Tag Archives: Nurse

NYU Accelerated Nursing Program FAQ’s Part II

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I recently received an email from a prospective nursing student and thought that it was worth posting my answers.

Hi Jessica,
I came across to your blog while searching for NYU’s accelerated nursing program.  Reading your blog has been very helpful. Congrats on becoming a nurse. Currently I have my undergrad in a business discipline and I am really considering a nursing career instead. I just have some questions regarding nursing, it would be great to get your feedback. Thanks so much if you have the time to answer any of these questions!

1.       Does it matter whether you take your pre-reqs at a community college or 4-yr college when applying to NYU? Do pre-req grades matter? Will there be a higher chance if acceptance if pre-reqs are taken in NYU?

You can take your pre-reqs at a community college or a 4 year college. Pre-req grades matter a lot. Definitely do well on these. I don’t believe there’s a higher chance of acceptance of the pre-reqs are taken at NYU. Majority of students take pre-reqs at a community college or a 4 year college.


2.        What were your credentials when you applied to NYU (eg. GPA, experience)? And did you find NYU to be worth it after working in the field? Is there any other nursing programs you would recommend in NY?

My GPA was 3.84. As for experience, I volunteered at a hospital when I was applying. It’s important to highlight your feelings towards nursing especially after speaking to them and seeing what they do.
NYU is a great school and I’m glad I attended the school. The professors are top-notch and the students are helpful. There’s an interdisciplinary program so med students and nursing students learn about working together and each other’s roles. It is one of the top research institutions as well especially in elder care (NICHE Program http://www.nicheprogram.org). However, it is a really expensive program so I don’t recommend it to everyone.
The other nursing schools in New York / Long Island that I hear good things from include Hunter, Columbia, Stony Brook, Adelphi, Molloy and Pace.

3.       Difficulty finding a job? Did you work part-time while studying in the program?

After I passed the NCLEX, it took about 6 months to find a nursing position. A couple of problems I ran into included not knowing how to interview (because this is a skill you need to practice). I didn’t start my search until after I passed. Some students connected with nurse managers during clinical and were able to secure a position shortly after graduation.

I did work once a week as a swim instructor during school to help supplement the costs. Some students didn’t work at all while others worked 36 hours a week (a full-time job!!). The first and second semester are the toughest so give more time devoted to school before deciding to work.

4.       Do grades matter a lot to employers? Do I need to get straight A’s or can I afford to have a few B’s or even a C?

Some employers require a minimum GPA (3.4, 3.5) before they even look at your application. Some don’t. It’s how you present yourself and your mannerism that matter and whether you retained information from school and can apply it.


5.       What is the starting salary like and is it worth being a nurse practitioner? What kind of nurse do you think is best to become/specialize in if any?

Starting salary differs from location to location, ranging from $40-80k. In NYC, it starts around $70-80k if you’re working at a private hospital.

Becoming a NP is dependent on the person. While I’ve heard that becoming an NP is the greatest thing in the world (I hear a lot of positive feedback), there are still a few who are discontent with the position, as there is more responsibility that comes with the position. Some people don’t want to deal with the higher stress and responsibility but wanted to go back to school and ended up hating being an NP. This requires a lot of self-reflection. What do you think would suit you and are you ready for it?
Personally, I’ve explored many advanced nursing professions. Not only should you look at your duties but also the lifestyle. Where would you want to work, what would you do, when would you want to work, what income would you make, what mobility is there? The best advanced nursing profession depends on the individual and what they want out of life. I picked Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. I like the one-on-one direct patient care aspect requiring a high level of critical thinking and autonomy and teamwork.

6.       What’s life as a nurse? What are the difficulties and good parts of being a nurse? Expectations in the work force?

Life as a nurse differs between the environment that you work in. I work at the hospital where there’s 12 hour shifts (7-7:30am and pm), 3 days a week (for full time) and you can choose your schedule (with some limitations such as having to choose at least 3 weekend days, 2 Fridays, etc). Some people choose to do 3 in a row each week and have 4 days off. Other hospitals have it so you work 3 12-hour shifts plus 1 additional day every 4 weeks. Some units, especially in CTICU, PACU and ER, have other shifts from 11am to 11pm or 2pm to 2am.

