Benefits over passion?

[KJCnango]

I just graduated nursing school and am currently exploring my options. I have 3 children to support and am older, so I recognize the importance of those benefits that so many take for granted (pension, 401k, health insurance, etc.)

I interviewed for a position with the local VA Hospital and was given a verbal offer by the manager that upon passing the NCLEX and providing them with my license number, they would be making me an offer on their med surg floor. The benefits of working at the VA are amazing.

The problem is that I've wanted to be an OR nurse since the beginning of nursing school. I'd been set on applying to an OR Academy the last 2 years. Even since giving my verbal commitment to working at the VA, I have thought every day at least once about the OR.

I feel like I'd be stupid to give up the long-term benefits of the VA for the lackluster ones of a private hospital. Is it something that I can learn to love when I see the benefits, or will I always feel like I should have gone the OR route?

Did you take a job that wasn't your passion and later regret it?

[KJCnango, ADN]

Very true. The nice thing is that I've heard it's a fairly painless procedure to transfer within and to different facilities. So thats definitely always an option :)

[KJCnango, ADN]

I do think the additional time off will make it worth it for me. I already gave up a lot of time with them in the last 2 years while going to school. They're still young and I think the additional 3 weeks might make me more content in the position.

[Sour Lemon]

Reading all this makes me want a VA job, too.

[TriciaJ, RN]

I think it's a no-brainer. Passion is what you have before you start working in a place and the reality sets in. You already have a dose of reality: you have a family to support and the VA will help you do that better than anywhere else currently in your sphere. It doesn't preclude ever working in the OR; you just seek out opportunities at the VA.

You might find that you actually hate the OR (I did). It will be better to hate it from within the VA system; easier to transfer back out without losing benefits.

[amzyRN]

Transfer to their OR. Take the job. It's hard to start out in a specialty when you first start. It's your first nursing job, you don't have to stay forever.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Passion is nice, but it doesn't pay the mortgage. You just never know...you might find out you don't want to work in the OR after all once you've had a little time on the floor. And even if you do, it's much easier to get there if you've established yourself within an organization. I'd take the VA job in a heartbeat.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I think it's a slam dunk for the VA job. Getting a new grad position in the OR is difficult. And no way would I work for a hospital that only gave 2 weeks of vacation time for 10 years. That's absurd. I've worked for 2 hospitals- 1 started at 240 hrs of PTO per year for full time employees the other 264 hrs. The worst PTO benefit I ever had was 15 days, 1 floating holiday and 6 holidays.

[winniewoman9060ret]

I would start at the VA and then transfer to the or.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Of course there are, it's just not the position I'd be going into. It may be a possibility to transfer over once I'm the system, however.

I'll let you in on a little secret: many nurses start off their careers NOT in the specialty wanted, but end up making their way over to it as their career progresses. The fact that you wouldn't be starting out in the OR doesn't mean that you'll never work in the OR. You're just taking a longer route.

Of course, some discover that they end up liking where they started even more than the specialty they always thought they wanted.

Take the VA job and start gaining nursing experience, then in a year or two, make your way over to the OR (either the VA's or elsewhere) if you're still feeling the pull. The added advantage of doing it this way is that if you find out that you don't like the OR after all, you have the nursing experience to go back to m/s or try out other specialties.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

[NurseCard, ADN]

The VA. My mom started out working on the floor and was able to transfer

to the OR. She has never been able to shut up about the amazing pay and

benefits of working for the VA.

I managed to snag an interview once, but that's as far as I went.

[fayrn00]

I'd take the VA position, it's a great offer. If in a year or two you still want to do the OR then transition. If it were me I'd get more of those basic skills down first, plus you might find that as you start working you have a different area pique your interest.

[SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN]

I work for the VA. Take the VA job. We get a ton of time off. We get paid more then our colleagues and there are plenty of opportunities to move around within the system to all over the US. I started at the VA as a healthcare tech and am now getting my DNP as an NP with the VA paying for almost all of my education. Don't underestimate our retirement plan and pension. When I retire I'll make more from my pension and matched savings than social security. Passion is great but work is work. You have a family to support and a life to live so I'd make work as profitable as possible. Good Luck to You!!!