So, as you may have gathered from my silence, I didn't get an offer from new grad day. They called me back and explained that I didn't have a bachelor's degree and that's the tiebreaker they had to use because they had so few openings. Sigh.
So a few days later the department of nurse recruitment called me and asked me if I'd like to interview on the Neurosurgical ICU. Whoa. I had never thought of a critical care area as a new graduate, mainly because I was worried about not getting enough training since so many hospitals are so bottom-line oriented that they regularly give nurses too many patients and stop hiring nurses in a down economy. But this hospital's orientation seems to be top notch for this kind of department. I left the interview thinking I could really do it, and I loved the unit from what I saw.
I scheduled a time to shadow (today, later) and was offered the job!!! I asked for a few days to make up my mind and I am going to decide after shadowing - but I am 95 percent sure it's what I am going to do. I just want to give it the shadow time to make a thousand percent sure it's what I want. It's a 2 year commitment to the unit plus 6 months of orientation, which makes it a fairly significant decision. The schedule isn't completely what I wanted (4 days a week instead of 3 for the first year, but they have done research and found that new nurses achieve competency faster if they work 4 days a week as opposed to the typical nurse schedule of 3, for their first year). So it's for my own good for better training, etc, but it's more day care costs for us.
I loved it though - the high acuity, the types of patients, and I love the nurse manager I met with. We really seemed to get along.
I think I'm pretty sure I am going to do this. It's crazy that such a cool position just fell into my lap like this, it's been a good week!
2.06.2009
Job applications, again.
I shadowed this past Wednesday at a pediatric hematology/oncology unit and I loved it and felt so at home on the unit. I stayed for 5 hours (even though the original shadow was only supposed to be 2 hours) because I wanted to see a stem cell transplant.
I love that place so much. I would kill to work there. It's too bad I don't have much of a chance - they are having budgetary issues and don't know how many people they will be able to actually hire. They should know by the end of the month.
Tomorrow I have an all day new-grad nurse hiring event. It's for a position on an adult oncology unit. They do say up front that they do 90 percent of their new grad hiring for the year at this one event, and many times people leave tomorrow's event with a job offer. I am cautiously hopeful about my chances. I am really lucky because I signed up when it was very early and I was able to get a spot. I know people who have called up and asked to register and were told there were 250 people on the waiting list for the event. I feel vaguely guilty because I am sure there are people on that waiting list more qualified than I am, but it was first come, first serve and I didn't cheat or anything, I just called them early.
All day in a boring business suit and pantyhose. Bleh. I am NOT looking forward to that part of things. And the uncomfortable shoes. :( Maybe I'll get an awesome job offer and it'll all be worth it. Stranger things have happened!
The first hospital (peds oncology) told me that if I got an offer before they had their budgetary info and really wanted to know what their position was about hiring me, before I accepted or declined the other offer - to call them and see what they would be able to tell me.
My scariest scenario right now is having to make the choice of one or the other of these places. I already know both units have almost near zero turnover and the nurses are so happy they stay on both units for years and years. So I know I wouldn't be unhappy either place. But the idea of having to make the decision between both these places makes me panicked just thinking about it. So right now, I am actually hoping at least one of them turns me down so I don't have to be in that position.
So, if I leave tomorrow with no offer in hand, it could well be a blessing in disguise. We'll see.
Oh, and the first test of the semester - I got a 90, even though I took the test with bronchitis and was afraid I'd gotten my first failing grade in nursing school ever. So I'm still good for this semester. I just have to not lose sight of school. It's hard to keep my focus with the job stuff going on.
I love that place so much. I would kill to work there. It's too bad I don't have much of a chance - they are having budgetary issues and don't know how many people they will be able to actually hire. They should know by the end of the month.
Tomorrow I have an all day new-grad nurse hiring event. It's for a position on an adult oncology unit. They do say up front that they do 90 percent of their new grad hiring for the year at this one event, and many times people leave tomorrow's event with a job offer. I am cautiously hopeful about my chances. I am really lucky because I signed up when it was very early and I was able to get a spot. I know people who have called up and asked to register and were told there were 250 people on the waiting list for the event. I feel vaguely guilty because I am sure there are people on that waiting list more qualified than I am, but it was first come, first serve and I didn't cheat or anything, I just called them early.
All day in a boring business suit and pantyhose. Bleh. I am NOT looking forward to that part of things. And the uncomfortable shoes. :( Maybe I'll get an awesome job offer and it'll all be worth it. Stranger things have happened!
The first hospital (peds oncology) told me that if I got an offer before they had their budgetary info and really wanted to know what their position was about hiring me, before I accepted or declined the other offer - to call them and see what they would be able to tell me.
My scariest scenario right now is having to make the choice of one or the other of these places. I already know both units have almost near zero turnover and the nurses are so happy they stay on both units for years and years. So I know I wouldn't be unhappy either place. But the idea of having to make the decision between both these places makes me panicked just thinking about it. So right now, I am actually hoping at least one of them turns me down so I don't have to be in that position.
So, if I leave tomorrow with no offer in hand, it could well be a blessing in disguise. We'll see.
Oh, and the first test of the semester - I got a 90, even though I took the test with bronchitis and was afraid I'd gotten my first failing grade in nursing school ever. So I'm still good for this semester. I just have to not lose sight of school. It's hard to keep my focus with the job stuff going on.
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