New grads first jobs

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi Shannon,

My experience this year has been that new grads have gone anywhere!! Some years have not been so great. In my class we have grads in oncology, general Med Surg, dialysis, Bone Marrow Transplant, several ICU's Burn units, L and D, Peds, some to community settings as well. Med Surg can teach you a lot, but I am not sure you can embrace it, if you dread going there every day ( which is why I went to an ICU.) At any rate, if you do decide to do Med SUrg, it does not seem to hard to transfer to somewhere more specific, but I only have experience in a few hospitals- probably that depends ont he managers of the units. Good Luck in School.

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I have been a nurse for 3 years. I started out in med/surg because I knew I would get the best experience there. Do you want to work in a hospital? It is possible for you to get a position in another area like OB, ICU, or ER, but it is much easier to get into med/surg. Once you are on a med/surg floor and decide you want to transfer, it should be easier for you to do so considering you're already employed by the hospital (at least that is how it is at my hospital). But believe me, med/surg experience would benefit you greatly before jumping into ICU or ER.

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I will be graduating next May and am really curious as to what type of areas will be open to me as a new graduate. Am I basically facing Med/Surg for at least 6 months or is it realistic to even think of going directly into a different area? Also, assuming that I do go into Med/Surg to start with- is it difficult to transfer to another area within the hospital after starting there? I would really appreciate input, particularly from new grads or soon to be new grads as to the areas which they started in or plan to start in. I really didn't care for my Med/Surg rotation in clinicals. That experience combined with all that I read on message boards concerning ridiculous staff/patient ratios really makes me dread going into that area altogether. I truly am not trying to offend any of the hard-working nurses who work Med/Surg. I'm just trying to find out what I can expect. Thanks in advance for the input!!

Shannon

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I have a friend who graduated this May and he got a job just last week in the ER! I will graduate next May, like yourself, and I would truly love to get into the NICU but I don't know if that's realistic. Anyway good luck to you.

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Originally posted by Youman:

I have a friend who graduated this May and he got a job just last week in the ER! I will graduate next May, like yourself, and I would truly love to get into the NICU but I don't know if that's realistic. Anyway good luck to you.

I was hired as a new grad into NICU without experience. If that is what you want to do, go for it! It may be difficult, but it's worth it!

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Hi! I'm a new grad RN and just started my job last week on the Oncology floor. Several of my friends (who are also new grads) are working at the same hospital. One is working in the ICU, one in the nursery, and one will be on Medical Observation. After accepting my current job, I got a phone call from Vanderbilt offering me a postion on the Neuro unit there. I was told that it wouldn't be difficult to transfer to another position when one became available.

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Originally posted by NICUrn:

I was hired as a new grad into NICU without experience. If that is what you want to do, go for it! It may be difficult, but it's worth it!

NICUrn thanks for the vote of confidence I will diffently go for it.

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Originally posted by ShannonB25:

I will be graduating next May and am really curious as to what type of areas will be open to me as a new graduate. Am I basically facing Med/Surg for at least 6 months or is it realistic to even think of going directly into a different area? Also, assuming that I do go into Med/Surg to start with- is it difficult to transfer to another area within the hospital after starting there? I would really appreciate input, particularly from new grads or soon to be new grads as to the areas which they started in or plan to start in. I really didn't care for my Med/Surg rotation in clinicals. That experience combined with all that I read on message boards concerning ridiculous staff/patient ratios really makes me dread going into that area altogether. I truly am not trying to offend any of the hard-working nurses who work Med/Surg. I'm just trying to find out what I can expect. Thanks in advance for the input!!

Shannon

Shannon, I just graduated in May and was offered a job in ICU and in the new born nursery. (I took the nursery position.) My husband also graduated in May and he is in the ER. I also have several friends that graduated with me and some of the positions they have been hired into are: L&D, NICU, Same Day Surgery, and ICU. It seems that new graduates are going pretty much where they want in the area I live in. Donna ;}

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Hi,

It seems you picked the right time to be a nurse! I hear it is much easier to obtain a residency in the area of nursing you want.

My fiance went into an Adult Critical Care residency (his experience was one year as a nurse tech in telemetry and many years as a firefighter/EMT). At the same hospital I will be starting an ER residency (I have no prior nursing experience besides nursing school). One student I know went into L and D, one in neuro, and several in my class accepted ICU positions.

Good Luck in your job search!!

Erica

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Shannon,

I work Heartland Health Hospital System in St.Joseph MO, near Kansas City in HR. We offer new grads opportunities in critical care, OR and just about any other area. We are a TOP 100 hospital if you have an interest in seeing what type of opportunities we have, feel free to check us out on the web at www.Heartland-Health Career Opportunity page.

Mary

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, Cardiac ICU.

Don't be too against working med/surg! As sunfire stated, you get the best experience there, especially if you get the opportunity to work in a teaching hospital. You utilize all the critical thinking skills that you learned in school and they become a part of you as a nurse. Also, you really get to learn all your time management skills that are necessary in other areas of nursing. Med/surg is an excellent place to get your "sea legs" as a new nurse. Also, like was mentioned, if you decide you want another area of nursing, being established in a hospital really helps. Good luck with your career!

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As a recruiter and a former RN I can give you advice from a different view. New Grads can almost always get into the unit of their choice if they are flexible when it comes to shift, location, and pay.

If are not willing to work nights or relocate for the job that will give you the immediate access into the ICU or ER, etc. then you may have trouble. You may have to wait a little longer and work in a M/S Unit.

But take advantage of the market currently and look at ALL of your options. Do not take the first job offered to you out of school. Make sure it is a position that you would like to stay at for at least a year--or else you will label yourself as a job-hopper right out of school.

If you want to stay in a small geographic region apply to all the facilities around and check them all out. If you want to open your geographic parameters to a larger area(a state or region) a recruiter is the best way to go.

Overall, flexibility is the key right out of school.

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