Real people, real stories

1.) What did you do to prepare for/get accepted to nursing school?

My nursing journey began the semester before I graduated from SDSU. I always knew nursing was my passion but due to being a full time athlete I had to make a decision when I was a freshman; full ride scholarship or BSN. I chose the full ride scholarship and knew later I would go back for my RN. Fall 2014, a semester before I graduated from SDSU, I decided to start looking at the nursing school requirements. After researching, my first priority was to obtain my volunteer hours. After researching for volunteer programs for pre-nursing, I stumbled across a hospital that was in my home town, Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach. I decided to apply to the program and after writing multiple essays and going to multiple group interviews, I was hired to be a Clinical Care Extender aka a green shirt. So for 4 months, every weekend after practice, I would drive up obtain my 4 hours, then drive back to SDSU. After graduating with my bachelors, I applied to a local community college to finish my prerequisites: anatomy, physiology, microbiology. I also decided to take the nursing chemistry course and pharmacology. The reason why I took those courses was because I wanted to stand out from the other applicants. I also knew those two courses were needed for my BSN. About a year before I started applying, I knew I had to start working in a hospital. One reason was to obtain more points for my application and the other reason was because  I wanted to work as an ER RN at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. To get a job in the ER, it's very competitive. I had to start as soon as possible in order for me to even be considered to work in my dream department. I enrolled in an EMT course that was 8 weeks long, passed, and then received my NREMT license. I applied for an EMT position at HOAG and because I was volunteering there, they hired me. While working at Hoag and completing the prerequisites (with all A’s and one B in physiology), I was preparing to take my TEAS test. I studied for a month before I took the exam. After passing the teas it was time to apply! 

2.) Why did you choose your school? ADN/BSN/ABSN?
The reason why I chose Golden West College over other ADN programs was because the reputation that Golden West College nurses have had over the years. When I was volunteering at Hoag, majority of nurses who I interacted with were from GWC. I saw the product of an GWC RN graduate and I told myself, “that’s the type of nurse I want to be someday”. I didn’t even bother to apply for the BSN programs because my current situation. had more points at an ADN than a BSN program. I also knew GWC had dual RN to BSN programs. 

3.) Did you work through nursing school?
While in nursing school, I worked part time as an EMT in the ER at Hoag Hospital. 24 hours of work, plus school and clinical. I must say, it took a lot of hard work and dedication. Yet, I truly believe if you want to work somewhere right away after passing your NCLEX, it is highly worth the pain and suffering. I took my NCLEX July 2, 2019 and I was working as an ER RN by July 29th. I highly recommend working in a hospital while in nursing school! You build a rapport with fellow employees, build a working relationship with the director and clinical staff. Lastly, you feel much more comfortable with patients. You are constantly learning and when I learned something new in nursing school, I used that knowledge in the field. It was very helpful.  

4.) How did you prepare for the NCLEX?
When I graduated nursing school, I took a week off; went to Mexico and had a fabulous time. When I got back, it was Uworld time. For about 2 weeks, I did about 25 questions a day every morning. Three weeks out before I took my exam, I was doing 75-100 questions a day. Every morning I would wake up and study for about 4 hours maximum. I didn’t want to overwhelm myself. I really tried to understand the rationales of each question. Next, GWC provided the Hurst review. It was a great way recap of everything we learned in nursing school. I studied for a total of 5 weeks and passed! 

5.) How did you prepare for your job interview?
My job interview I was anticipating for months. I told my director that I was very interested working in the ED as an RN a year before I graduated. I emailed him about once a month for a year, sending him a friendly reminder that when I graduated nursing school, I wanted to be at HOAG. He seemed pleased that I was persistent and hard working. About a week before I took the NCLEX, I had my official interview with the director of the ED. I was an EMT at the time and didn’t want my director or peers to think just because I was working there as an EMT, doesn’t necessarily mean that I had the job without any question. So, I made a portfolio consisting of: my resume, letter of recommendations from ED physicians, charge nurses and my professors from nursing school, and the awards I obtained in nursing school. My director was very impressed and told me, “once you pass, you have a job here”. 

6.)  Any tips for future new grads?
My tip for future new grads: start working in the hospital ASAP while in nursing school. It was the best decision I made 3 years ago. I am practicing my nursing at a magnet hospital where it  is safe, clean, and very well known in the OC community.