What should I do?

[babynursewannab]

I start clinicals this fall ( )and have options as to which area hospital to learn at. Each area hospital is known for one thing or another.

So, my questions are: For a student, does it matter where you got your in-school training? I mean, should I just go to the hospital closest to me for convenience or should I make the 40 min extra drive effort for the more technologically advanced and higher-esteemed hospital in the area?

Do future empolyers pay any attention to which hospitals you learned at (if you had a choice)?

A sidenote to the issue is the hospital that is further away is the nation's leading birthing hospital....I want to work there in L&D after graduation...do school clinicals actually give you an opportunity to make impressions on people who hire at hospitals?

Wow. Little did I realize how many questions I have. Open the flood gates....:chuckle

Thanks for any help anyone can give me!

Alyssa

[NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN]

Errr...bring it up. That was supposed to say 'bring', not 'being'. ;>P Sorry.

[NurseAngie]

You are very wise to stick it out at Charity..... GREAT place to get major experience! I remember hearing about that hospital when I lived in Meridian, Mississippi. They were even on a tv show (don't remember name and I rarely ever tune in to tv now). They are lucky to have a good nurse like you. (I read some of your previous posts and you seem like a very wise nurse!)

Happy Nursing~Angie

[shay]

Wow, Kristi....you're at Charity?? Dang woman......you go, girl....rock on with your bad self!!! That's a tough place to be....I gotta agree w/nurseAngie....great place to get MAJOR experience. Wow.

Babynurse, yeah, if you can get your foot in the door at another place that's closer and will still be a good learning experience, go for it. :)

[NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN]

The show was on TLC (code blue or something like that), and my unit was actually on TLC (Labor and Delivery), but that was before I was even out of school. Even so, you know I was watching every single episode, biting my nails and thinking, Oh, God, do I want to work THERE? Despite all it's drawbacks (and let's be honest, they exist!) it was one of only two hospitals in this area to even CONSIDER hiring a new grad with zero experience onto their Neonatal ICU's, and I knew right away that's where I wanted to be. It sucks in many ways (no funding will do that to a place), but it is the best place to come for a number of things, including trauma, and our neonatal unit is tops in many, many categories. In the end, those things weighed out over everything else. I love my babies!!!!!!!!! Their parents may be scary, but the babies are sweet as strawberry pie, and I wouldn't trade this job right now for anything. Even if I won't get to be on TV. ;>)

[NurseKitty NC]

No matter where you do your clinicals, remember that the impression you leave with the hospital can either make or break you. There were members of my clinical group who put forth extraordinary effort and were offered jobs six months before graduation. And there were others whose immaturity and unprofessionalism always seemed to get in the way of their performance, and as a result are probably now blacklisted from every area hospital. ;-)

One great way to get your foot in the door is to apply for a CNA position at whatever hospital you think you might want to work for. Not only will this allow you to showcase your skills, but you will also be considered an "employee" of the hospital and eligible to apply for internal job postings. (Otherwise, new grads who are not already affiliated with a hospital can only apply for external jobs.)