It’s great having 4 days off because you definitely need it to recuperate and you’ll have time to do something else if you’d like.
Some places have day (7a -3p), evening (3p-11p), and night shift (11p-7a), especially in rehab and nursing homes, and require you work 5 days a week.
At work, you often need to have handoff communication about the patients. Then you assess the patient and pass out medications. You make nursing diagnoses about each patient and use critical thinking. You think to yourself: What’s the goal for the patient today? And then make it happen. You’ll speak to various disciplines to coordinate the care.
—
There’s a couple of tough parts about being a nurse.
1) Families – Some follow the unit policies and others do whatever they want. Communication is sometimes hard but trying to understand where they are coming from helps.
2) Physicians, MLP – your input is often crucial to the patient’s outcome but sometimes the provider will disagree with you.
3) Patients – some are nice and others are crazy, confused and not so nice.
4) Self- being able to let go everyday of the outcome is tough. At the end of the time, you have to set 1 small goal for the patient and as long as they meet that, you have to be satisfied with the care you provided. Nurses tend to be overachievers and want to always give more but with the number of things that must be done, it’s impossible to do everything you had in mind. You have to remember that nursing is a 24/7 job.
—
The good parts about being a nurse is knowing that you’ve made a difference is someone’s life. You get to think about an active problem and you get to take yourself and solve that problem. You get to hold someone’s hand and reassure them. It’s an amazing privilege to have to save a life, to have a better life, or to let someone die with dignity.
As for expectations in the workforce, there are several different angles you can discuss but I’ll discuss about your own expectations. There’s a nursing theorist named Patricia Benner who stated that the nursing career is based on the nursing model-
You really do start not knowing a lot, just the basics. You focus a lot on technical skills because it’s something you have to work on. Then as you progress, you build more confidence. Soon you’ll start to see areas in nursing where care can be streamlined or have protocols to standardize care. You’ll be in charge, take on harder assignments, be a preceptor, etc.

7.       Any general suggestions on what I should focus on or do to become a nurse/get into NYU program?

Do well on your pre-reqs, volunteer or work in healthcare, and get to know a few professors who will write a letter of recommendation for you. And write a killer personal statement answering every question asked.

I hoped that helped! Read my first post for more information on NYU’s Accelerated Nursing Program, find out if NYU Nursing is worth it, how to pick a good nursing school, and find out if you can afford an accelerated program. Or if you have any further questions, email me.

Jessica

CCRN: How to Pass The First Time

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Last Updated: July 13, 2020

Disclosure: I love sharing my favorite products and this post contains affiliate links where I may receive a commission if you chose to buy at no cost to you.

I passed the CCRN last week! Yay!!! The CCRN is a certification exam for critical care nurses. It verifies your knowledge about critical care concepts after working 1750 hours in the last two years. The benefit of getting the CCRN means getting a pay raise or a bonus. Or intellectually, it solidifies your basics. But if you’re reading this, you probably already know that. You have the more important question — how do I pass the CCRN?

Before I studied, I also searched the internet for the best way to study for this difficult exam. There were two things that stood out to me.

  1. Listen to Laura Gasparis’ videos.
  2. Do all of the questions from PASS CCRN. Buy the physical book to get the online code for the online questions.

I got all of the material from a friend, from another friend.

I listened to all of the videos and wrote down notes the first time around so I wouldn’t have to listen to it again. It meant I had to pause the video sometimes to write notes. There were 6 videos about 2 hours long. So roughly 12 hours. I did 2 videos each week while working full time. It took 3 weeks to complete.

Then I did all of the questions from Pass CCRN. Doing the questions will make you go through the important concepts and details. I gave myself the goal to complete either a complete short and easy section or about 20-40 each day. Cardiac (20%), pulmonary (18%), and ethical (20%) are the most heavily weighted sections.

What are the important things to know about the cardiac and pulmonary sections?

For the cardiac and pulmonary sections, it initially took me about 2-3 hours to complete 30 questions because I would read the rationale and write a flashcard for the material. There are over 300 questions on cardiac alone, and there’s a good reason for it.

I felt the most important things about cardiac are:

  • The different medications
    • Examples include vasopressors, vasodilators, diuretics, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, ARBs
    • How it affects afterload, preload, and contractility
    • Side effects
  • How do stroke volume (SV) and heart rate (HR) affect cardiac output (CO)?
  • In different disease states, what is lacking, and what do you need to fix the problem?
  • How does the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) help? Complications?
  • What does the pulmonary artery measure, what do those values mean, and what do you do when you see a value out of wack? What are the physical assessments would you find?
  • What are the different types of murmurs, where do you listen, what typically causes stenosis vs. regurgitation?
  • Different types of chest pain, MI.
  • 12 lead EKG — this took some time for me since at work it’s only required to know how to read a lead II EKG. But since I started studying, I’d look at 12 lead EKGs at work, and it’s kinda fun.

