New Grad Nurse -- Med/Surg or Specialize right away

JARNBSN · Sep 1, 2012

Right now with how the jobs in Florida are for nurse you can't be picky and you will find you have a hard enough time getting a job, so take whatever you get offered at least for the first few years until you have experience.

heydelilah · Sep 1, 2012

I graduated in May. Licensed in June. Took the first acute care position offered to me on a low acuity ortho/neuro floor. I could have been picky, but then I'd be like a lot of my fellow graduates and I'd still be unemployed four months out. There is absolutely nothing wrong with working your way up to a specialty. Anyone who believes the trenches are beneath them is not someone I want to work with.

Isiah4031 · Sep 7, 2012

I don't comment often, but this post caught my eye enough for me to do so. I graduated in May, licensed in June, and was extremely fortunate to be hired into a hospital's residency program for new grads. In the Tampa market, it is very competitive for nursing jobs in general- not to mention new/unexperienced nurses some Managers are often not willing to take on and train. You should take whatever job you can get. Many of my classmates from our ADN program put in over 30 applications with few call backs. If you work in a hospital already, don't let that opportunity pass you by. NETWORK!! As for the Med/Surg part, I recognized I never worked a day as a nurse in my life, so I didn't want to even look into high stress/speed specialties that can burn me out or cause an error. I love Med/Surg because you see everything and it stays fresh. The whole hall can have the same diagnosis, but everyone still be different. It gives you the opportunity to converse with patients more than ER/ICU and allows you to learn which meds normally go with which disease process and visa versa. And, when you think about it, Med/Surg is a great foundation to allow you to more easily move into specialties once you get your routines down. But, again, that's my own opinion and bias. Find good and experienced nurses you can trust and pick their brain.

smurfynursey · Sep 8, 2012

This is a very personal question...

Because the new grad (and nursing in general) is very competitive in FL I would say take what you can get. I will say, however...That is what I did and I got a med/surg position at a small hospital (planning to stay there until I could get into peds) and I hated every minute of it, and lasted 2 weeks. Now I only persue/accept positions that involve children

Because lets face it...they are so much better than adults! haha

Isiah4031 · Sep 9, 2012

I've heard some hospitals (especially small ones or ones that only serve a particular demographic) can burn new nurses out pretty quick. I'd be curious as to why you hated it. You can PM me if you'd like, but some of the things I've heard that cause new nurses to quit or get burn-out early are unqualified preceptors, bad nurse to patient ratios, patient acuity, poor teamwork, for-profit hospitals that seem to not support or listen to staff, or too short of a training period altogether. Personally, I don't know if I could work in Peds. To me, IMO, it seems like it could be a double-edge sword when you get sick children AND parents to deal with. If that's your calling, go for it! I hope you found, or find, the right place for you. It seems once you get your initial experience, wherever it may be, you get considered for a lot more positions. It's that FIRST job that seems to be the most difficult to land.

simonemyheart · Sep 18, 2012

I moved here from another state after graduation and had a hard time finding a job. I had given up and just decided to do what I have been doing for years.......let my husband take care of me and our family

I only appiled for jobs when I felt like it after a while because no one would call me back and I really discourged.

I applied one day and got a job. I was soooooooooooo happy. That feeling didn't last long. The job was making me hate nursing. There was no support, no education, 6 week orientation.....if you can really call it 6 weeks because one week is in orientation, one week is not doing anything but watching other nurses, and then I was placed out there on my own. Not to mention it is a specialty Tele/PCU floor.

I couldn't take it anymore. Luckily right before I decided to quitI found a new job!!!!!!

I can't say don't take what you can get but warned Florida is not like other states, they work you to the bone. I had on a good day a 6:1 pt ratio and on a bad day 8:1. Most PCU floors max you at 4:1 around the country.