Almost new grad - needs advice about finding a job!!

Good morning everyone,

I will be graduating with a BSN this May. I have been actively looking for a job and have several interviews coming up over the next few weeks. I currently live at home with my parents, but things may be going sour with my dad's current job. Therefore, I have been looking at hospitals in other states, near where they may be relocating. Truth be told, I don't want to be far from them when I first start out on my own with my first real full-time job!

I currently work on a great floor with an AMAZING staff. In all seriousness, our floor is the model of teamwork, and that is so important to me. I've seen how important it is to work together on so many different occasions.

Our unit is slowly doubling in size - it is about 3/4s of the way there. Over half of the nurses on our floor are nurses with 2 or less years of experience, but they are all extremely competent nurses. My Nurse Manager has told me for well over a year now that if I want a job when I graduate, it's mine to have. I, of course, have always greatly appreciated the offer and am considering it in my job search. The only problem is that every time I see her now, she asks me if I've decided what I'm doing when I graduate. Each time I tell her the same thing.. that I am including it in my search, that my parents may be relocating to another state and that I am seeing what else is out there in case I don't think I'm ready to be on own yet - away from my parents.

I've told both her and our Assistant Nurse Manager that I don't want to committ and then have to back out for whatever reason. I am being extremely honest about my job search and have told them I will let them know ASAP. I have told her all along that I would want to work full time nights as I have been working nights as a tech. When I last spoke to her, she let out a big sigh and told me she just hired a whole bunch of full-time nights. This threw me off because I've been telling her for almost 3 months now that I would want full-time nights. I asked her if that meant it wouldn't be possible and she looked unsure but then told me she would "hold a spot" for me - the same that she told me the last time we talked.

I feel such a sense of urgency to hurry up and tell her I will accept the job offer. I fully understand that she needs to determine how her staffing looks and her additional hiring needs, and so I am being extremely honest with her about my progress with my job search. This floor is extremely intense and is basically patients who meet ICU criteria. The patients are not always the most pleasant, and there are times when I really, really dislike my job and feel extremely abused and underappreciated. What I do know is that I would learn a lot and see a lot.

I ended our conversation the same as I have been for the past 3 months - that I would let her know as soon as I have decided what I will be doing. My interviews go through the first week of April and then I will have to decide. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation? I am feeling so stressed out as it is with school, work, clinicals, NCLEX and deciding on where I will be working.