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so I have to decide between two new grad job offers. The ICU in a small community hospital that is closer to much bigger tertiary facilities, or a telemetry floor in a large busy hospital that is considered a Top 100 Cardiovascular Hospital. I feel like I would be happy at both, but I want to set myself up to learn the most I can learn and get the most experience I can get. Would I learn more and see more on a busy telemetry floor at a hospital that has all the cardiovascular services available or in a small ICU at pretty much the smallest hospital in the area.

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Specializes in Cath Lab/ ICU.

ICU in a small community hospital sounds dreamy. I'd pick that above just about anything else. No IV teams, compartmentalized this or that...you do all this thinking on your own. You make due, learn creativity, learn to really care, especially if your community hospital serves vulnerable populations.

That's JMHO. I'm sure others may come in differently.

My entire nursing career is based on what I learned, and adapted, to the ever changing role of a small community hospital ICU RN serving the 'worst' of our populations...I loved it!

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TBH, you're probably going to learn more in the small ICU than on the busy tele floor. Your entire day will probably consist of getting orders done and not really experiencing new things. In the small ICU, you'll have a lot more time to do procedures and think about what's going on with that patient, as well as being able to ask more experienced nurses questions and learn from them.

I work with a nurse that worked on the neuro floor at Barnes Jewish in St Louis. Top ten hospital in the country. She absolutely hated it. She had the same idea, she figured she would learn a ton at such a highly rated hospital and it would be an excellent job. Well, she spent her entire day playing catch up just trying to get all of her orders done and charted.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
I work with a nurse that worked on the neuro floor at Barnes Jewish in St Louis. Top ten hospital in the country. She absolutely hated it. She had the same idea, she figured she would learn a ton at such a highly rated hospital and it would be an excellent job. Well, she spent her entire day playing catch up just trying to get all of her orders done and charted.

It seems like a lot of those prestigious hospitals are like that. I would also go with the ICU in a small community hospital.

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ditto above

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