Jasmin Bonifacio & Yao Tian discuss their pre-grad clinical experience and share some of their advice on preparing for a successful pre-grad placement.
INTERVIEWER: Ruth Detablan
WRITER: Monika Mercado
LAST EDITED: Wednesday, February 23, 2022
On Thursday, April 1, 2021, both Jasmin Bonifacio & Yao Tian shared their experience in each of their pre-grad clinical placements and provided some tips on how future pre-grad nursing students can prepare for their last semester of nursing school!
Both Jasmin and Yao are December 2020 graduates of UNB-Humber’s Second-Entry BN Program. Jasmin did her pre-grad consolidation in the ER at Credit Valley Hospital and is currently studying for the NCLEX! Yao, our former HNS president, did his consolidation in orthopaedics in Brampton, passed the NCLEX and is currently deciding between three job offers!
The following are questions asked by one of our HNS Second-Entry Representatives, Ruth Detablan.
Can you give us an explanation of what pre-grad is?
Yao: “Pre-grad is basically your final semester of nursing school. You’re working full-time, following a nurse’s schedule. Whatever their schedule is, you follow their exact schedule.”
What do you guys know now that you wish you knew before, or during, your pre-grad?
Jasmin: “Because I did my consolidation in the ER, it might be different for a person [working] in a different unit. I didn’t know coming to the ER, that because it’s such a fast-paced environment, sometimes I would have to do things on my own. You think you would have enough one-on-one time with your preceptor because it’s the two of you, but a lot of times I felt that my preceptor would just tell me things to do. What I found is that it’s a lot more self-teaching.”
YT: “Understand that the relationship between your preceptor and yourself is a very unique relationship. Their reference counts the most. Their opinion has the most value out of all of your references. You do learn a lot from them, so it’s important to be aware of that power dynamic.”
Jasmin, you mention that it’s a lot of self-directed/independent kind of learning. How did you overcome that?
JB: “In the ER, you work with different nurses. [I overcame it by] putting myself out there—asking questions, going to different nurses, letting them know that I’m a student and that I’m here to learn. A lot of them are almost always willing to help you and teach you because they know that they’ve also been in that position before.”
YT: “You have to fight for your learning sometimes. Sometimes you do feel taken advantage of, so it’s important to advocate for yourself and make sure you learn. Set goals and know what you want to learn there.”
What is your advice before applying for Pre-grad?
YT: “There are specialty placements and pre-grad does have some influence on where you end up being employed afterwards. It’s important to be aware of which placements you like and try to keep in touch with the clinical preceptors you liked, so that when you go to pre-grad you will be more likely to be at a location or unit that you enjoy. [Also] keep your grades up, so that you keep options open for yourself if you want a specialty placement.”
JB: “For me, when I got a list of all of the specialty placements available, it was a little hard for me to make a decision. But I knew from my heart that I wanted to do ER nursing. You’re only allowed to choose your top two choices for specialty placements. There’s a lot of great places so it’s very important to ask around and see where it is you really want to experience as your consolidation.”
In the chat box, Aleena Shah, the faculty advisor, mentions that specialty placements do have academic requirements.
Is GPA everything?
YT: “It’s not everything, but it is a thing. When we were doing it, you needed a 3.4 GPA, although I know it’s all subject to change. But to qualify for specialty placements, you needed a GPA of at least 3.4, you had to write a cover letter and a resume. It never hurts to start writing your resume now, so that you get the hang of it. You can start reporting what things you do in [clinical] placements and what skills you’ve learned—whether you’re doing a specialty placement or going to apply for a job your resume is ready!”
What are some important things to keep in mind as you build your resume?
YT: “Nursing resumes are pretty different from regular resumes you’ve written. It’s very skills focused. It’s always good to look it up, be familiar with it and start writing the skills you’ve practiced.”
JB: “Utilize your CASA (Collaborative Assessment of Student Abilities). Because that also helps you remember what things you did for a specific placement when you’re writing your resume.”
How influential was your pre-grad experience in your chosen field of work, or where you want to work? Did it change that, or did it confirm it?
JB: “For me, it was key. Because I did want to experience all different types of nursing. I wanted to have that experience on the in-patient floor and long-term care. Having that experience [already], the ER set a difference. I did see a huge difference between clinical placement in in-patient versus the ER. It was good because I learned a lot of things.”
YT: “I think it’s very important to look at it alone, or the big picture. We are new grads, so it’s easy for us to be short sided about this. If you do your pre-grad somewhere and you have somewhere else in mind, long-term it’s not going to stop you from reaching your goal. It might just take an extra year, or a couple of years. [For example], if you want to do pediatrics and you got oncology for your pre-grad, it’s not the end of the world … It’s a very fluid profession and it’s easy to change units. It won’t affect you long-term.”
