Heloisea3

I am a former teacher who changed careers to nursing. I decided to go back to school for nursing because it has more flexibility than teaching. I didn't have a problem getting teaching jobs, but I got so tired of some of the things that take place within the educational system. For some reason, I think many people think that teachers have it better than most because they get holidays and summers off. While nursing certainly has its pros and cons like any other profession, I can honestly say that I am so glad that I went to nursing school. I find it to be much more flexible, better paying, and rewarding than teaching ever was for me. I also find it less stressful than teaching. Of course, nursing can be incredibly stressful, but it is just a different type of stress. For me, it is easier to manage than the stress of teaching. That is just my own personal opinion. As for the student loans, I really understand how you feel. I took out loans for undergraduate and graduate school. When I went back to school for nursing, more student loans was not an option for me. So, I chose to go through the RN program at my local community college so that I could afford to go without more student loans. The hospital that I am working at now will pay for my RN-BSN program. I think that was a wise financial decision for me. Of course, I would have loved to get my BSN right away, but it just wasn't financially possible for me to do that. I cashed in my teacher's retirement when I quit teaching and used that to pay for my school and to live on until I graduated. I was extremely nervous about doing that because I knew what it would mean if I ended up hating nursing. I would have to start my retirement all over if I ever go back to teaching. Fortunately, you are young. You have plenty of time to decide what you want to do. If you feel like you would like to go to nursing school, you should go for it. You are right about the teaching jobs. Although I really didn't have a problem finding a job, there were more available at that time. Right now, school districts are under a lot of pressure to cut teaching staff because of the economy and their budgets. So, a lot of new grads are having a hard time finding jobs. It is getting difficult to even find jobs as a sub in many districts. They are getting an overwhelming number of applications. Anyway, whatever you choose, I wish you lots of luck.

This is so true. When I graduated from nursing school last May, I asked one of my clinical instructors for a letter of recommendation. It took several months and a few reminders before I was able to get a letter from her. When I finally got it, she had put my name in the first paragraph and another student's name in the second paragraph. I pointed it out to her and asked as politely as possible if she could rewrite it with just my name in it. Finally, a few weeks later, she gave me another recommendation letter, but that one looked like a middle school student had written it. There were multiple spelling and grammar mistakes, so I never used the letter. I would have been too embarrassed to give it to anyone. Needless to say, I gave up on getting a letter from her. Other students who requested a letter of recommendation from her found themselves in the same boat. Sad, sad, sad!

I can really relate to you. I am pregnant and due June 7th. I am also showing, so it is obvious that I'm pregnant. I graduated May of 2009, but I did not start appyling until December for personal reasons. I must have put in 100 applications or more. I would sit down for hours and put in for multiple positions at every single hospital I could think of within driving distance. I couldn't even get a call back. Finally, I applied at one hospital that I had not considered before, and I was hired right away. I was shocked. During the interview, I did tell the nurse manager that I was pregnant. You are not required to, and many people advise against it. However, I told the nurse manager that I just wanted to be up front with her because I know she had to schedule new nurses to be with preceptors and to plan for our orientation, etc. She seemed to really appreciate the fact that I was up front with her, and she hired me on the spot. If you want to start working right away, I would keep putting in as many applications as possible for every kind of position you think that you might even be remotely qualified for. Whenever I applied to a certain hospital, I would appy for every single position they had available unless they specifically required certifications that I did not have or years of experience. I know it gets really discouraging after a while, but keep at it, and hopefully, someone will give you a chance. Good luck with your job hunt and your pregnancy.

