Nursing Job????

Nurses General Nursing

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I don't know what to do, I have been offered 4 different positions. Pediatric nurse, OB nurse, ICU nurse, and Med Surg nurse. They all have the same hours, and I have no clue which one to take. I just graduated in May 06, and passed my boards, and I have no real preference what area of nursing I want. Which area would be best for a new nurse? Please help.

Angela R.N.

Specializes in cardiac/critical care/ informatics.

My personal opinion is Med/surg because of the greater variety, much more to learn, however ob is sometimes hard to get into so if that is something you have a desire for, most others there will be opportunities later to change. But I think at least a year in Med surg is generally a good idea.

Congratualations on passing.

Specializes in NICU.

Wow! That is awesome! First, count yourself blessed. :) I have heard a lot of people say what jmgrn65 said, that med/surg is really great to get into for getting your feet wet and learning a lot. However, I also think it is important to do what you want to do because you don't know when you'll get the opportunity to make the same choice again.

I think you should really search your heart and see what you want to do. Any ideas of what type of patients you want to care for? Do you have an absolute non-preference? Are they all at the same hospital, if not, is there a hospital you would rather work for? Is the pay the same? What opportunities would you have for advancement in each area, if you are interested in that? What is your heart telling you (I know that is a goofy question, but sometimes, if you listen closely, there is something you will feel a pull to). I'm sure you have heard this a gazillion times, but make a list of the pros and cons of each, sometimes just going over them in your head isn't enough, but writing them out can help draw a clearer picture for you - you might have one list that is much longer or shorter than the others and that will give you a good idea of what you want. You can also ask another nurse that works in each of these areas at that specific hospital how their job satisfaction is and if they would do it again, that can give you an 'inside' idea of what it's like.

I'm sorry I don't really know since I am a new nursing student, but I think if you search hard enough, you will find the answer. Let me know what you decide, I would love to know what your final choice is. :)

Last but least, be proud that you were offered all of those positions - many of them require experience first and it is a great honor to be able to skip that requirement. I wish you many successes in whichever area you choose!

Specializes in Med-Surg, , Home health, Education.

In many hospitals new nursing grads need to work at least 6-12 months in a med-surg area in order to go into a specialty area. Consider yourself lucky- on the other hand- sometimes you can get into a specialty area and not have the chance to develop some of the nuts and bolts of assessments that you would find in med-surg. I guess my advice is to start with Med-surg and become confident in your assessment and critical thinking skills - then you'll be ready to jump into whatever area you want to. Good luck and congratulations!

Specializes in ICU, OR.

That's tough! It depends .. what do you see yourself doing in a few years? As for the med/surg/ICU debate, you will hear this discussed to death. When I graduated I went right into the ICU and it was a great experience. Alot of older nurses get grumpy about this becuase in their day no one went into ICU without a year of Med/surg. But why do med/surg if that's not where you eventually want to end up? It's a different floor of the hospital, and unless you really wnat to work there, I don't think its worth it to work there if you eventually want to do ICU.

As for OB and peds, that is completely different. Do you like working with kids or adults? Do you like labor and delivery and babies? Do you eventually want to be a midwife, nurse practtiioner, or nurse anesthetist? Think about what it is you really wnat to do and go that route.

The good thing is, you can change your miond and quit and get another job if you want. These days nursing is good that way - try everything out until you are doing what you love!

What's the pressure? You've graduated-congratulations.

You have many years to work in nursing. Many nurses including

myself have worked in several different areas of nursing.

Mommy and RN gives great advice. Start with the area you are

interested in and feel comfortable. In a year, you will know whether

you would like to remain in that area or try another.

As you are a new grad, have confidence in yourself that you

have 4 different job offers to consider. Your hard work in nursing

school has paid off-you'll do terrific in whatever area you select.

Best Wishes!!!!!!!!!!:balloons:

Specializes in many.

Several important questions...

1) are they all in the same hospital? because if you take the M/S job and try to change later, even if there isn't a specialty job open after you are done with M/S you may be able to have your foot in the door with the facility especially if you get a good recommendation from your NM

2) are the specialty jobs with a large hospital that gets transfers in from other facilities? you will need the med/surg experience to manage the higher risk patients

3) if you take the specialty in a smaller hospital, do you think you will be able to switch out of the specialty when that is the only kind of experience you have if you get bored or find you don't like it?

Best of luck in your decision, congrats on grad and passing the boards!!!

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

COngrats on passing! That's wonderful...Ragingmomster has great questions: especially if they are at different hospitals - you may want to ensure that they offer enough choices for later on down the road when you are a seasoned RN.

Thank you for all the advice. I have been talking with my husband to see what would be best. I just wish I was die hard compassionate about some area of nursing. Oh and yes all of the positions are at the same facility, same benefits, same hours. Such a tough choice. I have a week to figure out what I want to do. So much thinking!

Angela R.N.

Specializes in SRNA.

Congratulations on passing your boards and getting a job offer full of opportunities! ;)

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

i would make a choice based on which unit manager seemed to be the most concerned about your development into a mature rn and will be supportive of a new grad. go back and take a walk around those units with the permission of the managers during visiting hours and see what you think about the staff because most of your time is going to be spent working side by side with them.

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