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Dear Donna

Donna Cardillo, RN, well-known career guru and president of Cardillo & Associates, is a speaker, entrepreneur, humorist, and master of the career universe. She uses her expertise to help you polish your rough edges and shine in your career.

"Experience is not enough in today's fast-paced, competitive world," notes Cardillo. "You must look good, speak well, appear confident, have the ability to perform with increasing daily demands on your time, and through it all maintain a positive, upbeat attitude."

Cardillo brings more than 20 years of clinical, management, and business experience to her new role. She is the top-rated speaker at Nursing Spectrum Career Fairs and takes a down-to-earth approach to career advice. Cardillo has appeared on television and radio and written many articles on career and professional development topics. Most recently, Cardillo was a career consultant with monster.com, but she left that position to assume her exclusive Dear Donna! relationship with Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek.

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I feel my lack of clinical experience is hurting me when I apply for graduate RN internships. What can I do?
Monday November 17, 2008
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Question:

Dear Donna,

I finished a LVN-to-RN transition program with Excelsior College this past January and passed the state board exam in May. I have not worked in a clinical setting for many years. I have applied for several graduate RN internships at several of the bigger hospitals in the area, but I feel that the lack of clinical experience is hurting me. Any advice?

Joan



Dear Donna replies:

Hi Joan,

You don’t mention what part of the country you are in. I wonder about this because new grads are having trouble finding their first job in some parts of the country. See “New Nurse, New Job Finding Strategy” at http://www.dcardillo.com/articles/newnurse.html.

If you haven’t worked in the clinical setting in years, you are likely going to need to take a refresher course if you wish to work in a hospital now. Last I checked, Excelsior did not have a clinical component other than a basic skills verification. A new graduate orientation program will not be enough to get you up to speed.

In the meantime, join and get active in your state nurses association. This will help you get reconnected to the profession, make great contacts, and find role models and mentors. Besides, networking can be a great way to find and get a job.

Start volunteering somewhere medical while you look for paid employment. This will help you to learn new skills, hone old ones, and make additional contacts. Besides, volunteering often leads to paid employment. Read the “Value of Volunteering” at http://www.dcardillo.com/articles/volunteer.html.

Read Your First Year as a Nurse <http://www.nurse.com/CE/7010> for additional tips and advice. Persistence and determination will always win out in the end!

My best wishes,
Donna



Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, well-known career guru, is Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek’s “Dear Donna” and author of Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional and The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career. Information about the books is available at www.nurse.com/CE/7010 and www.nurse.com/CE/7250, respectively. To ask Donna your question, go to www.nurse.com/asktheexperts/deardonna. Find a “Dear Donna” seminar near you: Call (800) 866-0919 or visit http://events.nursingspectrum.com/Seminar.



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