For pulmonary:

  • ABG interpretation (compensated vs uncompensated; what would breathing too fast or too slow cause? How would you treat different values?)
  • Ventilator settings – which ones affect respiratory rate? What does PEEP do? How does that relate to the V/Q ratio?

Where should I write flashcards?

As I did the questions, I used a flashcard program called Anki. It’s a fantastic memorization tool using the concept of spaced repetition. And the best part is that it’s free to download on the computer or laptop and to use over the internet. It’s $25 to download on your iPhone or Android but it’s worth it.

I did the questions on one side of the screen, and had Anki opened on the other side. Anything I didn’t know or wanted to review, I either copy and pasted questions or answers, or paraphrased the concepts. It’s easy to put too many things to memorize on one card and that’s the last thing you want to do. When you’re reviewing the card, you don’t want to think, “oh I got half of the card correct… so do I choose that I got it right or wrong?” You want to be decisive and pick whether or not you got it correct.

I have the flashcards that I created for the CCRN that is easy for you to download, although you should probably create your own or edit mine to make it easier for you.

Updated December 16, 2016: these flashcards can only be used with Anki on a computer or phone. If you are thinking about downloading the flashcards, please download Anki first and make an account. Also, please do not download these flashcards unless you will use them right away.

Updated August 3, 2015: I’ve given the CCRN Flashcards to many people who have used them and passed the CCRN. Since it is time-consuming for me to email everyone who asks and I’ll have no income for the next two years while I’m in school, I’ve decided to sell them to help me pay for food during school. People have said that it’s worth $50, but I won’t charge that much for it, especially since I really want you, as my reader, to pass!

Updated July 13, 2020: The new CCRN exam came out during the pandemic on March 25, 2020. The exam percentages from the old exam and to the new exam are exactly the same. The AACN has new preparation material where you can try 30 questions for free for 7 days and then have to pay for it.

Another option is to try PocketPrep. I’m currently going through the questions to see if they are similar enough. They also have a free version but to get the most out of you, you must get the paid subscription. It contains 600 questions, as a question of the day (QOTD), a ‘quick 10 questions’, a rationale for the answers and a way to flag questions you want to review. When I finish going through the questions, I’ll write a more detailed review.

How many questions do I need get right to pass?

Just 89 out of 150 questions to pass. So you can do it! 25 are for research. Only 125 actually count. You have up to 3 hours to take the exam.

How much is the exam?

The exam is $245 if you’re a member of the American Academy of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). You’ll go to goamp.com to pick a test site and register for the exam. You’ll get 3 months to take the exam. You can change the test date once for free. Majority of the test sites are in the HR Block. How nice of them!

I took mine in Astoria, NY. I was the only one and it was quiet. Good experience.

Anyways, go for it! Good luck in your endeavor.

The Flu season is back

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You either get the flu shot or you don’t. If you decide not to, you must sign a waiver and then wear a mask at all times once you’ve stepped inside the hospital… At least until the flu season is over, usually sometime in the beginning of April.

This requirement is so serious that if you didn’t comply, you’d end up with leave without pay and eventually fired within a week. So hop to it!

Most people don’t want to get the flu shot because they feel more tired and ill afterwards. They fear getting the flu from the flu shot. But people are much more likely to get the flu from the community than from the flu shot.

Some have an egg allergy, or a family history of Gullian Barre. In this case, definitely don’t get it. Or if you’re body is immunocompromised from another disease. Then adding a dead strain of the flu to your body is probably not a good idea.

Anyhow, wearing a mask all the time isn’t so bad. In fact, in Taiwan majority of hospital workers wear masks, partially due to the H1N1 and SARS virus that broke out a few years ago. The only annoying thing about it is if you wear glasses, it sometimes fogs up the glass or if you have an allergy to the mask material and you break out from it.

I never got the flu shot prior to 5 years ago. I was at Employee Health to get cleared to volunteer at a Cancer Center. The nurse asked if I got the flu shot. I said no and I didn’t want it.

What she said next changed my life. She said,

It’s not just about protecting you; it’s about protecting others.

Cancer patients are definitely immunocompromised. The radiation and chemotherapy is killing off good and bad cells, unfortunately. If I got the flu, my body may be able to fight it off easily but if I cough on someone else (by accident of course), it’d be much easier for them to get the flu.