What are some tips you must have to not just survive, but to thrive, in pre-grad?
YT: “Be kind to yourself. Make sure you keep a healthy work-life balance. I think a lot of people were trying to study for the NCLEX at the same time, but I didn’t do that—not saying you can’t do that, but it is a very busy period. Do keep in mind that you’re working through your preceptor’s schedule, and sometimes they might take a day off. So, if you’re trying to keep up with a part-time job it’s hard.”
JB: “A lot of us stress about learning all of these things (i.e. nursing skills), but it’s important to have fun in your placement! Be adaptable, learn to be flexible on things that are there present for you.”
Q&A with nursing students tuning into the Coffee Chat
What is considered a pre-grad specialty?
Yao & Jasmin: “[The ones considered a specialty include] ER, pediatrics, mental health, transplant at St. Margaret, Sick Kids, Public Health.”
YT: “It’s different from year to year on what’s considered a specialty and what is not.”
In terms of getting [an ER] position, did you have to do an interview? What were your grades like? What was the schedule like?
JB: “In terms of grades, for me, [I had to] maintain a GPA of 3.4, have a cover letter and a resume. I didn’t have to do any interviews for this. For other specialties, you might have to do an interview. I don’t know if other hospitals required an interview. I had my placement at Credit Valley Hospital, and I didn’t have to do any interview ... My schedule was DDNN (Days, Days, Nights, Nights; 4 days working, 5 days off). If you want to prepare for a placement in the ER, one of the things that I would recommend is just to go over your acute [nursing notes]. Patient assessment is very key in the ER because most of the time it’s the nurse that sees the patient first. It’s important to know your patient assessment skills. It helps you prioritize who needs treatment first and if you need to bump them up [on the priority list] so the doctor can see them first. Also know what to anticipate (i.e. doctor orders and warning signs).”
Does having a PSW position or [clinical] externship help with getting employed?
YT: “I did an externship at Sunnybrook. It helps because when I mentioned it in interviews, it is something they look for. What’s more important is that I learned a lot of skills and it prepared me a lot for pre-grad. They basically gave me assignments from the beginning. I also used references from my externships as well.”
For the externship, how many hours were you [Yao] working, and how did you cope with combining classes?
YT: “It was a full-time schedule. I was doing online learning and doing full-time externship. I know that Trillium offers part-time. Mine was full-time so it was difficult for me. If you [can], do it part-time, or if you’re in the four-year BN stream, do it in the summer.”
How prepared were you guys before your pre-grad consolidation? Yao, you had your [clinical] externship. For myself, I’m in third year, and most of my clinical experience has been online. No acute care at all.
JB: “I also didn’t have any externship experience prior to consolidation, we had to cut-off our acute care placement too soon because of COVID-19 and for the entire summer [semester] we only had an online placement. I feel like you’re never going to feel ready, but you will learn along the way. That’s the reason why we are in clinicals, you’re there to learn new skills. Be patient.”
How long would you recommend leaving between graduation and writing the NCLEX?
YT: “I studied for about 2 months.”
What tools did you use to study [for the NCLEX]?
JB: “Almost everyone uses U-World. It’s a web-based browser where they give you a bunch of practice questions and provides you with rationales. It’s a subscription for however long you want to study for. There’s also Mark Klimek lectures and he gives you a bunch of test-taking strategies and ways to remember important information for when taking the NCLEX.”
YT: “I recommend Mark Klimek in addition to U-World. Those are the only two resources I used.”
With regards to the application process, I know specialty placements are competitive. Do they open only a certain number of spots? What happens if you apply and don’t get it?
Aleena Shah [Faculty Advisor]: “There are a certain number of placements available, but the requirements always take priority. For example, if we have 10 placement [spots available] and only 8 kids qualifying, then only 8 students go. The requirements will take over the number of placements. It’s never the case that we need 2 more students. If you are not selected for that specialty placement, like Yao said, you’ll find your way to get to that place. You will have to select a placement through HSPnet like everyone else.”
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Coffee Chats with Alumni is a Student Engagement event hosted by The Humber Nursing Society (HNS). These events were hosted from March to April of 2021 via Microsoft Teams. Nursing students were able to tune into the coffee chat and ask questions using the chat box. For more insight and tips from UNB-Humber’s alumni check out the other Coffee Chats with Alumni here: https://humberjournalofnur.wixsite.com/hjn2021
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