Dilemma.. need opinions please!

Nurses General Nursing

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where do i start. :(

I graduated last may 08' with my BSN and worked half a year on the floor of Hospital A. didn't find it to my liking, so i took a few months off. I decided that I wanted to try OR nursing. I had been an extern in the OR of the same hospital that I worked so I felt that I knew what I was getting into. My boyfriend, who is currently finishing up his BSN was just recently an extern/OR tech at the same OR of hospital A, but had to resign because of his summer full-time stage, and he wanted clinical experience to pass the boards. He remained on good terms with the OR people and they asked him to return if he wanted.

Now.. my dilemna is that I just recently got hired to this OR. I would love to start working ASAP but there are some things holding me back to accepting, just yet. I feel awful if my boyfriend decides that he wants to return to the same OR. Right now he's experiencing floor work (ER) and he feels like he's probably going to return to the OR. I feel like if i take this position I'll be "taking" his place and he'll feel obliged to work at another hospital (he was told by a senior nurse that couples working in the same OR is "frowned upon".)

I also have the opportunity to also work at a much bigger hospital (hospital B). The hospital is affiliated with 4 other major hospitals. The process to getting into these hospital is much more stringent than hospital A. There are two seperate interview and strict reference checks but once you have succeded, it opens the doors to 5 different hospital. I struggled enormously to get a reference from Hospital A because they have a policy that they can ONLY disclose whether an employee has worked there or not. I am just about to finish this procedure and I am confident that I will get a job Hospital B as well.

so it boils down to..

Pros of working in hospital A

- I am familiar with their OR environment

- I am familiar with the hospital system, the charting, the policies, the phones, the layout

- 25 minutes away by car (good when i'll be on call). Hosptial B is 50 minutes away if no traffic.

- relatively smaller hospital with less trauma cases than hospital B. might not be as stressful.

Cons of hospital A

- i might be losing the opportunity to work with Hospitals B or perhaps any future hospitals! Hospital A is strict on not giving references, but by luck and perserverence I managed to still get my references in to hopsital B.. but in the future that might not be possible.

- Hospital B offers a longer orientatation program

- i get a fresh start with hospital B, (i felt like a failure for the longest time for quitting my first job.. and hope it doesn't follow me by working in the same hospital)

yeah.. i hope this all makes sense! Thanks so much for reading... I really really appreciate your opinions, even if it's just to tell me to get a life and stop worrying about such trivial things!

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LOL! B, no doubt. You sound like you need the growth and stimulation of a big hospital chain. Lots of opportunity to change to a different area if you can't find something that makes you happy.

One of the biggest benefits of a career in nursing is the ability to move around and do different things. Enjoy it!

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Specializes in LTC, home health, addiction, hospice.

I would go with Hospital B as well, you will be better off with the larger range of opportunity for the future. As far as a reference I would get one from a former instructor, or maybe your nurse supervisor or another experienced coworker.

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Specializes in ER.
where do i start. :(

I graduated last may 08' with my BSN and worked half a year on the floor of Hospital A. didn't find it to my liking, so i took a few months off. I decided that I wanted to try OR nursing. I had been an extern in the OR of the same hospital that I worked so I felt that I knew what I was getting into. My boyfriend, who is currently finishing up his BSN was just recently an extern/OR tech at the same OR of hospital A, but had to resign because of his summer full-time stage, and he wanted clinical experience to pass the boards. He remained on good terms with the OR people and they asked him to return if he wanted.

Now.. my dilemna is that I just recently got hired to this OR. I would love to start working ASAP but there are some things holding me back to accepting, just yet. I feel awful if my boyfriend decides that he wants to return to the same OR. Right now he's experiencing floor work (ER) and he feels like he's probably going to return to the OR. I feel like if i take this position I'll be "taking" his place and he'll feel obliged to work at another hospital (he was told by a senior nurse that couples working in the same OR is "frowned upon".)

I also have the opportunity to also work at a much bigger hospital (hospital B). The hospital is affiliated with 4 other major hospitals. The process to getting into these hospital is much more stringent than hospital A. There are two seperate interview and strict reference checks but once you have succeded, it opens the doors to 5 different hospital. I struggled enormously to get a reference from Hospital A because they have a policy that they can ONLY disclose whether an employee has worked there or not. I am just about to finish this procedure and I am confident that I will get a job Hospital B as well.

so it boils down to..

Pros of working in hospital A

- I am familiar with their OR environment

- I am familiar with the hospital system, the charting, the policies, the phones, the layout

- 25 minutes away by car (good when i'll be on call). Hosptial B is 50 minutes away if no traffic.

- relatively smaller hospital with less trauma cases than hospital B. might not be as stressful.

