What did I do wrong?

Thanks for your input AngelRN and congrats on working at the ICU. I do agree with LittleneoRN, some ppl did not have the opportunity for prior experiences and I graduated from a 1 yr program. With the intensity of the courses and clinical hours, I did not get a chance to do any internship/externships. I did, however, shadowed ICU nurses a few times and know that it is a fit for me. Right now, I'm trying to get all the experience that I can volunteering at the hospital and free med clinics.

Not many ppl can spend the money on taking ACLS and EKG courses.

I am new but I'm eager to learn and ready to take on any task if given the opportunity. I know I can do it.

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Thanks for your input AngelRN and congrats on working at the ICU. I do agree with LittleneoRN, some ppl did not have the opportunity for prior experiences and I graduated from a 1 yr program. With the intensity of the courses and clinical hours, I did not get a chance to do any internship/externships. I did, however, shadowed ICU nurses a few times and know that it is a fit for me. Right now, I'm trying to get all the experience that I can volunteering at the hospital and free med clinics.

Not many ppl can spend the money on taking ACLS and EKG courses.

I am new but I'm eager to learn and ready to take on any task if given the opportunity. I know I can do it.

As I stated earlier I was not trying to be mean or offensive, nor was I trying to suggest that you need to have all the experience I had to work in the ICU. It's good to hear that you did shadow, at least that is something. I was simply saying that if the manager was willing to interview a new grad, they wanted to give you a shot and they were looking for something specific from you which for whatever reason they didn't feel you brought to the table. I understand how difficult nursing school is and how hard it is to fit in experiences and such, but unfortunately if you don't fit that stuff in you leave yourself in a position where you cannot compete with other new grads. I worked the entire time i was in school even though i was struggling with two kids and a husband, but i knew i had to, even if it was just one day a week. The jobs i held during school provided me with my ACLS and EKG training for free as I would not have been able to pay for those myself either. You or anyone else who read my post can feel free to disagree with me (as that is the whole point of having a discussion) but either way I can guarantee you if you were to follow some of the advice I gave you'd be quite shocked at how you stand out from other new grads when going for any position. If you want a job these days you have to constantly be thinking about how to make yourself look more qualified than the next person. Even if you can't take the path I took, there are numerous other things you can do or highlight about yourself. Did you take in reference letters and/or a portfolio? When you talked about your head-to-toe assessment did you incorporate the things you saw the ICU nurses doing when you shadowed?