Where do you work and do you like it.

Nurses New Nurse

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The "holy grail" at least in my nursing school is to get a hospital job FAST. So for those that did not get hired at a hospital after nursing school, where did you get your first nursing job. Is in in LTAC/ LTC, SNF, Home Health, Hospice, Private Duty, Clinics..... you name it.

Where did you get your first nursing job?

How did you get the job?

Are you still working there??

Do you like it ?

Do you hate it ?

Or just surviving and why.

The "holy grail" at least in my nursing school is to get a hospital job FAST. So for those that did not get hired at a hospital after nursing school, where did you get your first nursing job. Is in in LTAC/ LTC, SNF, Home Health, Hospice, Private Duty, Clinics..... you name it.

Where did you get your first nursing job?

Well, I was hired into an acute-care hospital, technically, but it was kind of a hybrid... and more like a SNF than a real hospital.

It had 10 acute-care, med-surg beds, of which only 5-7 were typically occupied. The occupants were often palliative care folks who had nowhere to go or were "swing beds" which were essentially SNF patients who met certain criteria that Medicare would pay for inpatient care.

The only surgical cases, which were quite rare, we had were appy/choly and the occasional port put in.

Most of our patients were either the 'Swing' patients (LTC types) or stable medical stuff like pancreatitis, cholecystitis, diverticulitis, resolving DKA, NSTEMIs, stable sepsis, and lots of pain-control stuff (Dilaudid, lots of it, for everyone, all the time... holy cow, I had no clue)... low acuity and low census...

Every once in a while, we'd have somebody crump but it was pretty low-end nursing in terms of acuity and complexity. Anything interesting got shipped out.

After a year, I moved into the ED which was a little better but the interesting stuff was few and far between... and got shipped ASAP... it also wasn't very busy at all... and I was the only nurse so I basically had to figure it out on my own.

How did you get the job?

Word of mouth... my step-mom's neighbor worked there. One day they were chatting and the desperate new-grad came up and the neighbor said, "hey, I think we're looking for someone..." I cold-called the DON, drove 4 hours for an interview and got hired.

I got the ED gig because I worked my butt off and made a good impression... and honestly, the competition was... very, very little. Basically, a 'right-place, right-time' kind of thing.

Are you still working there??

Thankfully, no.

Do you like it ?

I did not like the med-surg thing... except that I worked with a good mentor...

The ED was OK but just wasn't giving me the experience that I craved (for example, I dropped one NG tube over 2 years... and was in on 2 codes)...

and we were terribly paid...

and it was 200+ miles from home.

On the other hand, it was pretty easy... but I wasn't looking for easy, I was looking for experience and money.

Do you hate it ?

I did not hate it... though I did sometimes hate when I was on med-surg and had several 'swing' patients... no end-game, just sustaining... buckets of meds, clean, turn... repeat...

I would have detested working at a SNF... which I know in part from doing my CNA cert and because we had a SNF attached to our hospital.

The SNF thing just ain't my thing... for living or for working...

Rehab, I could do, because it's a transitional thing... hospice/palliative care... absolutely... but just the maintenance thing of a SNF... nope... and the 'swing' patients... especially, nope.

I just need to be working 'toward' a goal...

Or just surviving and why.

For the first few months, I was into it... then I quickly got bored... was just surviving... and kind of depressed about how things had turned out for me.

When I started in the ED, it was cool but I did recognize how poorly I was being compensated, the lack of experience with legit emergencies, and the poor (none, really) training.

I just kept at it because that's the way I am... diligent and tenacious...

~~~

Now I work in a level 1 trauma center and I really like it. I get paid well, I'm getting great experience, and I work with some terrific nurses and docs... and I see new-to-me stuff all the time... and I learn something new every shift.

~~~

FYI: A nurse-manager from on of our ICUs told me that he likes hiring nurses out of the SNFs because (a) they know they've got a good thing going with him and (b) they're so used to working with insufficient resources that they don't spend a lot of time complaining when things are sub-optimal... they just dig in and get things done.

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Specializes in Rehab, Med-surg, Neuroscience.

Hello DixieGrace!

1. My first nursing job was on a Neuroscience unit at a big city for-profit hospital. It took me about a month to find it after passing boards, which I took about 3 weeks after graduation.

2. I got it the usual way, interview and then peer interview. They were really looking to hire alot of people really fast so the entire process was speedy.

3. I am not working there now. It was a terrible place to work. I loved the patients, but management was terrible and staffing was very poor. I am now on a med-surg rehab unit at a smaller non-for-profit hospital.

4. I love my current job!!! Working the day shift, we get to discharge alot of patients to home after successful recoveries. It is VERY satisfying.

