The debate... A saga

[RunBabyRN]

First, let me start off by saying that neither of these jobs have been offered, nor have I even interviewed.

I received a call yesterday regarding a position with a major hospital system here in CA. They gave me some info about the position, a 90 day part time new grad position in the emergency department, a close second choice of units for me (women's health/L&D/postpartum being #1), and e-mailed a link to take a med exam, which I took last night and passed. The next step will be an interview. Should this position work out, I would be about 2 hours from home, which would mean having to stay there the days/nights I work. My brother lives one exit away from this hospital (his wife gave birth there 3 weeks ago, so I'm familiar with it!), and they've already said I'm welcome to stay there rent-free. I'd love the time with my brother, SIL and new niece, though there's the risk of little sleep! Also, there is no guarantee of a permanent position. This is a hospital system that has a hospital 20 minutes from my home, and everyone I know that works there loves it, and has said that I should try to get in there when I can (but they are known to not hire new grads). I have a very good contact there, but even she said that the acute care experience is something they won't budge on.

Some may recall that there was a position I'd been offered at a local hospital (20 minutes from home, and another major hospital system), where I precepted in postpartum, and that due to politics surrounding a residency program, the offer was rescinded (very long story). I noticed that there are now 3 staff nurse I positions on that unit posted in the last couple of days. One position, I assumed was to the residency student who was assigned to that unit, but two more posted yesterday. I've applied to these positions, but I also e-mailed the manager with my resume, references and cover letter, and asked her to consider me (she had lined up the preceptorship with plans to hire me, and had offered me the position halfway through the preceptorship). The positions are all per diem, and this hospital is known to call off the lowest person on the totem pole. Many new grads I've spoken with from classes above me have left because they couldn't count on hours from there. This hospital also pays HALF what the other hospital pays for base salary, from what I understand. Still a livable wage, but still.

While waiting for a hospital position to pan out, I have secured some random per diem work, doing health fairs and home infusions, and have signed up with a few agencies to do flu clinics this fall. I would not plan to give any of these up in either case, so neither hospital would be our only source of income. There's also the crazy idea of taking both and risking never seeing my family and running myself into the ground.

Again, no positions have been offered, and I haven't even interviewed, so I recognize I am jumping the gun. However, I am also married to an over-planner, and having some idea of what the plan would be should this situation arise would put us both at ease. Of course, timing would be a factor as well.

Any input is appreciated. There are always angles I have not considered. :)

[mvm2]

If these two offers were to be put in front of me I would be taking the second offer. Many more plus points for that job.

1 It is closer to home. I know you were offered to stay with your brother, but I am going to guess that before long it is going to get pretty old for you to drive two hours so many times a week and think of all the gas money. staying with your brother who has a new baby and you may not get the sleep you are going to want.

2.This job is in a unit that was your first choice and these units sometimes are impossible to get into and down the road are you going to kick yourself for not taking a job in a unit you wanted to get into.

3.It seems the hours might be low, but you seem to have a plan already in place for some other jobs that will help that out, and also since you would have your foot in the door, you never know it might not take too long and they would give you more hours in the unit.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

If these two offers were to be put in front of me I would be taking the second offer. Many more plus points for that job.

1 It is closer to home. I know you were offered to stay with your brother, but I am going to guess that before long it is going to get pretty old for you to drive two hours so many times a week and think of all the gas money. staying with your brother who has a new baby and you may not get the sleep you are going to want.

2.This job is in a unit that was your first choice and these units sometimes are impossible to get into and down the road are you going to kick yourself for not taking a job in a unit you wanted to get into.

3.It seems the hours might be low, but you seem to have a plan already in place for some other jobs that will help that out, and also since you would have your foot in the door, you never know it might not take too long and they would give you more hours in the unit.

THIS.

At least the second position is a guaranteed position-if you get it.

Sounds like either way, you have a system in place and have honed the best adage in nursing-always have a side specialty!

Keep us posted!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Before I became a nurse, I was a factory worker who lived near Highway 99 in Bakersfield (Central CA) and commuted two hours one way to my workplace in coastal southern CA. The commute became tiring after one year, but I did it because my value in the local job market was minimal due to having no education beyond a high school diploma.

