I am graduating this May (2015) and will hopefully be taking my NCLEX sometime in June. Ideally I would like to begin working on a telemetry/medsurge unit and work my way towards critical care. I took ACLS to put on my resume and I was wondering if it would be worth it to take PALS as well, although the thing is I do not ever want to work with the pediatric population.
I don't want to waste money on PALS just to make my resume more "appealing" if I don't even want to work with PEDS. Do you think it is good to have on my resume along with ACLS anway? If I apply for a telemetry position (adults) do you think they'd even care if I had PALS?
Also: Should I apply to jobs BEFORE or AFTER I take/pass the NCLEX?
waste of money right now. Employers know you do not have the experience to back up the knowledge. Your one objective is to pass NCLEX then you can think about the future
Our unit manager doesn't look at the certs, etc on a new grad. We had one applicant actually ask her about it and when posed a question that required an NRP response, she really still couldn't answer correctly. We don't expect you to know everything as a new grad. We also build these classes into our orientation. Now, a nurse with experience, I would expect to have certs if she has worked in that area.
classicdame, MSN, EdD
7,255 Posts
waste of money right now. Employers know you do not have the experience to back up the knowledge. Your one objective is to pass NCLEX then you can think about the future