my RN update....

After getting ALOT of NO's.......
I got a interview and a offer for a Pediatric RN Job.....  :)
I didn't realized how HARD it is to find a job right after graduating from nursing school.   You seem to have to get a residency (were you work 1 on 1 with a nurse at the hospital you are hired into for 3 months) in ordered to get hired.   All the nursing jobs out there are NOTfor new grads.   The responses I got from most of the jobs I applied to was, "You don't have enough experience or you have NO experience, please find a residency".  So very FRUSTRATING!!!  DUH...of course I don't have RN experience but doesn't  2 1/2 years of nursing school count?  Obviously not!.   I have talked to many recruiters at most of the hospitals and they told me its a tough market for new grads now a days.  Because of the economy, hospitals are not training as much.  I was also told to not sit on my license waiting for a residency to open up and to get a job fast even if it is at a nursing home while I wait for one to open up.   I took their advise and went outside the box of a hospital to find a job...

I got hired with PSA Healthcare, which is a home health care agency that works with pediatrics patients.  I will be working one on one taking care of children in their own homes.  Luckily the job is only 15 miles from my house.  This job will be working with kids on ventilators, trach's and GJtubes, TPN etc  Great critical care experience.  The nice thing is the job is 8 hour shifts and only 24 hours a week.  It doesn't pay what hospitals pay (around 5 bucks/hr less then hospital pay)  but it is good enough while I bide my time (it could take MONTHS, most likely in the fall, since the residencies are few and far between) to secure a residency at one of the local hospitals.

I am now a employed Pediatric RN!!!  That sounds so nice.  I am excited!!

Another note... I just applied to BYU -Idaho RN-BSN Program.  It is completely online with affiliations at local hospitals for clinical rotations and I can go part time.   If I get in I will start in fall or winter semester.  Hopefully my high GPA and the fact I already have199 credit hours helps me get in. Not to even mention I have a associate degree from that very college in pre-physical therapy.  :) Waiting until Fall/Winter will give me some time to practice being an RN.

Now I just have to start applying for scholarships!!! :)

Anyways... there is my RN update.   I will update as more news comes.