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I recently graduated as a RN and am applying to various hospitals. If I start in a small rural hospital will that limit my options down the road? Will larger hospitals discredit my experience because it is not in a fast paced environment? Thanks for any advice!

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

In this market any hospital job is a good one!

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In this market any hospital job is a good one!

AGREED!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Only people who are not familiar with rural hospitals would characterize them as slow-paced or low-stress ;)

Rural healthcare is a very challenging environment. I have had the privilege of working with rural hospitals for many years... I was once one of those 'city nurses' who thought that 'country nurses' were a lesser breed - but I quickly discovered how wrong I was. I was astounded at the clinical expertise of RNs in teeny little 20-bed rural hospitals who could 'birth babies', run codes, scrub up in OR & pinch hit in respiratory therapy or radiology...... all in the same shift!!! In fact, rural nursing has been recognized as such a unique clinical setting that universities - such as Texas Tech - have graduate programs focused on Rural Nursing (School of Nursing)

Trust me, if you work in a rural hospital, you'll not only be provided with opportunities for cross-training, it will probably be a job expectation. Rural nurses have to be competent in a wide variety of clinical "specialties" and very resourceful. This type of experience adds a lot of value to your career.

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thanks for taking the time to reply to my question! I really appreciate your thoughtful reply.

-Austin

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