Possibilities after Ambulatory Care / Clinic Nursing

[MJ415]

Hi!

I'm trying to map out my nursing career.

As a new-grad, will working in ambulatory care limit your future options as a RN?

I'm asking because once a new-grad works as an RN - they are no longer eligible for new-grad programs. On the other hand, if an ambulatory care RN has no other experience, they are not competitive for acute care positions such as the ER or ICU right?

Can you even move on to a med-surg unit if you are competing in a pool of experienced RN's with hospital experience?

I hope that I'm wrong and that clinic nursing isn't the end of the road.

Big thanks to all those with helpful advice!

[MJ415]

Those were my suspicions exactly.

Thanks for your input.

[Asystole RN]

My home unit is an ATU that is actually within a hospital. We are basically an outpatient infusion unit although all the nurses are also PICC nurses. We give a lot of chemo, blood, biotherapies, and other goodies. We set the infusion policy for the entire hospital and do much of the training. Most of the nurses have an OCN, CRNI, or VA-BC certifications. We also have an ATU wound center too but that's another world.

I think the type and nature of the ambulatory unit that you are looking at will greatly influence your future career. Do not think that you will not receive a high level of quality training and experience in an ATU. They tend to be specialty units but they also tend to provide a higher than normal level of training and quality of experience.

[MJ415]

It seems that the safest bet for any RN intending on going into critical care should be cautioned against ambulatory care nursing.

Would this be an accurate assumption?

[brownbook]

Hi, me again. Your question caused me read the introduction on the AllNurses site for ambulatory care/nursing clinic. I am not sure if your job is going to be in ambulatory SURGERY care, or an ambulatory care clinic. Really a big difference.

That was why I asked for you to get a job description. I would be surprised if a new grad was hired into an ambulatory care SURGERY clinic? I don't thing it is hard or requires special skills, but I, and most of my fellow nurses, have had several, to many, years of acute care, med/surg, ICU nursing.

If you will be working in an ambulatory, (or out patient), surgery clinic, you will get good skills. Starting IV's, getting patients ready for OR, recovering patients from general anesthesia, giving IV antibiotics, pain meds, anti emetics, possibly caring for intubated patients, etc. These are good skills and should help a nurse applying to med/surg or even ICU.

[healinghands2000]

Hello, first thank you all in advance I was wanting to know if anyone could give me any extra info on travel nursing ? Ive been in ccu past 2 years and i havent done alot of research any advice is appriciated.

[MJ415]

Hi, me again. Your question caused me read the introduction on the AllNurses site for ambulatory care/nursing clinic. I am not sure if your job is going to be in ambulatory SURGERY care, or an ambulatory care clinic. Really a big difference.

That was why I asked for you to get a job description. I would be surprised if a new grad was hired into an ambulatory care SURGERY clinic? I don't thing it is hard or requires special skills, but I, and most of my fellow nurses, have had several, to many, years of acute care, med/surg, ICU nursing.

If you will be working in an ambulatory, (or out patient), surgery clinic, you will get good skills. Starting IV's, getting patients ready for OR, recovering patients from general anesthesia, giving IV antibiotics, pain meds, anti emetics, possibly caring for intubated patients, etc. These are good skills and should help a nurse applying to med/surg or even ICU.

Nope... It'll just be an ambulatory care clinic - don't believe pre/post surgical nursing duties are part of the description.

Considering new grads are admitted into specialty ICU's where I'm at - I see no reason why it wouldn't be possible for a new grad to enter surgical amb. care though.

Healinghands2000 - looks like you're in the wrong forum. There's another forum on this site specifically for inquiries regarding travel nursing.

[overtonis]

healinghands - I completed about 3 years of travel nursing. I also have a travel nursing blog. Here is the scoop: Travel nursing used to be nurses dream with travel rates sometimes as high as $65 hour. Those days are gone now and what has happened is the hospitals simply don't pay as well anymore for travel. Its common to see travel rates in the 30's now. The travel situation has gotten so bad that many of the recruiters have moved out of travel nursing into permanent placement (where more of action is due to poor economic conditions as nurses are just trying to lock in A job).

What I would suggest right now is local travel (more than 50 miles from your residence). What nurses are doing is getting local travel job - working three shifts in row and just getting motel near hospital to live at for 3 days then travel back home rest of week. Doing it this way you get benefit of tax free travel income (stipend) and dont take on a second housing/rental payment each month.

The Northeast & California pay better (never ever take assignment in bakerfield, CA). Aces is best for Cali. Washington Hospital in San Fran is highest pay. HCA hospitals will be poorly run/understaffed sometimes limited supplies. Look into All About Staffing (I think they recently changed their name) but they are gobbling up alot of contracts for HCA Hospitals and Catholic East Hospitals.

[rntraveler2012]

healinghands - I completed about 3 years of travel nursing. I also have a travel nursing blog. Here is the scoop: Travel nursing used to be nurses dream with travel rates sometimes as high as $65 hour. Those days are gone now and what has happened is the hospitals simply don't pay as well anymore for travel. Its common to see travel rates in the 30's now. The travel situation has gotten so bad that many of the recruiters have moved out of travel nursing into permanent placement (where more of action is due to poor economic conditions as nurses are just trying to lock in A job).

What I would suggest right now is local travel (more than 50 miles from your residence). What nurses are doing is getting local travel job - working three shifts in row and just getting motel near hospital to live at for 3 days then travel back home rest of week. Doing it this way you get benefit of tax free travel income (stipend) and dont take on a second housing/rental payment each month.

The Northeast & California pay better (never ever take assignment in bakerfield, CA). Aces is best for Cali. Washington Hospital in San Fran is highest pay. HCA hospitals will be poorly run/understaffed sometimes limited supplies. Look into All About Staffing (I think they recently changed their name) but they are gobbling up alot of contracts for HCA Hospitals and Catholic East Hospitals.

Yes this is what I do...I travel about 2 hours from my home to a larger area and work 3 - 12 hr shifts for 13 weeks (or which ever length my contract is for) and stay in hotel which charges $200/wk using housing stipend (which usually $600-800/week) so I can pocket the extra money plus I have the room for 4 days off in case I want to pick a per Diem or overtime shifts. The hotel is one of the members of my travel club so I get discounts there too..like free nights or dinner/movie tickets etc. I usually end up taking home twice what I would as a local staff nurse. My last contract I made over $22,000 for 13 weeks!! Not to mention I'm from a very rural area in Oklahoma where it's welfare capital of the nation other than maybe across Arkansas line and economy if very low here!! I love it and I'm thinking about taking online classes for school now too. Good way to study.

good luck!!

Wendy

[rntraveler2012]

thank you