I became a nurse partly because I wanted to secure employment fairly close to home, wherever in the US I would end up. After all, most people live within reasonable driving distance of one or more healthcare facilities.

I would consider taking the first job as long as you set a time limit of doing it for one year at the most. However, I lived solely off per diem/PRN earnings for three years and earned more than enough money to support my lifestyle, so the PRN job closer to home should also be an option if you were to be offered it.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[RunBabyRN]

If these two offers were to be put in front of me I would be taking the second offer. Many more plus points for that job.

1 It is closer to home. I know you were offered to stay with your brother, but I am going to guess that before long it is going to get pretty old for you to drive two hours so many times a week and think of all the gas money. staying with your brother who has a new baby and you may not get the sleep you are going to want.

2.This job is in a unit that was your first choice and these units sometimes are impossible to get into and down the road are you going to kick yourself for not taking a job in a unit you wanted to get into.

3.It seems the hours might be low, but you seem to have a plan already in place for some other jobs that will help that out, and also since you would have your foot in the door, you never know it might not take too long and they would give you more hours in the unit.

The drive doesn't bother me, actually. I do a lot of driving as it is, even for the very short shifts I sometimes work. I also have a very fuel-efficient car and a library card for books on CD. :) My brother and his wife and I are very close, and my husband and I have already discussed me staying in a hotel if needed. The salary will more than cover it- the hourly wage is just under what one night's hotel stay would cost!

The emergency room sees over 100K patients a year, and it would expose me to a lot I might not see elsewhere (level II trauma center). Also, I'd plan to apply to a facility closer to home as soon as possible, and I have connections at the local facility, but I need the experience first. I would also have a preceptor for this 90 day position.

The hours are a big concern, actually. I've seen new grads stick it out for over a year, and only get 2 shifts a month. It can take awhile to work up the chain, and this is why people don't always last. It's good that I have other work, at least, but it's hard to plan your life when you're constantly getting called off of work.

Now, that said, I have a lot of respect for the manager of this PP unit, and the nurses really like working with her. Having precepted on the unit, I am familiar with it, the nurses, and the hospital itself (I did almost all of my clinicals there in school). I doubt I would have a preceptor (or if I did, not for long). I have seen how the call offs work first hand, and I have a friend from the class above me on the unit, who has complained about how often she gets called off (and she's not a complainer by nature). She ends up working all shifts to try to get as much in as she can.

[RunBabyRN]

THIS.

At least the second position is a guaranteed position-if you get it.

Sounds like either way, you have a system in place and have honed the best adage in nursing-always have a side specialty!

Keep us posted!

I got called for the interview at job #1 today, so I'm excited to get to do this! The lack of permanence does suck, but I also know that these sorts of positions GENERALLY lead to more permanent positions, though I'm not naive enough to count on this. Regardless, I'm not leaving my other positions for sure until something is 100% solid. Plus, the infusions give me great experience, and the agency work has exposed me to some cool stuff already (as well as good people for references).

[RunBabyRN]

Before I became a nurse, I was a factory worker who lived near Highway 99 in Bakersfield (Central CA) and commuted two hours one way to my workplace in coastal southern CA. The commute became tiring after one year, but I did it because my value in the local job market was minimal due to having no education beyond a high school diploma.

I became a nurse partly because I wanted to secure employment fairly close to home, wherever in the US I would end up. After all, most people live within reasonable driving distance of one or more healthcare facilities.

I would consider taking the first job as long as you set a time limit of doing it for one year at the most. However, I lived solely off per diem/PRN earnings for three years and earned more than enough money to support my lifestyle, so the PRN job closer to home should also be an option if you were to be offered it.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

The commute isn't too bad (wow on braving Bakersfield... Yuck), though Sacramento traffic can be tough! I have no idea what the shift is, but since I'd be staying with my brother, I can time my drive for lower traffic times, and hang out or nap until it's time to go to work. I would definitely apply closer to home once I have the 6 months of experience this company ABSOLUTELY requires for a SNII position. This company is one I want to end up with eventually, so that's part of the draw as well. Plus, I actually have an interview with them now, which puts the odds in favor of that position for the moment.

