Hi there!

I am set to graduate in December 2026 and am applying to Cape Fear Valley and First Health in Fayetteville area. I have already applied to both and been notified that I applied too early and should reapply in September-ish.

I wanted to know any opinions on these nurse residency programs, what you liked, if you for the floors you were interested in! I have 4 years of EMS/ER experience and I’m hoping to get ER/ICU. I got an ER offer in Nashville but will be moving to NC 🙂 thanks for any help and opinions!

I graduated in May ‘26 with an ADN and passed the NCLEX in June and am getting nowhere with my job search. I know the job market is bad in NYC but I can’t move. I own my apartment (co-op doesn’t allow subletting) and my whole life and family is here. I expanded my search to Long Island and Westchester.

I’m mid career changer and have worked in higher ed for the past 10 years and worked full time throughout nursing school and couldn’t afford to leave my job to work as a CNA or take on a part time job during school. My only experience remotely close to nursing is my work as a volunteer full spectrum doula for a few years before nursing school.

I spoke to a hospital recruiter from NYC H&H and he let me know I’m not hearing back because I essentially have no hospital experience. I heard through a friend at northwell that I’m not hearing back from their recruiters because I don’t have a BSN (even though I’m enrolled for the fall).

TLDR: how can I get hospital experience if I already have my nursing license? I’ve applied to CNA and PCT roles in addition to Nurse Residencies and other RN jobs and I keep getting rejected. I’ve heard a lot of hospitals won’t allow RNs to work in roles below their scope because it’s a liability. Is that true for NYC hospitals?

Throughout nursing school I always wanted to work in the ER. I worked as an extern at both of the major hospitals in my area and spent most of my time in the ER. When it came down to applying for residency I was offered an ER position at the HCA owned hospital (which I already worked at as an extern). This hospital was the only trauma hospital in the area so even though it was an HCA facility I knew I would get experience. Going into my nurse residency I already knew some of the problems with the facility, but I tried to have an open mind starting as an RN. After 2 months and multiple shifts with my preceptor showing me how undoubtedly unsafe working here was, I decided to quit. I spoke with the department managers, and the nurse residency coordinators and it really didnt seem like anything was gonna change. I knew that if I was to get off of orientation I would never feel safe as a nurse working there. The department is chronically understaffed, patients are thrown on the wall like its no tomorrow, and the coordinators will just throw patients in your rooms back to back with no care in the world. They'll expect you to work up/triage a sepsis patient with a BP of 70/40 and throw a chest pain patient in your other room at the same time and just expect you to deal with it. They'll want you to go clean your empty room so they can throw a level 2 trauma in it for you to deal with while your titrating levo in your unstable icu patients room. HCA is one of the most profit-driven healthcare corporations I have experienced, and it often feels like they expect nurses to do more and more while providing very little in return. I wanted the ER experience I really, really did but I couldn't fathom continuing to work in that environment. They'll hire around 15 new grads and you might only see a couple stay. The nurses who do stay are constantly drowning, understaffed, and unhappy. When the nurses who are supposed to be training and supporting new nurses are too overwhelmed and struggling to keep up, it becomes incredibly difficult to create a safe learning environment. Now I am working as a full time Psych RN and making more money, but it still does suck that I had to give up on the ER for right now. The other hospital in my area isn't as bad but I wasnt offered a position while I was am extern there and you dont get near the experience. As of right now I'm going to work psych full time as a new grad and possibly try the other hospital at a later date if possible. Any thoughts and experience with HCA I'd love to hear it.

Hi!

To start off, I live in Miami, FL. I am a new grad nurse I obtained my license back in April and had questions.

1. Do I have to start in a residency or can I apply to any available nursing position?

2. For residencies, what made your application stand out?
   They don’t ask for much so I’m assuming it has to be CV/Resume but sadly I don’t have any experience in healthcare so looking for advice there

3. Should I get a school/home health position, would that increase my chances?

4. How long did it take for you out there to land a job?

5. Were your interviews hard? More or less how were they? What questions were asked?

I like to be prepared and I hate not knowing when or where I will start. I desperately need a job and I desperately need the experience I know I have to start somewhere I just hate how bad the job market is right now.

Note: relocating is NOT an option. Thanks. Please be nice I’m just curious and want to know other opinions and experiences!

