4 job offers-what will help me get my "dream job"

Nurses New Nurse

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Hi everyone! I am in the Denver area and passed my NCLEX last month. New grad jobs are in very short supply in hospitals here, and my "dream" job is anything in peds including NICU or any post partum job. I have been applying, and have a stack of rejection emails so big that my email threatened to stop sending if hadn't cleaned them out.

I do happen to have 4 job offers. One is as a tech (adults only and no where near what I want, but it is in a hospital I like). The others are all RN. One private duty peds, one home health for geriatric patients most of whom have COPD and one is as a school nurse. I want to take whichever will help me gain enough experience to get into a hospital doing the job I want. The home health pays the best, but I don't think it will help my resume.

I am thinking that the tech job because it is in a hospital I would like to work in, and the private duty because it is with really sick kids are my best bets, and I could actually work both of them in the short term.

Any thoughts? Will a hospital even look at your experience if it isn't acute care? Am I right in thinking that school nursing will not be looked at favorably by a hospital?

I would love to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation! I have to make a decision soon.

RunBabyRN

3,677 Posts

Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

Here are my two cents. Bear with me, as I am a new grad myself, and NOT a nurse hiring manager! :)

What is the situation with the private duty peds patient? If it's a child with a trach and a vent and such, it might be good experience. It sounds like you'd be happy with it, which is important. The money factor doesn't hurt, either! Some places want 1 year of acute care experience, some places just want 1 year of experience. It depends on the facility. One thing to consider is that you can keep applying for positions, even once you accept one of these.

The tech position isn't a guarantee of getting a RN position down the road. Your scope would be limited, which might frustrate you as time goes on, especially while working with a population with which you don't have much desire to work.

The school nurse is another one to consider, because it would obviously be peds, and you'd get some experience with asthma and diabetes, and potentially seizure disorders and other potential diagnoses.

If it were me, and my desire was to go into peds, I'd probably choose the private duty position. I'm curious to hear what others have to say, though.

Best of luck whatever you decide!

iPink, BSN, RN

1,414 Posts

Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

Just to clarify. You are an RN who is thinking about accepting a tech job? If so, NO NO NO NO! That is the last thing you want to do. If anything goes wrong, you will be held to your license which is your RN.

I have heard of great things about private duty nursing. Best to head over to that forum to get insight from private duty RNs. Home health experience is great experience as well, and don't think it won't look good on your resume. You are working in the field solo.

molls4

47 Posts

I am a new grad too. Like above, I'm definitely not a hiring manager for a hospital, but I see the private duty peds or the home health jobs being the most beneficial in terms of beefing up your résumé and letting you polish your nursing skills. I agree with the poster above- You will be very limited in scope of practice as a tech. With both the private duty and home health, you'll see a variety of patients and learn more things that will help with floor nursing. If you want to go into peds, the private duty sounds like it would be a good résumé addition when you apply for more peds jobs. Also, who knows, maybe you'll love it and want to stay PRN still with it? You do get to know your clients and families really well, which could be very rewarding. The school nurse job could also be rewarding, but with community nursing, sometimes you're using a different skill set than floor nursing. But, a lot of people find that very rewarding. Plus, the schedule and benefits working at a school might be awesome (summers off possibly?). Good luck with your decision!

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