New Grad OR Nurse?

[HAYB]

Hey all. Just wanted to seek some advice for a difficult decision I may have to make shortly. So I finished up my BSN in December/January and passed my Nclex this month. I was offered a job interview with New York-Presbyterian/Cornell (I used to work there before nursing school). Now, as a new grad, getting a job or even an interview is extremely hard and I know I should be excited about this. However, this interview is for an OR staff nurse position and I would preferably want to go into some form of critical care/ED role position. I know that I should take any job that is offered as a new grad to gain experience before anything else but I feel that OR nursing experience will not help me gain any more experience for what I would like to do with my nursing career. I may even love OR nursing but IDK if it is a good idea for me to start off in OR as I feel I may be "handcuffing" myself to that dept of nursing before gaining any Med/Surg, acute care experience which will help me go where I want to in the future. Also, this interview is only being offered to me as my previous managers called in some favors so this is doubly stressful. I would hate to turn down a job offer that someone helped me get at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country. And, if that wasn't enough stress, I literally got my license a week ago and people tell me no one gets a job that quickly so I would be crazy if I DIDN'T take it.....Any advice on this would help.

My main issue is not wanting to "waste" years in OR nursing just to have another hard time finding my desired job as my OR experience won't be relevant for any other type of nursing. Thanks again.

[williams84]

If your previous managers had to call in favors to get you the interview, you don't have the job yet. I would recommend you do the interview for a few reasons. 1) It really helps you prepare for the interviews you may get in the areas you want. Practice makes perfect. 2) New grad interviews are hard to come by. I got my RN in January, so I know a little of what you're going through. I moved out of state and got several interviews, whereas my classmates back home are still struggling for anyone to read their resumes.

If I was in your position, I would take the interview, see what they have to show, and then if it doesn't seem like a good fit, politely turn any potential offers down. This is your chance to "interview" them as well. Good luck to you!