Graduation: Graduation and pinning were great to be at. The tradition of pinning goes back a long ways, so it was fun to be a part of it. I had Kate pin me because without her I wouldn’t have made it through nursing school! I also got to give her belly a little rub onstage, a not-so-subtle way of telling my class that she’s pregnant! Due 11-11-11. Very exciting.
This graduation weekend was a fun time to hang out with friends from nursing school, as many people were leaving Denver and going their own ways. It is pretty weird to have gone one year with these people, side by side, nearly everyday, and knowing that most I will never see again. Many, though, I developed great relationships with, still keep in touch with and will make an effort to see in the near future. I am thankful for every person I got to meet along the way!
- Final breakfast with fellow nurses before I took off.
Kate and I moved to Gig Harbor, WA. This is the town we grew up in, and always knew we wanted to return here someday. We figured with a baby on the way, there was no time like the present! Moving back meant time with family, friends, and more studying!
NCLEX: Just after graduation, I took a NCLEX review course. It was our entire nursing education compressed down to 4 days of focused review. I would estimate that over half of our class took a review course of some kind, and most found it helpful. I’m glad I did it, though it was tough coughing up the $350. It gave some excellent guidance for studying for the NCLEX.
For the past year, 90% of my studying was with other people. Now here I was in WA totally on my own! My chosen method of studying was practice questions. I think between graduation and NCLEX I took upwards of 4,000 practice questions, studying the rational for each one. I enjoyed studying this way. Whenever there was something I wasn’t clear about, I would crack open the books and read about drugs, physiology, diseases and everything related to the question. I had fun going off on those tangents, sort of a way of procrastinating, yet studying at the same time.
Had to take a study break to go four-wheeling at the sand dunes in Oregon.
I drove to Seattle early one morning and sat for the exam. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little nervous going into it. This was a very difficult test, no way around it. You don’t know if you’re going to be sitting there for 75 questions or 265. The computer adapts the questions based on your responses. They get progressively harder until it has determined that you are competent (or not) in each subject. Well I finished the test with question #75, but felt terrible. I was confident in about 20% of my answers, and there were questions involving drugs and diseases that I have never even heard of! But after a couple jittery days of waiting, I found out I passed. Apparently I did learn something in the last year.
Job Search:
Interview #1: I was excited to pass my test, because just a couple days later I had an interview at a local hospital for an ICU position. Interview went great, I was happy with my responses and questions, I got along great with the 4 people that interviewed me and left feeling confident about the job. The next week: Sorry Brett, we hired someone with nurse tech experience.
Interview #2: Local hospital. ICU. Great interview, good conversation, more confidence about this job. The next week: Sorry Brett, we hired an internal candidate with more experience.
New hospital in Gig Harbor, WA… despite what it looks like, it has been a beautiful summer in the NW!
Starting to notice a theme here? Yea, me too. I’ve been out of nursing school for 3 months, have applied to 41 jobs, had 2 interviews, and am still unemployed. (Though I do have another interview at a different hospital this week). I don’t want to sound conceited, but I feel like I am a competitive candidate with 2 bachelor degrees, great GPA, positive, outgoing, passionate about nursing and life, motivated to learn and succeed etc, etc, etc. Take home message folks: experience and networking.
In Denver I had many great contacts. From my first clinical I went out of my way to meet everyone I could at every hospital, and I made sure they knew me. I worked my tail off because it was fun, and because I wanted potential employers to know my work ethic. I am confident this would have benefited me had I stayed in Denver. Not so beneficial moving to the NW. I knew it would be challenging to make connections up here, but not this difficult. In my frustratingly clear 20/20 hindsight I would have been calling and emailing recruiters long before graduation.
The other aspect, experience, is a tough one for me… But there’s nothing I can do about it now. There are people in my class who were able to work for the last 4-6 months of the program… just 4 or 5 shifts a month as a CNA. While I can’t officially condone this, these are the people with jobs. My take on the matter is that in the accelerated program I had clinical 2 days a week, nearly every week for a year. That’s 0.6 FTE on top of full time class. If that doesn’t count as experience I don’t know what does.
There are a number of people in my class who have gotten jobs… Some in Denver, and some out of state. Many are working where they did their senior practicum. These are the people who were proactive in networking throughout the year. These are the people who worked hard and are great nurses! I want you to read this not as a frustrating reality, but as motivation to be a great nurse, and to sell yourself along the way!
I think it’s important to be realistic about the fact that after graduation it is not uncommon to go quite a few months without a job. Some are hired before they graduate, and some are actively looking for up to a year with no luck. The new graduate nursing industry is very unique, and can change over night. I just wish someone had told me it could be quite sometime before I start working. I know I will get a job, no question about it. I have never once regretted a career in nursing. My biggest gripe is that I miss being in the hospital! It’s fun, challenging and rewarding!
I think it’s important to be realistic about the fact that after graduation it is not uncommon to go quite a few months without a job. Some are hired before they graduate, and some are actively looking for up to a year with no luck. The new graduate nursing industry is very unique, and can change over night. I just wish someone had told me it could be quite sometime before I start working. I know I will get a job, no question about it. I have never once regretted a career in nursing. My biggest gripe is that I miss being in the hospital! It’s fun, challenging and rewarding!
Enjoying some time off kiteboarding at Hood River, OR
