Who's getting pinned tonight?

SO VERY TIRED..... I took my last regular test on Wednesday. Only made an 88, but that's ok. I can make a 26 on the final and still pass the class, so I'm not sweating it. We had clinical evals yesterday and I made an A. Pinning is tonight and since I have no family here, only my husband and a couple we hang out with are coming. I don't even care. When they hand me the packet that I can send into the state to schedule my boards is when I'll truly feel like a nurse.

My kid had what is supposed to be a blood clot in his heart near the prosthetic heart valve. He was in the hospital for several days getting massive bolus's of Heparin and clot buster drugs. It dissolved and all is well, but that wasted five days that I could have been getting ready for the final. I don't regret it though since I would have been a basket case if I hadn't gone to Nashville to be with him. He seems better but I still have a lot of uneasy feelings about him both physically and emotionally. I have to learn to let that go since it is out of my control. Easier said than done.

For my morning rant. I went to pinning practice yesterday and was asking everyone where they are going to work. There are some who just haven't started looking since they want to be off for the holidays, but there are lots who just plain haven't been offered a job though they've applied for several positions. We are somewhat unique in this area in that the nursing shortage is not severe here. Sure, there are some less than stellar hospitals in Indianapolis who are trying desperately to get their staffing increased, but for the most part, decent hospitals can be fairly picky about who they hire. You won't see hiring bonuses or be guaranteed that you'll walk into your first choice of jobs or first hospital choice (I was very, very lucky). The actual shortages in the nicer hospitals in Indy is about 3% (we're close enough to Indy to be able to commute) and it is even less here. Nevertheless, there are those who are insistent on applying for positions they don't have very little chance of getting. About the only almost guaranteed jobs are PRN float positions and these deluded students keep applying for jobs they will never get. I think when you've got your heart set on Peds or OB or whatever, and you've interviewed for a couple of jobs at the large children's hospital, and they've never called you back, you may want to rethink your goals and start at a job you can get and then try again later. A friend said she tried to advise one of these women about making a good impression, and the woman totally blew her off and said she was sure all would be good since there is such a big nursing shortage. Since the hospital she wants to work in offered her nothing, maybe she should have listened. Another girl told me yesterday she wants to commute to Indy for weekend options days. I KNOW they have waiting lists for these jobs for both the day and night options (work 24 hours weekends only and get paid full time) from those within the hospital, so there is no way she will be getting one of these jobs straight out of school. I really don't know what is wrong with people. Maybe it's because they've never been out in the "real" working world and fail to understand that sometimes you start below where you want to be to get your foot in the door, then work your way up. There are those who will say that it's easy for me to comment since I got my choice job, and I am not the only one by any means, but I would have been perfectly willing to take a float position until an oncology job opened up at my hospital of choice (I wasn't willing to compromise on where I work). One of my classmates also wants only oncology, and he took a med/surg job until there is an opening. One other wants OB, and she took a float until there is an opening. Yes, it's possible to get what you want, but it's also possible that you won't, so have plan B in place or plan on sitting at home.