Options other than the hospital

Nursing Students General Students

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I have one year left of school, and I am completely overwhelmed. I do not think that the ER or an intense paced department would not be the right fit for me, I would absolutely love working in a doctors office or a family practice. I like being able to have time with and for people, building a relationship with the patients, and to not be so hurried around. I cannot imagine what I would do if it wasn't nursing, I'm just worried about the future. What kinds of jobs are there for nurses who want to work outside of the hospital?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

As Health Care Reform takes hold, the job growth for RNs is going to be in non-acute areas... hospital jobs for RNs will shrink. So setting your sights on a non-hospital job is probably a good idea. As a new grad, you should probably look at settings that have the structure and resources to provide you with an adequate orientation and support for your transition from student to practicing nurse. This is not likely to happen in smaller physician offices but Large, multi-specialty group practices or clinics could provide a great launching pad for you.

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There are plenty of outpatient job but not only is the pay usually worse you run the risk of losing skills...

Also as a new grad you should really start somewhere in acute care. Doctors offices are mostly MA territory, why would a doc hire an RN when's MAs can do most of the office tasks...

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Specializes in Primary Care.

Doctor offices and clinics are definitely a good choice. Yea you may not do basic hospital skills but you use a whole different set of critical thinking. All of the offices I have worked utilizes nurses as well as MAs.

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Thanks for the feedback! Put my worries to ease a bit.

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