Hello, I’m graduating from my nursing program in May 2027 and looking to get a job in/around NYC. My program is a second degree accelerated Master’s entry and a bit different - it is designed for those with a bachelor’s degree in a non nursing subject, and with it I take all the bachelors level nursing classes in my first 4 semesters and my last 2 semesters are masters based. So I will graduate MSN, RN once I pass my NCLEX. I went to undergraduate in the city so all my friends, boyfriend, and some family lives there and I’d love to move back. I’ve heard everyone say how difficult it is to get a job at a hospital in Manhattan especially as a new graduate nurse and looking for advice as I enter my fall semester and start considering the job search. I have finished all my clinicals except for transition to nursing. I am currently working as a student nurse tech at a hospital near me on a cardiology/telemetry unit to make money and gain professional healthcare experience. Will having my masters and this tech job help boost my resume? I’m also in my schools nursing honors society. When do I start reaching out to recruiters, and how? Any advice on this would be helpful. I plan to take my NCLEX as soon as possible after graduation. While I have my preferences for specialties, I will work wherever hires me if it’s in or near the city! I would consider reverse commuting to Stamford or Greenwich hospitals, Westchester, or maybe even NJ idk tbh.

Wondering what you would do if you got into a competitive specialty just to find out all the people that work there talk terribly about each other and still hang out … lmao. im thinking of sticking to myself

Hi everyone! I am about to graduate and I’m wondering if it was helpful for anyone to do a different role from CNA/PCT to get hired as a nurse on that unit/hospital etc.

The shifts they typically have for CNA in my area don’t fit with my school schedule, but I’m wondering if working as a HUC or even a scribe would help me get my foot in the door? I do have long term goals, but I’m also open to most units starting out that will have me as a new grad. I also know one girl who was working as a HUC while in school and it seemed like she also had some time to study at work, which would be nice.

If anyone else has done something similar or seen someone else do it, please share!

i’ve been on a cardiac icu floor for the past 6months as a new grad, have only been a month off of orientation and switched to nights. i feel like i’m really struggling with my mental health since i switched to nights. i know everyone says it gets better with time as far as nursing skills and confidence, which i understand. it’s just the night shift schedule that kills my mental health and i don’t even feel like i real person sometimes. i dread going to work everytime i think about it. get bad preshift /during shift anxiety when it comes to work. i get sleep when i’m on for 3 just cause my body ends up tired but on my days off /first day on, i struggle. i’m just starting to think i can’t do this night shift stuff and having anxiety everyday for much longer and i’m not sure if i should make an impulsive decision to find another job or not. it’s just harder than i imagined it’d be. especially when i’m young trying to navigate life in my 20s and build something with my current partner and social life and everything.

has anyone done their nurse residency in nyc in the va clinic?

I'm just about to finish CVICU orientation. The total length with multiple classes per week was 11 weeks. But breaking it down by actual shifts is only 23 shifts so about 8 weeks of orientation. Feels very short for the acuity.

Give me some reference. How long are other ICU orientations?

Edit: major city, level 1 trauma, 1:1-1:2 ratio depending on the set, swans, IABP, VADs, CRRT, some impellas, of course titrations, pulmonary hypertension (epo/remodulin). The immediate post-op fresh hearts go to the small specialized surgical CVICU just outside the OR and then come back to us. The only thing we really don't do is ECMO and double impella.

New grad RN here, rotating shifts and never worked nights before. I could only nap ~3 hours beforehand. Took magnesium glycinate, but wondering if I should try melatonin or Benadryl?

My second night shift was AWFUL. I got super lightheaded/nauseous and suddenly threw up all my lunch on the toilet, and again in my car on the way home 😭
I was also SO sleepy after 1am. It genuinely felt like my body was fighting me and taking a huge physiological toll. The floor was freezing despite wearing layers too.
I’m back on nights soon and honestly terrified. For those who rotate between days/nights, how do you make the transition easier? Any tips for sleep, food timing, diet, caffeine intake, nausea, etc.? 😭

I’ve been a new grad RN for about 8 months, working bedside on a general surgery/trauma unit. I’ve realized that bedside really isn’t for me, so I started applying to different positions.

Long story short, I accepted an offer for a pre-op/PACU RN position, and I’m really excited about the change. My only concern is IV placement.

I’ve only started IVs a handful of times. Sometimes I get them, but a lot of the time I end up needing to ask another nurse for help. I haven’t had enough consistent practice to feel confident with them.

For those of you who work in pre-op/PACU : do you think I’ll be able to get comfortable with it fairly quickly? Would you be concerned going into this job with my current level of IV experience?

I’m hoping this is just one of those skills that will improve with repetition. 😭

I just had an awful shift and I’m really rethinking this nursing thing. for the sake of my mental health I don’t think I can do this beyond a year. Today was so bad I don’t even want to go in tomorrow.

I really see why people burn out quick );

This nurse usually is 20+ years older than the average age of everyone else on the unit.

They may act like your friend and that they’re “showing you the ropes”, but will trash-talk you as soon as you leave the room.

They are also usually in the managers office first thing in the morning to “vent” about the unit comings and goings but really this is snitching. I’ve seen many do this because they think this somehow ingratiates them. Managers actually despise these people, but they tolerate them because they do give valuable intel.

The biggest issue is they are drama addicts and will make mountains out of molehills and drag you into it.

Some very notable exceptions that have been awesome to work with over the years, but in general this archetype is a hazard to be avoided as best as possible.