I think working in an IVF clinic would be a wonderful opportunity. I'm currently 5 months pregnant thanks to a wonderful doctor and nurse at an IVF clinic. I think the nurses at fertility clinics develop a unique set of skills that you don't have an opportunity to use in other settings. Quite a few of the procedures are performed by the nurses. All of my internal sonograms were done by the nurses. They also do IUIs and assist with all of the other procedures such as IVFs, ICSI, GIFT, etc.. All of the education about fertility meds, administering my injections, and other stuff was done by the nurses. The nurses at my fertility clinic love their jobs and have no desire to return to work in a hospital setting. I talked to them about it while I was going through treatments. I think you'll find that you will stay busy at an IVF clinic, but it certainly isn't the pace that you will find on a med surg floor. As another person said, there are A LOT of emotions involved, but I think you find that in all areas of nursing. As one person mentioned, I wouldn't count on working just 9-5 M-F, depending on the clinic. EVERY single thing in fertility treatments is monitored and timed specifically for each person. Many of the meds are timed according to a patient's cycle, and the procedures are performed within a very narrow window. This window can involve hours, not days. So, that means that many clinics do procedures on weekends because if they don't, it can ruin a patient's opportunity to conceive for that month. If you get an opportunity to work in a fertility clinic, I think you would find it very rewarding. I would jump at the chance. I don't think it would be difficult to move into another area of nursing later. Other nurses do that. Anyway, I just wanted to put in my two cents. Good luck with your interview. What a great opportunity.

Here is the list of clients that are on the Group One web site. You might try some others that are not on this list. You should also request a copy of the information they have about you and write a response to it if necessary. Here is their web site. http://www.gp1.com/ According to their web site, this is their list of clients. I guess they don't post the complete list. All Saints Foundation All Saints Health Foundation All Saints Integrated Affiliate Baylor All Saints - Fort Worth Baylor ASH Allcare, Inc. Baylor Center For Restorative Care Baylor Center For Restorative Care - Garland Baylor Health Care System - Bryan Tower (Corp) Baylor Health Care System Corporate Office Baylor Health Care System Foundation Baylor Health Care System Professional Office Building Baylor Health Enterprises Inc Baylor Health Enterprises LP Baylor Health Network, Inc. Baylor Health System Homecare Baylor Health System Surgicare Baylor Heart and Vascular Center Baylor Heart Vascular Baylor Institute For Rehabilitation Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton Baylor Medical Center at SouthWest Fort Worth Baylor Medical Center Ennis Baylor Medical Center Garland Baylor Medical Center Grapevine Baylor Medical Center Irving Baylor Medical Center North Irving Baylor Medical Center Waxahachie Baylor Medical Plaza (BMP) Inc Baylor Pedi Specialty Services Baylor Regional Medical Center of Plano Baylor Research Institute Baylor Specialty Health Centers Baylor University Medical Center Children's Medical Center Of Dallas Health Texas Provider Network Gastroenterol HealthTexas Provider Network - Baylor Norman Regional Hospital ODC Therapy, Inc. Our Children's Center At Irving Parkland Hospital Texas Heart Hospital Southwest - Baylor

Group One has this list of clients on their web site. Are JPS, Texas Health Resources, Kindred, and HCA hospitals not part of Group One? I don't see them on the list. Client List We currently provide employment verification services for the following companies or facilities. All Saints Foundation All Saints Health Foundation All Saints Integrated Affiliate Baylor All Saints - Fort Worth Baylor ASH Allcare, Inc. Baylor Center For Restorative Care Baylor Center For Restorative Care - Garland Baylor Health Care System - Bryan Tower (Corp) Baylor Health Care System Corporate Office Baylor Health Care System Foundation Baylor Health Care System Professional Office Building Baylor Health Enterprises Inc Baylor Health Enterprises LP Baylor Health Network, Inc. Baylor Health System Homecare Baylor Health System Surgicare Baylor Heart and Vascular Center Baylor Heart Vascular Baylor Institute For Rehabilitation Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton Baylor Medical Center at SouthWest Fort Worth Baylor Medical Center Ennis Baylor Medical Center Garland Baylor Medical Center Grapevine Baylor Medical Center Irving Baylor Medical Center North Irving Baylor Medical Center Waxahachie Baylor Medical Plaza (BMP) Inc Baylor Pedi Specialty Services Baylor Regional Medical Center of Plano Baylor Research Institute Baylor Specialty Health Centers Baylor University Medical Center Children's Medical Center Of Dallas Health Texas Provider Network Gastroenterol HealthTexas Provider Network - Baylor Norman Regional Hospital ODC Therapy, Inc. Our Children's Center At Irving Parkland Hospital Texas Heart Hospital Southwest - Baylor