I'm still going to try calling the NM of position #2, I think, tomorrow, just to check in. For all I know, those 2 new posted positions may be for specific people. Who knows. Maybe I'll get lucky, and I can take both jobs for now. :)

[RunBabyRN]

A FOURTH new grad spot for job #2 posted today. So weird.

Kinda irks me, when she said that she needed to keep the talent pool spread, skill & experience-wise. She said she couldn't load up the unit with a bunch of new grads. Hm. Just weird, because she and the unit seemed really happy with me, so I don't know that it's me that she was rejecting, and I know others got caught up in the whole residency program thing.

[scaredsilly, BSN, RN]

RunBaby,

I feel your pain, you and I passed NCLEX the same week and I was in roughly the same situation. I had my dream job at a hospital 5 minutes away and wasn't getting a call. In the meantime I ended up with 4 job offers, none of which were anything close to what I wanted.

A very important question to ask is if the new grad program will accept someone with RN experience. In my area, if you have RN experience, you cannot be hired to a residency, and if you have less than a year experience you cannot be hired in any other hospital job so taking a job you really don't want may make it impossible to take the one you want until you work for a year.

The other question is if there is new grad contract. Where I am, you sign a contract for a year (or two in some places) and if you leave early you have to repay a large sum of training costs as well as a black mark on your resume.

That said, I would interview just for the experience of interviewing. I had my first interview this week and some of the questions really blindsided me. There's no way to really prepare. On the upside, I got the job!! It is really my dream job (in L&D) and I wouldn't have gotten it if I had accepted one of the other RN jobs I was offered. I took a tech job for just that reason and am so glad that I did.

[RunBabyRN]

RunBaby,

I feel your pain, you and I passed NCLEX the same week and I was in roughly the same situation. I had my dream job at a hospital 5 minutes away and wasn't getting a call. In the meantime I ended up with 4 job offers, none of which were anything close to what I wanted.

A very important question to ask is if the new grad program will accept someone with RN experience. In my area, if you have RN experience, you cannot be hired to a residency, and if you have less than a year experience you cannot be hired in any other hospital job so taking a job you really don't want may make it impossible to take the one you want until you work for a year.

The other question is if there is new grad contract. Where I am, you sign a contract for a year (or two in some places) and if you leave early you have to repay a large sum of training costs as well as a black mark on your resume.

That said, I would interview just for the experience of interviewing. I had my first interview this week and some of the questions really blindsided me. There's no way to really prepare. On the upside, I got the job!! It is really my dream job (in L&D) and I wouldn't have gotten it if I had accepted one of the other RN jobs I was offered. I took a tech job for just that reason and am so glad that I did.

I have already been working the other jobs, and they were on my resume when I applied. Most of the programs here will accept you if you have RN experience, as long as it's not acute care experience.

I understand how contracts work, and I believe that Job #1 would be this sort of situation. I wouldn't leave and break the contract. If something worked out with job #2 after starting job #1, I am thinking I may offer limited availability at #2 until the 90 days are up with #1 and see what happens. The system #1 is part of is where I want to end up at some point, and there are a few facilities closer to home, so I would work to transfer as soon as possible. I also know people in postpartum there, so I could potentially get there soon.

Since I am already working with my RN license, there aren't any decisions to be made there. The resumes I've submitted to both positions already list this experience. Also, for job #2, the person I know that's in the unit already has SNF RN experience, so I know that's not a limiter for either position. I'll definitely interview anywhere I'm offered, if only for the experience. There's another job I interviewed for yesterday, but it's kind of inflexible (I thought it would be more flexible than it is) and not in the area of nursing I want, so if offered, I don't plan to take it, but it was good interview experience.

Congrats on your new position!! That's fantastic! I do want to get into L&D at some point as well. Really, emergency and PP are kind of like close seconds to L&D for me.

[RunBabyRN]

Well, the manager was kind enough to email me, and the positions posted are for residents. I emailed back stating that I understood. So position #2 no longer in the running. Here's hoping for a good interview Monday! Reviewing all of my cardiac and shock stuff as much as I can now!