That day I didn’t get the flu shot because I had a certain pride of never getting the flu shot.

2 days later I got the flu shot. I didn’t want to be that agent to pass on the flu.

For my boyfriend, I encourage him to get the flu shot. Last year we were at a Breast Cancer event in October in Providence, Rhode Island. There, Walgreens was offering free flu shots. So he got one.

This year I encouraged him to get the flu shot again. He didn’t want to because it’s an out of pocket expense. However, at his work they were doing an experiment on ways to encourage people to get the flu shot. They offered it for free. So he got one.

Cost and fear of getting the flu are the 2 major barriers for not getting the flu shot. Protecting yourself and others are my reasons for getting it.

What’s your reason for getting it or not getting it? Comment below!

Compassion Fatigue and what you can do about it

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compassion fatigueToday I went to a journal club meeting on compassion fatigue. What does compassion fatigue even mean? Why is it important? And how can we combat it?

First let us define a few words.
Passion means an intense emotion.
Compassion means you’re intensely aware of others’ suffering and you have the desire to do something about it.
Sympathy is when you feel sorry for others.
Empathy is when experience others’ pain.

As a nurse, you probably will feel all of these emotions for your patients. You understand the patients’ suffering and you’re willing to do something about it. You feel sympathy for these patients. In fact, your entire unit probably feels sympathy. And your goal is to alleviate suffering.

However, empathy can be emotionally taxing and draining. You have to be careful not to be too empathetic for each patient  as doing so will drain your emotional capacity.

But what happens when there’s too much compassion? What is the opposite of compassion?

Indifference. You stop caring. It’s too much and you’re not satisfied.

What does this look like?

People may lash out at others. Others isolate themselves. People will often call out sick because they feel overloaded. They feel scared that they will make a mistake that could cost them their license or worse, a patient’s life. Nurses will feel burnout and eventually drop out of nursing. That is not good for the profession.

What can you do to combat compassion fatigue?

1. Set small and obtainable goals (SMART goals).

This applies to any setting, but especially in the critical care setting where there are chronic patients and dying patients who may make little difference everyday (either positively or negatively). The goal may not be curative but rather for comfort. If the patient is in pain, your goal could be to provide comfort.

Sometimes family members will have unreasonable goals for their loved ones because they are unfamiliar or are in denial of the serious condition. They may think that their loved one is going to go home being the same way they were before arriving at the hospital. In this case, your goal could be to alleviate the family’s fears and to be honest with the patients’ condition.

Setting your own small and measurable goals for the patient for those 12 hour shifts will allow you to feel good about the care you give.

2. Taking care of yourself.

The stability of your personal relationships at home will affect how you handle yourself at work. If you’re stable and confident with yourself, you will come away believing in yourself that you’re doing the best you can. Having enough time for yourself is crucial. Exercise, eat healthy, and building a positive network.

3. Work as a team.

Lastly, remember that you’re working as a team and not in isolation. Your coworkers also feel compassion for you and your patients. The more senior coworkers may have had experiences similar to the one you’re currently dealing with and can suggest goals for you.

Giving the same good, evidenced based nursing care for each patient is something my unit does consistently, no matter what condition the patients are in. In some cases, the patients get better. In other cases, patients get worse or stay chronically ill. By treating everyone in the same way, we feel that the patients’ destiny is not in our hands, but is determined by something higher up.

First float as a critical care nurse

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fear vs courageI feel that anytime you float to another unit, there’s some anxiety because you’ll call different providers, things are in different places and there’s usually a different patient population. Since I came off of probation, I have to float now.

My first float was at the SICU. While there, I had 2 medical patients, so at least I was used to that. Here are a couple of things there made me feel comfortable.

  1. A list of numbers for the MLPs (the critical care PA, vascular PA, and surgical PA), respiratory therapist, med cart code, nurses lounge. If the float unit is nice, then they will already have these on a sheet prepared for you. If not, then ask the charge nurse or the secretary for this information.
  2. Bringing my own SBAR form. The float unit may not have the same form as your home unit.
  3. A quick orientation of the unit. Having an idea of where everything is will give you the tools you need to succeed!
  4. Remembering names. Introducing yourself to the nurses next to you and to the axillary staff and remembering their names will make it much easier to get help (or help them!) and get the job done.
  5. Ask questions. As always, feel comfortable asking questions! Anything from, ‘Where can I find a 3cc syringe?’ to a patient’s deteriorating condition to ‘can I have a boost?’

