's hospital in my area. I'm radiating so much positivity right now I can't contain it and I wanted to share my happiness with anyone willing to receive it. I graduated in December and got licensed in February. The job search has been absolutely brutal, and I feel so blessed to be given an opportunity to work with the pediatric population. Reality is setting in and I know this is when the REAL work and learning begins. I'm prepared for the constant second-guessing and the stress that comes with being a new grad in the field. Just gotta tell myself that each day is a learning opportunity and each patient is going to get my 110%. Thanks for reading, and have a FABULOUS day!!!!

Below is a link to a very poignant and powerful poem regarding unique names and the culture and history that surrounds them. This Poet Has the Perfect Response for People Who Make Fun of "Ghetto" Names - Mic

Today I am thankful for the opportunity I had to peer interview and job shadow on a peds unit of a wonderful children's hospital 40 miles from my home. The experience was wonderful, and I feel the interview went well. Fingers crossed.

I was a single mother throughout nursing school. My daughter was about 2 and a half at graduation. I worked anywhere between 20-30 hours a week throughout. There were times when I pulled all nighters trying to keep my head above water and times when I didn't have much to do. As many people have said, manage your time wisely. Choose being proactive over procrastination. Good luck!

Like a PP, my pass results were posted by the Florida BON less than 24 hours from the time I STARTED my test, so I was one of the lucky ones. I understand the anxiety after taking the NCLEX, but ultimately, after you've finished the exam you can't change whether you passed or failed. After I took my test I binged on pizza and a bottle of moscato and let the universe tell me my results when it was good and ready. Wait it out people. You'll survive.

I graduated with my BSN in December '14 and received my license in February. As soon as I received my license, I looked into joining the navy to work as a nurse and got the exact same information PP responded. I was told by the recruiter that in all of 2014, the navy did not take ANY new graduate nurses unless they started correspondence while early in their nursing school career and committed to the navy before graduating. The recruiter told me that across the nation, there were NO nurses who were brought into the navy that were not part of this program, whether new grad or experienced.

Thank you!

I'm three months and well over 100, probably closer to 200, applications into my search as a BSN new grad myself. As everyone has said, three weeks isn't long at all. Give it more time and continue to be diligent. Continuing to seek out managers and contacting them personally, even if there isn't a posting listed, could also possibly help. From my experience, when a job posting is posted on the hospital's website, sometimes the manager already has someone in mind for the position or has already started interviews. So, when you see the job posted as "open", even if it was just posted, they're essentially filled and your application is futile. For example, I had an interview for a postpartum position on Monday (which I obtained by going to the hospital's career fair and emphasizing my interest in this area, as well as the NRP and STABLE certifications I had because I know this is patient population I want to work with and the scheduled ACLS certification in the works). I had my peer-interview first and my formal interview with the manager and assistant manager a week later. The manager had mentioned she just posted the three positions she was trying to fill right before my interview. Two of the positions she posted that morning were already filled, and she was already interviewing myself and several others for the third and last open position. While this may not be the case for every position out there, it COULD help your search if you contact managers, make a great impression, and mention that although you know there aren't any open positions posted, you wanted to introduce yourself and ask them to keep you in mind. Best of luck. I'm a single mother and understand the desire and the NEED to attain employment.

OP, thanks for posting this. I'm waiting on a possible 2nd interview for a postpartum position as well, and one of my fears is appearing to be incompetent. I told myself that if/when I get a job offer, I'm immediately hitting the books and re-teaching myself as much as I can. I graduated in December, and you can forget so much in just 5 months!! Thanks to your post and some of the replies, I know to brush up on assessments and some tips to get organized. Good luck on your journey!!!

You mentioned in your OP that you're a single parent of a child roughly around two years old. I also have a daughter who turns three in August. While I'm still in the process of finding a job, I've sat down and budgeted my expenses for when I do begin working. I recently moved in with my father and would love to get out of his house soon. One factor that is preventing me from moving out is the cost of childcare. In this area; childcare will be approximately $530 a month, which is a huge chunk of money. I'm not sure of your situation and if you have to pay for childcare as well, but if you do, I would suggest waiting until your child starts kindergarten and you no longer have to pay such a large amount of childcare expenses to help free up money that could go towards your mortgage. I have had to come to terms with the fact that I'll be living with my dad at least until after my daughter turns 4 and she enters pre-k. Good luck! Nursing schedules make it difficult to be a single parent at times. I commend you.

I can definitely relate to the panicky feeling and being constantly worried that you'll never get a job. I'm going through that right now. Best of luck to you!

It's disgusting to continuously see people with authority using their positions to take advantage of others. In all facets of life, this practice is present and immoral. I'm sorry that you're going through this, and I hope whatever steps you take help to alleviate the situation promptly. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing your experience! As perfect of a picture I have in my head of how this fair is going to turn out, it's humbling to realize that it might not be what I expect. Have you found work since attending the fair, and how has your experience been so far?

Hi guys! I'm looking for some advice. I moved to Florida from Hawaii five days after my graduation ceremony. It's been two months since I passed the NCLEX and I've gotten nowhere with my job hunt. As cliche as it sounds, I hope to be in L&D or the NICU, but at this point I've realized that the most important thing to do is attain experience in any type of nursing and transition to a different unit after sufficient time and experience has been earned. While in Hawaii, I did research on hospitals near where I currently live, and the hospital that I learned is the most prestigious with the best customer and employee satisfaction is holding a career fair next week. They advertise that they're looking for experienced RN's for L&D, emergency services, and ICU as well as LPN's, patient care tech's, etc and there will be interview teams on site! I'd love some advice on how to prepare for this career fair. I know this is an amazing opportunity to network and introduce myself to hiring managers. As a new grad who will be interviewing alongside experienced nurses, I don't know how to make myself stand out. Suggestions? To anyone who has been to a hospital career fair, what was your experience like? What should I expect to happen? Do you typically interview with multiple nurse managers at a time, or do you interview with one manager who labels you as a great potential candidate and forwards you to other managers for second interviews? Any feedback or insight would be so helpful! I'm so hopeful and excited for this opportunity as I'm a single mother and my funds are quickly dwindling without income!