SandyScrubs

My classmates didn't start hearing back until April, and I got an interview offer the day after I had accepted my job. One person heard back sooner, but they had a connection in that unit. Good luck, hopefully they can get back quicker since there are less people in December!

North Carolina is one of the state's in which the large majority of new graduate nurses apply and are accepted for jobs prior to graduation. Many applications open up in January, and I knew of job acceptances going out as soon as two weeks after the semester started. I had all of my applications in before I started my last semester because I didnt want to worry about it in addition to classes. The majority of my class had their jobs secured by the end of March. If you are interested in a highly desired specilaty, you should especially apply early because those jobs tend to go quicker. Find the hospitals that are in the area you're looking to apply to and start checking in December for when the applications will open so you know wyen to look back. Good luck!

Thank you for responding! I have read a lot of your responses in this forum and have always found them helpful :) I will make sure to look over acid base and respiratory then. I've never heard of that trick for BP, but I like it! If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you to start feeling comfortable as a PICU nurse? Since there is such a large variety of patients I assume it will probably take a while for me to create a good foundation, and I am a little nervous about the transition.

Hello everyone! I have been reading posts in this forum for a while, and I'm so excited to be starting in the PICU soon! I was hoping to get some advice on the most important topics for me to cover before orientation. I bought the Nursing Care of the Critically Ill Child by Hazinski after reading recommendations on here for it, but I know I won't be able to read it all by the time orientation starts. What diseases/topics do you think would be the most helpful to help me have a good head start before orientation? I was told in my interview that the new grads will often handle the more stable DKA kids so I plan on looking at that, but I'd love some advice for other areas. Thanks in advance, this forum has been so helpful for the job search process and my preceptorship :)

I am a soon to be new grad entering into a pediatric residency so while I don't have any first hand knowledge of hiring, I can tell you what I learned on the way and what I think helped me get my position. 1) To my knowledge, prestige of a program has very little impact on hiring processes. A good relationship between the hospital and school might help, but these residency programs( especially the ones you listed) have tons of applicants from different prestigious schools. Rather what's more important to differenciate yourself is your experiences during school. Some hospitals also prefer BSNs over ADNs, and others dont. It's difficult to get an interview, and I was lucky to get mine so make sure that you have a back up plan and don't put all of your eggs into one basket! 2) While CNA/PCT would be great expierence, keep in mind that it's often hard to get a job in pediatrics in those roles, the hospital I had clinical at didn't even have any CNAs in any pediatric units. If yours does that could be great, but adult work could still be helpful to gain general nursing experience. Another thing that is helpful is to get into a nurse externship. It will help you get a relationship with a hospital, and if the unit you extern at is the one you want to work at it'll get you a foot in the door for interview. If your school has a preceptorship, do that in pediatrics if at all possible to show interest. You can pursue research opportunities in pediatrics if your school had honors work. Leadership roles are good for any job interview because it shows organization, time management and motivation. Start early so you have something to put on your applications for externships. Good luck with school!

It's seems to be unit dependent, my unit had a specific amount of time we have to work before switching to all nights or all days but I have friends on other units with different time frames.

Congratulations! I'm happy to hear it worked out well for you! :)

I'm sorry to hear that! I hope that some other opportunities will come your way soon.

Congratulations!! I hope you love the PACU! When are you starting? :) I've had classmates hear back & get offers in the ICUs and some stepdowns floors.

How did your interview go? I hope you get some good news to save yourself the trip!

Congratulations! Is that one of the units you were interested in? :) I was wondering if anyone was planning on going to the open house event?

Congratulations on your interview offer! I know a lot of people from my class have gotten interviews and job offers already, so good luck!

I just saw the update they posted on 3/1 that the March applications will be reviewed starting in mid-April, so I would assume by that timeline they will be, if not already are, looking at the January applications soon. Hope that we all will hear back soon!

I applied in January as well, and when I talked to HR a couple weeks ago they said the earliest we would hear back is March. Hopefully we don't have to wait for 4 months!

Thank you for your responses! I do have a little experience under my belt working in a hospital thankfully, but I'm curious as to what other options there are since nothing is ever set in stone. I heard from a friend who graduated last year that she got job offers and was given a week to respond. The idea of making that decision so quickly is a little intimidating, so I'm trying to figure out which hospitals I'd like to be at the top of my list ahead of time. Thanks for the tip about nurse-patient ratios, that will definitely be high up on my list! Froggy, what made you choose UNC over other hospitals you applied to? And do you like their new graduate program?