Taking a job in a unit you don't really want

[HappyNurse2005]

I applied for L&D, NICU, PICU-got a NICU interview. Didn't get the job. So now, I was told there are no openings in any pedi type unit (what i really want to do) so I had my application sent on to the units that have openings-ortho, several progressive care units, etc. I am a bit sad. I didn't get the job I really wanted, and now I will end up working in a unit I really wasn't wanting to work in. I wasn't really interested in adults, lol. I will work just as hard, work hard to enjoy it and have fun. I will do my best, even if it was not my choice of workplaces.

Have you had to work in a unit you didn't want to? How did it work out? I am thinking that after 6 months(the requirement) or 1 year (seems a better time to get experience) I will definitely change units, if something I want is open. Then i'll have some experience, you know?

Anyone else been there? I need some cheering up.

[jenrninmi, MSN, RN]

me again! Figures, those other 3 interviews I had...I got all 3 of those jobs! I accepted a job in the Cardiac surgery pcu. Although the patients aren't quite what i wanted, the manager was great, the working environment looked really nice, etc. So I will go and make the best of it, and see how I feel about it in a year.

Glad to see I'm not hte only one

Congratulations on being able to choose out of the three! I hope you enjoy your job! :)

[live4today, RN]

I think the original poster should hold out for the job she wants, or take a job in pediatrics.

My experience in my umpteen years of nursing........I was told to start in med/surg.....every place continues to stick me in med/surg. Their excuse? We are only hiring EXPERIENCED Mother/Baby nurses, or EXPERIENCED L&D nurses.

Well.......how the hell does a nurse become EXPERIENCED except by training and opportunity to learn in the specialty of their choice? We aren't BORN with the experience.

Do NOT allow the hospital recruiters to steer your career for you. Steer it yourself! Take charge from the beginning. Don't settle!

[Tony35NYC]

Couldn't agree more with the last post on this thread. I just quit my job as a tech/intern at a hospital that promised me a preceptorship in the ICU (which is what I really want) then switched me to Telemetry. I've been told that many hospital recruiters use this bait and switch tactic. They promise you the sun, moon, and stars to convince you to take the position and later you find out that it was just a trick to enable them to fill the positions that they nobody wants. I won't let them push me into anything I don't want to do. It would have been a good idea for me to try to get another tech position in a hospital but I opted for an easy part-time sales job instead. The money is much better and at least I have time to spend with my family and to study for the NCLEX. I feel confident enough with the 6+ months of experience I got in the ICU that I can pick up where I left off after I finish with NCLEX and I'm ready for a real ICU preceptorship, not as a tech but as an RN.

Keep looking for what you really want. There are opportunities out there.