Advice for specialty change/moving hospitals

[mandymae92]

Hello! I am seeking some advice from the allnurses community. I have worked for just about 2 years on a transplant floor at a well-known hospital. My benefits are good, my boss is really great, and I like my floor as a whole. I unfortunately do not like the city the job is in. I have really tried for the past 2 years to make it home and have decided I am ready for a change especially now that I have 2 years of experience. Here comes the tough part- I feel the bar was set high with this first job and it makes me nervous to venture out. I have thought about ICU being something I'd like to try but I am finding that so many places want experience. I have thought about travel nursing but it would be as a medical-surgical nurse and I feel like my unit was so specialized and I am finding myself being picky in the fact that a lot of medical-surgical floors would not interest me. I also need to practice some skills because the hospital I work at has lots of resources so I have not put in an IV since nursing school. We also have favorable ratios though we do have less help from PCAs. I really like the transplant specialty but am feeling like it is too soon to become a coordinator or something of that sort. I also like the idea of ending up in public health, but once again, feel like I still have the energy and desire for floor nursing. I recognize I may just need to take a risk on another med-surg floor or as a travel RN but does anyone have advice? I just don't want to get turned away from nursing as a whole though I know I could also discover something I love without even knowing it. I am also taking into account the possible cities I could move to with family and friends in mind or even just starting over somewhere completely new. I also am desiring a well-known hospital with a good reputation since I come from that (ie not a rural community hospital). So many thoughts I know and maybe overthinking but I guess I just want to further my career and also my adult life and don't know what the best way to do that is. Thanks so much for reading and any/all advice is much appreciated :).

[mtnNurse., BSN]

I recommend doing regular job searches with the very broad search term of "nurse" for each city you think you'd enjoy living in. Then just see what's available, what you qualify for, and consider if it's something you'd like to give a whirl. I'm currently looking at every single nursing job posted for the area I want to live in and keeping all of my options open for what type of job I may want to apply for. Whenever I catch myself immediately discounting a job ad because I think I can't or I don't want to do it, I remind myself to be open-minded and at least give it some thought whether I could do that job after all. I recommend not giving up on ICU or wherever you want to work even if you don't have experience. Just keep knocking on the doors and showing your enthusiasm for that specialty. Since you are able to relocate, I'd think you'd be able to get into any specialty you want, get at least a year there, then move again if you want.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

I would apply to ICU jobs, especially SICU positions in transplant centers, and who knows...they may take you. I would also apply to stepdown units. I understand the feeling of not being interested in a "regular" med surg floor. If you can find a job on a transplant unit closer to you then after a year you could perhaps make an internal transfer to the ICU.