I might need to start working soon...

forgop · 03-20-2012, 06:50 PM

Here's my suggestion-

Interview for anything and everything you can get in the door for and take a sure RN offer. In the meantime, decide what your REAL passion is-it sounds like Mayo is where you want to be for sure. Then decide what specialty you're interested in doing. Go to the hospital and become involved as a VOLUNTEER. Sure, it's not a paid position, but see what you can do in that department on a volunteer basis. You'll get some good shadowing and begin to know the people, and in turn, they'll get to know you. Who do you think they'll want to talk to when an opening becomes available? The hiring manager will likely know you and you'll have actual RN's within the department that has gotten to know you as well. I'd also recommend trying to volunteer on both sides of a shift change, so multiple charge/staff RN's will get to know you from both sides. As a volunteer, you're not going to be practicing clinical skills, but exercising your people skills and what little you can to show your work ethic.

It's not the optimal situation (ie, unpaid), but to me, separates you from the regular applicant they have coming in for every other position they have posted. Trust me, it'll be far better to donate a few hours here and there to get you out of code brown duty for all the months ahead if you don't do a little something proactive like this.

It worked for me to get my student job (on a basis of 3-4 hours/week), but it really opened me up to a LOT of clinical observation experience I would have never seen otherwise. I saw a lot of things that helped me to apply book learning with what I was seeing on the clinical side. I likely find out in a couple of days that I'll be given an offer to be an RN in the ER of a trauma 1 hospital when I graduate. How many new grads land that kind of gig as their first RN position out of school? Not many.

Good luck!

03-20-2012, 06:50 PM	#16
forgop Not a puffer Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Duane Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 2,869 Trading: (40)	Re: I might need to start working soon... Here's my suggestion- Interview for anything and everything you can get in the door for and take a sure RN offer. In the meantime, decide what your REAL passion is-it sounds like Mayo is where you want to be for sure. Then decide what specialty you're interested in doing. Go to the hospital and become involved as a VOLUNTEER. Sure, it's not a paid position, but see what you can do in that department on a volunteer basis. You'll get some good shadowing and begin to know the people, and in turn, they'll get to know you. Who do you think they'll want to talk to when an opening becomes available? The hiring manager will likely know you and you'll have actual RN's within the department that has gotten to know you as well. I'd also recommend trying to volunteer on both sides of a shift change, so multiple charge/staff RN's will get to know you from both sides. As a volunteer, you're not going to be practicing clinical skills, but exercising your people skills and what little you can to show your work ethic. It's not the optimal situation (ie, unpaid), but to me, separates you from the regular applicant they have coming in for every other position they have posted. Trust me, it'll be far better to donate a few hours here and there to get you out of code brown duty for all the months ahead if you don't do a little something proactive like this. It worked for me to get my student job (on a basis of 3-4 hours/week), but it really opened me up to a LOT of clinical observation experience I would have never seen otherwise. I saw a lot of things that helped me to apply book learning with what I was seeing on the clinical side. I likely find out in a couple of days that I'll be given an offer to be an RN in the ER of a trauma 1 hospital when I graduate. How many new grads land that kind of gig as their first RN position out of school? Not many. Good luck!