I just graduated in May and passed my NCLEX in July. For personal reasons, I won't be starting work right away. However, I would really like to volunteer if I can, but I am not even sure where to start. Where can a new nurse volunteer? I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and would like to volunteer as a nurse. Is this possible? Any ideas?

I just graduated from Tarrant County College with my ADN in May, and I had no problems finding a job. I only know of one person in my class who doesn't have a job, and that is because she hasn't started looking for one yet due to personal reasons. A lot of people in my class were hired by THR, Baylor, and JPS for a variety of positions. I know people in my class who were hired for Psych, Med/Surg, ICU, PCU, L&D, OR, etc.. I work for Harris Methodist. It is a wonderful place to work, and they will pay for your RN-BSN. They have a special deal with UT Arlington so that their ADN nurses can do the RN-BSN program there. They really encourage all of their nurses (RN and BSN) to continue their education. I think that most of the people in my class plan to finish an RN-BSN program. Many, including myself, have a bachelor's degree in another area and decided to get their ADN for reasons related to time and money. I got my ADN because I didn't want to add to the student loans I already have from my prior degree. Like you, I plan to get my BSN, but I am thankful that THR will pay for it. If you are able to go ahead and get your BSN, that is great and all the better for you, but if you decide to get your ADN first, I'm sure you will find a job. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

:yeahthat:

Thanks for the responses. I would like to start this fall, but I don't want to commit to something without all the details. I appreciate the info.

I have been trying to find the cost of the online RN-BSN program at Texas Tech. I called once and they told me to look on their web site. I looked for a long time, but I didn't see anything about the cost. So, I emailed them and asked again for information about how much the tuition and fees would be. They answered my email by sending me a link to their web site which has information about the RN-BSN program, but no information about the tuition and fees. Does anyone know the cost of the program there or where I can find that information? I am really interested in their progam, but the price is a big factor for me. Thanks.

Txgal is right. The jurisprudence exam is the easiest test you will ever take. You just go to the BNE site to take the test and look up the answers as you go. A lot of them are common sense as well. Congrats on finishing school. Welcome to Texas!!

I went to a job fair back in March, and several of the nurse recruiters from the various hospitals were very blunt about not having any openings. They would say they didn't have any openings or that they only had one or two openings for new grads. I started applying back in February and was finally offered a job back in March. Most of my classmates who have jobs were hired between December and the end of March. The students who started looking and applying later are having a lot of trouble finding positions. It seems like the majority of hospitals around here have filled their GN/nursing internship positions already. I don't know of any still hiring at this point. Maybe there are some in Dallas, but not around Ft. Worth. I don't know why some hospitals are even bothering to go to the job fairs if they know they don't have any open positions availabe. I know this is frustrating for those people that go.

Good luck! I hope you have a fabulous day.

I agree. I have always been taught that those are not the type of questions you ask during an initial interview. It makes it sound like your interest is all about the compensation and not the company. Of course those are important considerations, but I would ask HR about that and not the nurse manager. You might want to ask: What type of support systems are in place for the nurses? Could you describe the internship program that you have here? What are the hours, expectations, etc.? What is the management style on this unit? What do they do to encourage/provide for professional development? How would you describe the team work on this unit? If I talked to the nurses who have been here for a long time, what would they say are the best things and the worst things about this unit? (I asked this and got a great response from it. I got the idea from a book on what questions to ask during an interview.) What kind of opportunities are available for the nurses to serve on committees, etc. (I would end with a question like this because it shows that you want to be a team player and participate in unit activities.) Anyway, this is just my two cents worth.