Am I aiming to high? Ranking choices for New Grad programs?

[vwgirl22]

I have applied for several new grad programs that have general applications and ask you to select your top 3 clinical areas you would prefer to work in. I always wanted to work in an ICU, so naturally I selected that as my top choice. However, I did my internship in med-surg and did not have an opportunity to do an externship. I had two interviews with big university hospitals where I selected ICU positions in my top 3 but didnt get to the second rounds of interviewing. I am starting to think I should start selecting med-surg since thats what I interned in (but its really my last choice) and that I'll never land my dream job in the ICU because I don't have any experience from school in the ICU (besides clinical). At this point I will take anything I can get. Wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this. Is there strategy at play here or is it just random luck?

[Wolf at the Door, BSN]

Not true keep trying if you can afford to. I did no externship, practicum in med surg which helped, I did work as a float tech, and got an ICU job when all I wanted was just a job. Taking what I can get.

[CalicoKitty, BSN, RN]

When I applied to some new grad programs, I think I listed ICU or ER, med-surg, and then some other random floor (usually something that I figured I could tolerate but may have either fewer applicants or more open positions). I didn't have a capstone or internship. Med-surg is a floor with a high turnover because a lot of people still use it as a "stepping-stone" to get to another unit. Many hospitals make it easy to transfer to another position after a year or whatever.

[bubblejet50]

There were quite a few of my classmates who got into magnet status hospital icu's with an adn and no experience so I think you should keep trying. Dont get stuck in a job you know you wont like.

[llg, PhD, RN]

If you have the chance to list 3 top choices ... then I would NOT list 3 ICU's as your only choices. I believe that can hurt your chances.

When I am selecting candidates for my extern program, those 2nd and 3rd choices often become very important. A lot of people don't get their first choice -- and I don't want to place anyone in a unit where they will be unhappy: that would be a waste of a slot highly desired by some other candidate. So, when I am looking at the list and see 10 people who wanted ICU and I only have 4 places ... I give the ICU slots to the top 4, then look at "Who will be happy on a general m/s unit?" At that moment, the people whose 2nd or 3rd choice was a med/surg rise to the top. The people who indicated that they were only interested in ICU and nothing else -- they get rejected.

I can't speak for other hiring managers, but that's how I pick among applicants. Without a preceptorship or job experience in an ICU, you may not be one of the top applicants. Therefore, you might be rejected because you didn't give them any indication that you would be interested in any other type of unit.