Although I had a pretty good first float, I’ve heard other stories from my coworkers stating that they had too many patients. You should be able to get the same ratio of patient population as you would normally. Good luck on your first float! 🙂

How to get a Michigan RN License from Out of State

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Fonature pathr a number of reasons, we travel to a new state, such as Michigan, after we’ve already obtain our first nursing license. Since I plan on working in Michigan, I have to get my Michigan Nursing License first. Here’s how I’m doing it and the related costs.

Ease – Easy
Time to Invest – 2 days
Time to Completion – from 1 to 3 months
Total Cost Minimum / Maximum – $146.50 / $181.75
This does not include the cost of an envelope and stamp to mail. If possible, use credit or check to pay. Otherwise getting a money order may cost more.

Step 1 Go to the Michigan Nursing License website and download the RN by Endorsement Application. Fill it out, attach a check for the State of Michigan ($54 or for $10 more, you can get a temporary license first for those who currently have 2 licenses), and snail mail the form.

Step 2 Decide if you will get your fingerprints done in Michigan or Out of State. If done in Michigan, go to www.identogo.com. Pick a location, book an appointment (date and time — it’s suggested to schedule your fingerprints 7-10 days AFTER you’ve submitted the RN by Endorsement Application), fill out your information, and submit $62.50 with credit or pay at the site with a check. After your fingerprinting appointment, keep the Livescan Fingerprint Request Form and receipt as it will contain the TCN Number.

If done Out of State, go to your local police state, get a hard stock fingerprint card (in New York State, it’s $25), and mail in the fingerprint card WITH the Livescan Fingerprint Request Form (page 11) and check of $62.75.

Step 3 Have your nursing license verified through www.nursys.com. They will send the verification for you for $30.

Step 4 Wait for the State of Michigan to process your application. After about 3 weeks, you should receive a Application Confirmation containing your customer number, which you can use to check your status online at www.michigan.gov/appstatus. According to others on allnurses.com, if it’s been over 8 weeks, contact your local rep or senate with your complaint. Typically, they find that the application is completed shortly after that.

Edit (12/31/14):

Step 5 If after 8 weeks, you can call them (I waited 25 minutes!) or email bhcshelp@michigan.gov with your TCN number that is found on it Livescan Fingerprint Request Form, and your customer ID number. They emailed me 2 days after stating that they found my fingerprint and they will forward it to the processor. 2 days after that, I got my license. I hope your experience is smooth.

Jess

My First ICU patient who passed away

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He officially passed away this morning
while I was on break. DNR status.

Yesterday his son asked for my thoughts.
“I think he’ll make it tonight.”
Even though he was slowly deteriorating,
Maxed out on oxygen and 3 drips to keep up his blood pressure.
On fentanyl to make him comfortable.
He made it.

I returned last night.
It was a different story.

“Jessica, how’s he doing?” His son asked.
The generic “he’s fine” is off limits. It was time for the truth.

“Last night his respiratory rate was 9 or 10. Now it’s 15-18.
Often when people are nearing the end of life,
it goes from slow to faster and back to slow again.”

“But his heart rate looks ok. It’s 85.”

“Yes that’s true.
But his blood pressure is slowing decreasing.
His heart is still trying to compensate.”
He cocked his head. I tried again.
“His heart is trying to get enough blood to his body
but it’s not working. It will eventually give up.”

Optimism in his voice,
“But wouldn’t the heart rate slowly taper off?
I thought he would live a couple more days.”

“No, his heart can suddenly stop because it’s giving up.
I’m not sure if he will make it through the morning.
His drips cause his blood vessels to constrict.
That explains why his hands are cold
and the oxygen probe to not read well.”

After midnight, his HR was suddenly dropped to 42. RR was 9. SpO2 77%.
“Can you give us an update, doc?”

“Well I’m not a doctor.”

“It’s ok. We’ve promoted you. Just give it to us straight.”

I started to tear up a little bit.
It wasn’t easy for me to tell them what I thought:
He’s on his way out.

They told me that they’ve shed their tears already
and were waiting this.
“Thank you for taking great care of him.
You should be proud of you and your coworkers.
Tremendous sense of purpose and goal and comradery.”

His blood pressures stop reading.
Apnea alarm sounds.
That probably should’ve been my cue.
I still felt a carotid pulse.
I checked my drips.
Gave report and went on break.

I came back from break and looked at the monitor.
His was black.
“Your patient expired.”
Icy cold hospital terminology.