5. Not to say that there are bad days. Every job will have them. But I am content there and I have more good days than bad. My confidence has never been better and my nursing skills grow more proficient every day.

I hope you find your holy grail. Sometimes it takes a couple tries; don't worry, you'll get there.

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

Where did you get your first nursing job?

In a LTC rehab unit

How did you get the job?

DON was previous clinical instructor

Are you still working there??

No, I applied and got the job I wanted. I did like the first job, left for an opportunity that I could not pass up. I work now on an ortho unit at a top 10 teaching hospital

Do you like/love/survive it ?

I love it. It is hard, but there is great support and great opportunity. Also, I know that my patients are getting state of the art care.

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Specializes in public health.

Where did you get your first nursing job?

Local health department

How did you get the job?

Applied online, interviewed and got the job

Are you still working there??

Yes

Do you like/love/survive it ?

I love it. It is a job like no other nursing job. I coordinate care, go to meetings, attend seminars and basically have a lot of autonomy. My boss and my colleagues are very cool too. I feel very lucky.

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Where did you get your first nursing job? LTC/SNF

How did you get the job? applied online

Are you still working there?? yes still employed but looking for an acute care position

Do you like it ? I used to like it because I learned so much within a short time. I really enjoying caring for my residents and patients.

Do you hate it ? I hate the patient to nurse ratios, and how management doesn't appreciate the nurses. There's a lot of patients coming in with various conditions, some that I haven't had experience with since nursing school. No training or in service provided, just a learn as you go and ask questions. Google is my friend.

Or just surviving and why. I'm just surviving right now d/t all the reasons, plus some. Everyday I am expecting a phone call with a hospital or LTACH to call me for interview.

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I am loving all your comments. Keep them coming. Thank a lot.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I started on ICU Step Down, hired a few months before I graduated. `I got the position after working as an extern through nursing school and making a good impression on management. Do I still like it? Depends what day you ask me. I love making people feel secure about their treatment and I love feeling like I have something to contribute. My coworkers are wonderful and the doctors are collegial. I am not required to work overtime but do have the option. My manager is motivated to provide as good of an environment as possible for the staff. However, I am finding I am having to work harder at compassionate care now than I used to. Our ratios have changed and it has made the job a lot harder. We seldom have more than two techs for a floor of 36 beds. One total care patient can tip the scale from a good day in which all things are done as they should to having a royal cluster f*** of a day. Patient satisfaction scores have never been more important and yet we have never had LESS time to bond and chat and do all the warm fuzzy things that make the patients feel well cared for. It is frustrating and disillusioning. I have no strong draw to any particular specialty and so find myself really struggling what to do next. I know I can get hired elsewhere easily. It is just a matter of whether or not to make the leap. The job has a lot going for it in terms of those I work with. The nightmares I hear on here about lateral violence makes me leery of change. That being said, I have a hard time imagining myself doing this for a whole lot longer.

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Where did you get your first nursing job? -- Med surg unit in a hospital

How did you get the job? -- Just put out online or paper job applications everywhere, went to a couple career fairs, and finally got a call for an interview. No connections, no PCA experience, no clinicals there.

Are you still working there?? -- Yes

Do you like it ? Do you hate it ? Or just surviving and why. -- Just getting by. As a new grad I had really really wanted an OB job so I was disappointed to take a med surg position.. now I'm not really sure what I want and am exploring different options. Even if you don't work at a hospital you can get some great experience!

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Where did you get your first nursing job? A small, rural hospital on the med/surg unit and cross-trained to the ICU.

How did you get the job? Applied online. I wanted to work in the big city that I'm from but there were not many options for new grads, so I applied everywhere around my state and took the job that can give me the best experience.

Are you still working there?? Yes

Do you like it ?

Do you hate it ?

Or just surviving and why. I hated it at first. Being a new grad is overwhelming and I felt like I was not cut out for nursing at first. However after about 2-3 months, things started getting better. I'd say I'm surviving now. I don't hate it because I'm getting great experience but at the same time my heart is not in bedside nursing so I don't love it either.

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I got my first nursing job at a large urban trauma I hospital on a med/surg cardiac IMC though just applying online. (Didn't know anyone, didn't even really know the hospital even.) Halfway through orientation, so far loving it. My floor has awesome, knowledgeable, helpful nurses. While no one feels prepared to go off orientation, no one is nervous because they know they have support. My only complaint is that the hospital itself seems a bit disorganized and run down (hopefully, this will change as it transitions and renovates), but the people that work there are really lovely, and that makes going to work easy.

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Hello Are you still working as an LPN intake Specialist?

Was curious what the job entails.

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