Cons of hospital A

- i might be losing the opportunity to work with Hospitals B or perhaps any future hospitals! Hospital A is strict on not giving references, but by luck and perserverence I managed to still get my references in to hopsital B.. but in the future that might not be possible.

- Hospital B offers a longer orientatation program

- i get a fresh start with hospital B, (i felt like a failure for the longest time for quitting my first job.. and hope it doesn't follow me by working in the same hospital)

yeah.. i hope this all makes sense! Thanks so much for reading... I really really appreciate your opinions, even if it's just to tell me to get a life and stop worrying about such trivial things!

I don't know if you've chosen yet. So you don't want to accept a position w/ hosp A because your boyfriend is on the floor and might decide he wants to go back? You think you'd be taking his "spot?" Is there only 1 RN position in this OR? Have you asked him how he would feel about it? Are you two serious enough that you expect to be with him in the future, so that you don't let a good opportunity pass you by for the sake of saving "his" position?

So, Hosp B - have you interviewed with them anyway, since it's a longer interview process? You could interview with them and if you were offered the job, decide between the two. Larger facility means more options too, so keep that in mind.

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I would look toward B to make things easier on the boyfriend front. Also because there is a longer orientation period. Don't forget, there is also the toss a coin method if you can't bring yourself to choose.

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I don't know if you've chosen yet. So you don't want to accept a position w/ hosp A because your boyfriend is on the floor and might decide he wants to go back? You think you'd be taking his "spot?" Is there only 1 RN position in this OR? Have you asked him how he would feel about it? Are you two serious enough that you expect to be with him in the future, so that you don't let a good opportunity pass you by for the sake of saving "his" position?

So, Hosp B - have you interviewed with them anyway, since it's a longer interview process? You could interview with them and if you were offered the job, decide between the two. Larger facility means more options too, so keep that in mind.

Thank you for your response, those are good answers to think about :) What I intended to say by "taking" my boyfriend's spot, is that I if I work in OR A, he will feel uncomfortable returning to work there because one of his co-workers stated that couples working within the same OR are frowned upon. He will then feel obliged to work at another hospital OR and adjust to a new environment. He tells me that he does not mind me working there, but if i do he will seek another hospital to ensure professionalism.

I have had the first interview with hospital B. My reference check should be cleared within the next 2 business days, and if all goes well I proceed to the next step which is the interview with my desired unit of choice (in my case OR). So i'm not exactly 100% foot in the door, but once my references are sent, with our nursing shortage, i'm relatively confident about my chances.

I received an email confirming my acceptance to hospital A on wednesday. However, I am 75% through the process of getting a job in hospital B...I now feel kinda rushed, cuz i can't wait around hospital B forever. and let's say i turn down hospital A, but end up being rejected by hospital B? oh my goodness.. i'd be screwed! haha.....

but yeah. thanks for reading!

So far you guys have convince me to go for B!

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I would look toward B to make things easier on the boyfriend front. Also because there is a longer orientation period. Don't forget, there is also the toss a coin method if you can't bring yourself to choose.

hahah, absolutely.. if worse comes to worse, I will absolve myself of all responsibility by doing the toin coss :p

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Specializes in ER.
Thank you for your response, those are good answers to think about :) What I intended to say by "taking" my boyfriend's spot, is that I if I work in OR A, he will feel uncomfortable returning to work there because one of his co-workers stated that couples working within the same OR are frowned upon. He will then feel obliged to work at another hospital OR and adjust to a new environment. He tells me that he does not mind me working there, but if i do he will seek another hospital to ensure professionalism.

I have had the first interview with hospital B. My reference check should be cleared within the next 2 business days, and if all goes well I proceed to the next step which is the interview with my desired unit of choice (in my case OR). So i'm not exactly 100% foot in the door, but once my references are sent, with our nursing shortage, i'm relatively confident about my chances.

I received an email confirming my acceptance to hospital A on wednesday. However, I am 75% through the process of getting a job in hospital B...I now feel kinda rushed, cuz i can't wait around hospital B forever. and let's say i turn down hospital A, but end up being rejected by hospital B? oh my goodness.. i'd be screwed! haha.....

but yeah. thanks for reading!

So far you guys have convince me to go for B!

choosing B would make it easier for your boyfriend to move to the OR in A, but I would think which OR you choose should be based on your decision of what is best for you, alone. It would be easier for him to stay at this hospital, A, since he's already inhouse. Are you ok with a commute? You can't wait to see if you get an offer from both hospitals?? Seems like they're both close to deciding.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

Until you have a ring on your finger, I wouldn't be making any career decisions based on your boyfriend. Just my :twocents: I've seen too many women get burned.

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Thanks to everyone who posted! I really took what each of you suggested, and along with my own personal reasoning... chose hospital B! I got offered a job at their peds hospital in the OR. so it works out perfectly! I get a fresh new start..

Thanks again!

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