I debriefed with the experienced nurse covering for me.
What could I do better next time?
1. Listen for his heartbeat, not only feel for pulse.
2. Consider the BiPAP machine delivering breaths for him.
What’s the rate set at and what is his RR now?

In the final progress note
Include: heart rhythm- PEA,
who pronounced time of death,
which doctors notified of death.
Family at bedside or contacted.

In the end,
This family was ready to accept their father’s fate.
The son shared his friend’s voicemail message:
“How did they prepare the chicken?
They told him he was going to die.”
We chuckled.
Humor can start the healing process.

After I gave report,
I said bye to the family
And they all gave me a hug
And thanked me again.

I drove home
Half crying
Trying to drown the feeling
By turning up the radio.

I showered, ate, and wrote this down
So that I don’t forget.

Med-Surg to ICU Interview Questions

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I’m so excited to announce that I was recently accepted into the MICU (medical intensive care unit) at my hospital! Critical care class starts in 2 days and I just finished my last shift on the telemetry med-surg and orthopedic unit!! I loved my team there– the people are truly incredible. The CCPs, PCAs, management, my fellow night nurses and day nurses made my time there truly amazing. It felt like a great teamwork every night, making sure essential things get done and always going above and beyond. 🙂

One year ago, I started at a nursing home for a month. 11 months ago, I started at the hospital on the telemetry unit. My hospital is having some of our ICU nurses go to another hospital in the system to build up their units so this great opportunity came up for me to go work in the ICU.

Fortunately, the interview was a “formality” but it’s no excuse not to prepare! With nearly a year of experience under my belt, it was much easier to come up with experiences showing my leadership. And remember, people relate to specific STORIES more than generalities! Here is a list of questions the nurse manager asked me.

  1. May I see your resume? (Asks questions on the resume especially regarding additional schooling aka your future plans and previous experience)
  2. What made you interested in coming to the ICU?
  3. How has your experience prepared you?
  4. What kind of drips have you used?
  5. Have you called a RRT or a neuro RRT or code before? What happened? What was that like?
  6. Describe a busy night for you.
  7. If you have several things going on, how do you deal with that? (Delegation and priority- give specific examples where this came in handy!))
  8. How do you keep your ancillary staff accountable? Do you always or only sometimes have huddles? Do you meet up with them again? How do you make sure they do what you asked them to?
  9. What do you do when you’re unsure of something?
  10. What is a strength you have? A weakness?
  11. What have you heard about this unit?
  12. Do you have any questions for me? (The answer is always yes and you ask questions!! Such as the type of patients, the ratio, the professional nursing organization, scheduling, etc)

I hope this helps! If you have heard of additional questions, I’d be happy to add in more to get a more comprehensive list. And happy thanksgiving to everyone!! I have a lot to be thankful for, including the readers who have given me positive feedback through emails, comments, and likes. 🙂 so thank you!!!

Donating Stool Isn’t That Weird Anymore

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The first time I came across donating poop from one to another was at my hospital. At first I was a little grossed out but then it made sense— all that healthy bacteria one person could have
— and then transplanting it over to someone who lacks the bacteria (especially those with ulcerative colitis) can work wonders. It helps restore a healthy digestive tract!

Read what a New York Times opinionator did to help save her friend by donating her fecal matter.

List of New Graduate Nursing Residency — RNDeer

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If you’re interested in a list of new graduate nursing residencies throughout the USA, you have to check out RNDeer.com.

As you may know, nursing students are having a difficult time finding a new grad position, even though this “nursing shortage” is upon us. RNDeer has complied a list with over 600 hospitals and skilled nursing facilities that have nursing residencies and accept new nursing graduates. It includes the most up-to-date program links, HR phone numbers, and blurbs about the hospitals and other programs.

For me personally, the most frustrating part about finding a position is organizing the list of places you’re interested in, and then meeting those deadlines! Since hospitals are not like schools, they have varying deadlines from month to month, year to year. Then, you have to fill out a similar form asking similar questions for each and every location.

Just as doctors get “Matched” on Match Day every March by applying to several hospitals at the same time, RNDeer also hopes to do same for nurses. They will unveil a common application. So far, they’ve received positive feedback from nursing students and hospitals alike.

In the meantime, check out their list of new graduate nurse residency programs. They are open to feedback and suggestions to better serve you. Check out why over 6000 people have already liked them on Facebook. Be sure to also follow them on Twitter.

And good luck with your job search!