New Grad RN first position in a Clinic/Urgent care opinions?

[CalishortyRN]

Hello everyone!

Just wanted some opinions. I've read a lot on here that your first RN position should ideally be in a acute care hospital... because that is where I eventually want to end up working the 3-12s in a hospital setting in an ER(which I know is VERY difficult to land being a new grad).

But after applying for a while and without huge success I've started to think about applying to Clinics or Urgent care centers there seems to be quite a few around where I'm moving to (around Kingwood, TX). Any opinions if later on after I get that experience will it be considered acute care and aid in attaining a hospital position?

The hospitals seem to only hire twice a year and I don't want to wait around for something I might not even get an interview for, but I've heard that once you work at all as an RN you are no longer eligible for those new grad programs.

I'm probably overthinking. I've even applied to positions over an hour away.

Thank you for any advice or your experience with this!

[libynjoe]

Hi

do u know of any hospitals in houston area hiring new grads?

[txerrn6942]

I can tell you from a 20+ ER career, first 18 in a hospital, last 2 in a freestanding ER.....there is no comparison. In these clinics.... They do not have the volume of a hospital based ED, nor do they have the staff or resources. In my situation it is 1 RN, 1 MD, 1 Rad tech and 1 front office staff. I'm not saying that a new grad couldn't do the job, but they shouldn't! You don't have back-up. You still don't know what is going to walk in the door....and without years of experience, you might not be able to handle the emergency. I'll admit most of it is clinic visit type patients, but we have had our codes. It is very difficult to run a code with 3 people.

The second problem is that the general public is unaware of what type of illness/injury needs to go where. They are mainly concerned with money and wait time. You will see things in these clinics, that truly have no business being treated there.

You specifically mentioned Urgent cares and Clinics, I think they are similar....minimal staffing and wide array of patients.

I am not saying don't apply, just make an educated decision. Make sure you have a proper orientation and proper support. Good luck in your search!

[CalishortyRN]

I can tell you from a 20+ ER career first 18 in a hospital, last 2 in a freestanding ER.....there is no comparison. In these clinics.... They do not have the volume of a hospital based ED, nor do they have the staff or resources. In my situation it is 1 RN, 1 MD, 1 Rad tech and 1 front office staff. I'm not saying that a new grad couldn't do the job, but they shouldn't! You don't have back-up. You still don't know what is going to walk in the door....and without years of experience, you might not be able to handle the emergency. I'll admit most of it is clinic visit type patients, but we have had our codes. It is very difficult to run a code with 3 people. The second problem is that the general public is unaware of what type of illness/injury needs to go where. They are mainly concerned with money and wait time. You will see things in these clinics, that truly have no business being treated there. You specifically mentioned Urgent cares and Clinics, I think they are similar....minimal staffing and wide array of patients. I am not saying don't apply, just make an educated decision. Make sure you have a proper orientation and proper support. Good luck in your search![/quote']

Wow definitely sounds like different staffing... There seems to be so many clinics and urgent cares by me.

Thank you for the advice, all very good points. I definitely want to make sure I have a real orientation in order to help set myself up for success. Can I ask how did you break into the ER Career path? If you were able to straight out of school or after experience in other departments?

I've always been interested in the ER especially after I went through my clinical rotation in one. But I've heard how difficult it can be to get my foot in the door for an ER position. Do you have any advice on getting hired for a ER position? Being a new grad I would be thankful with being able to have a hospital position at all, but over the moon if it was ER.

[txerrn6942]

You have to remember things were different 20 years ago.....I was a paramedic and was accepted into a critical care/trauma internship at the county hospital. I really don't have any tricks of the trade for breaking into the ER besides the thousands of posts on AN that give tips. You might try the EMS route, then network, network, network! I would continue to apply to the new grad internships or the Versant programs. Go to your local chapter ENA meetings. You will definitely need ACLS, TNCC and ENPC. I do wish you luck! :)