Which would you take: Day shift on Med-Surg unit or Night shift in dream job?

babeinboots, MSN, NP, CNM · Oct 26, 2017

Take the job you were offered, the dream job is not a sure thing yet. If you end up getting offeredyour dream job you can always respectfully resign from the first job and go to your dream unit. Im pretty much going through this exact same thing now except I've already started working at job A and I have an offer for my dream unit. PM me if you have more questions!

Lhalty · Oct 27, 2017

A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush

Seastar135 · Oct 27, 2017

Thanks guys! A bird in hand is definitely better than two birds on a bush.

Seastar135 · Oct 27, 2017

Good analogy.

Mavrick, BSN, RN · Oct 28, 2017

Your choice is not between a day shift or a night shift (as your post title implies). It is between a job offer and a job application.

What kind of a gambler are you? What is your back up plan if you turn down the "guaranteed" job offer and don't get the answer you want from your "dream" job?

The saying, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", means a sure thing (in the hand) is better than some potential thing (in the bush) where you will lose what you have and not gain the thing you risked it all for.

Kaisu · Oct 29, 2017

,,,you can always respectfully resign from the first job and go to your dream unit.

I would have to respectfully disagree with this strategy. It takes a lot of money to orient a new nurse. Any decent hospital will not throw you into the deep end. They will assign preceptors and mentors, and possibly a new grad residency. You will not be "paying your own way" until you can independently handle a full patient load, including proficiently manage admissions and discharges. Believe me when I tell you that graduating a nursing program DOES NOT prepare you for this.

The hospital is investing a lot in you. I firmly believe that if you have done your homework, and you should, and have accepted the position, then you owe them at least a year. Administrators will tell you it's more like two years before they recover their investment.

Do not resign from your first nursing job until you can honestly say you have given the hospital back what they gave you.

Seastar135 · Oct 29, 2017

What if I respectfully decline 2 months before the new grad program even begins?

Seastar135 · Oct 29, 2017

@Kaisu, ADN, what if I respectfully decline the position 2 months before it even begins?

Kaisu · Oct 30, 2017

I see no issue with that.

babeinboots, MSN, NP, CNM · Oct 30, 2017

I would have to respectfully disagree with this strategy. It takes a lot of money to orient a new nurse. Any decent hospital will not throw you into the deep end. They will assign preceptors and mentors, and possibly a new grad residency. You will not be "paying your own way" until you can independently handle a full patient load, including proficiently manage admissions and discharges. Believe me when I tell you that graduating a nursing program DOES NOT prepare you for this.
The hospital is investing a lot in you. I firmly believe that if you have done your homework, and you should, and have accepted the position, then you owe them at least a year. Administrators will tell you it's more like two years before they recover their investment.
Do not resign from your first nursing job until you can honestly say you have given the hospital back what they gave you.

That's ok and I respectfully disagree with you. Everything you said about the cost of training is correct but unfortunately life happens and most facilities do factor in that some new hires will not stay on board for a year or more.

I agree that you should do your research first and quitting when a better offer comes along should not be your plan A but sometimes circumstances or opportunities come up. For instance, when I got hired for job A last year, I was in a completely different time in my life. By the time I actually started, many of the factors (lower pay, minimal benefits, specialty) were not a priority for me. But now I have a family and was recently offered a job with excellent pay, great benefits, and my dream specialty. So you are telling me that I should turn it down because I haven't given job A a year commitment? I disagree, at the end of the day it's my life and I have to be happy with the choices I make and I'm pretty sure the rich CEO of company A isn't going to care if my daughter has health insurance or if I'm making enough to begin a college fund for my daughter. I definitely didn't plan this and had every intention of staying with job A when I accepted the offer but I would be a mad woman if I let job B pass me by.

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Oct 31, 2017

What if I respectfully decline 2 months before the new grad program even begins?

It's definitely preferable to back out of a job offer that you've accepted before the orientation starts rather than after. However, realize that in doing so you may burn bridges with that hospital's HR department, and that could have future ramifications if you're interested in every applying there again (i.e. for PRN work).

Your choice is not between a day shift or a night shift (as your post title implies). It is between a job offer and a job application.

This is definitely the more pertinent question, and the answer will depend on your priorities.

I'd always accept a guaranteed position over a potential one (especially as a new grad); however, if I were offered both positions, I'd personally pick the night shift dream job over the day shift med surg. Depending on your priorities and circumstances, you might feel differently.