Tina Li
Hi everyone, I’m Tina Li and I am a senior nursing student at Decker in the traditional nursing program. Over winter break, I had the opportunity to attend several Employer Treks hosted by Decker at various hospitals in the downstate area. The NYC Connect Employer Treks are a great way to learn about nursing opportunities offered by different hospitals and also allow you as a student to interact with employees at these hospitals and observe their cultures. One of the NYC Connect Employer Treks I attended was at NYU Brooklyn.
NYU Brooklyn is under the NYU Langone Health System and is a unionized hospital with Magnet recognition, an honor that is granted to healthcare institutions with excellence in quality and safety. During this employer trek, we had the opportunity to hear from panelists, including recruiters, Binghamton alumni, and nursing managers. The recruiters offered information about new grad nursing positions for seniors as well as summer externship applications for juniors. Abby, the Binghamton alumni, spoke on her experience working at NYU Brooklyn on a med-surg floor. From hearing her talk, it was evident that she felt supported as a new grad by her manager and co-workers. She also talked about the project she completed as part of her nurse residency program, a program that all new grad nurses at NYU are a part of for their first year of employment. The residency program involves a monthly meeting with other cohort members and culminates in a project of the nurse’s choice that gets presented to nursing leadership. Abby’s project focused on improving documentation related to blood transfusions.
In addition to the panel, there were also opportunities to tour units such as the operating room, dialysis, and med-surg with the nursing managers. Of the four employer treks I attended, NYU Brooklyn was the only one to offer a specific tour of the operating room, which is an amazing opportunity for any students interested in the speciality but haven’t had the chance to experience it. During the unit tours, we had the chance to talk with the nursing managers and observe the unit cultures. On my tour of the dialysis floor, the manager asked one nurse who had been working at NYU Brooklyn for many years to speak about why she chose to work at NYU Brooklyn. Her answer was that NYU Brooklyn had a “family-feel” to it and that she felt there was a lot of support. Hearing directly from nurses who work at the hospitals that partner with Decker for the Employer Treks is invaluable as you can see for yourself what working at these organizations is like.
As a senior thinking about the post-grad job hunt, I found the NYC Connect Employer Treks valuable as I was able to hear from nursing managers the types of qualities and skills they look for in new grad nurses. The recruiters and the managers offered insight into the interview process and interview questions, which was helpful information. The nursing managers at NYU Brooklyn were generous with their advice and encouragement, which I am thankful for. I would recommend any interested nursing student to sign up for the NYC Connect Employer Treks as a way to learn about different nursing specialities and hospitals. Some advice for anyone interested in the Employer Treks would be to bring a pen, small notebook, and copies of your resume. I had my resume reviewed by the Fleishman Center and found it helpful to have another person evaluate my resume. Additionally, lots of information gets shared during the treks so having a small notebook to take notes is helpful. I believe students from all years would benefit from attending a trek. For any questions, feel free to reach out to the Decker Division of Advising and Academic Excellence.
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