Hospital to Clinic

[megm07]

I currently work on a very busy pediatric floor and will be interviewing soon for a pediatric office job. The pros of the office so far are that this office is about 10 mins from where I live and the job I am currently at is about an hour away. Also, the office hours are tuesday-friday 9-5, which i would love having day schedule since i currently work nights. I have been working in a hospital setting for about 8 months now. Would it be detrimental to go to a office setting this early in my career? I always figured I would want to go to an office or be a school nurse once I had kids but I am worried that if I dont like this setting that it would be hard for me to get a hospital job after working at the office. I am considering still working PRN at the hospital, but if that is not possible, I am not sure what to do. What are your opinions?

[peaceful2100, BSN, RN]

How long have you been a nurse? I use to work in a Pediatric clinic. While I didn't go back to the hospital setting I decided to go into school nursing as it is something I always wanted to know. (They say be careful what you wish for) It is nice with the schedule but I work high school and these kids oooh, wow they are definitely very trying!! This is my first year as a school nurse though. I have only been doing this for almost 2 months now. Anyway, I knew a nurse that was working in the Pediatric Clinic and had no problems what so ever going back to the hospital setting.

I do loooove the schedule of outpatient and school nursing though. I'm making a sacrifice for my family. I have children and my DH works evenings so my job matches up perfectly for my family. For me at this time working 7am-7pm (I can NEVER do nights again. Been there done that) is impossible since DH works evenings and we truly truly have no one to watch our children as his mother is older, and my parents both are dealing with health issues. His brothers/sisters don't want to be bothered because they too busy doing their own thing, and I only have 1 brother who works 60-70 hours a week.

We tried the babysitting route that was literally like Nightmare on Elm Street. Never, Ever, Ever again. I rather be homeless before I ever trust anyone else with my children.

Of course you didn't ask for all that but I'm just saying the Clinic schedule was totally perfect for me. It is a different type of nursing but it is still nursing.

This time of year in the Pediatric Clinic is when everything starts to get really really busy at least where I use to work. Really from July, with all the back to school stuff until early March. Then it slows down for a little while then picks back up all over again.

I believe in the fact that if there is something you always want to do go for it because you never know until you try it.

Also, if you can do PRN great if NOT then at least stay in good contact with those who work there, you will definitely be staying current with Pediatric information working in a Peds clinic, and if you are not already part of the Pediatric Nurses Association I highly recommend joining!!

I know that is more than you asked for and that still may not be exactly what you want.

[naptimeRN]

That's a nice schedule, Tues-Fri 9-5! Three day weekends wahoo! And that's a huge improvement in terms of commute. That's some extra quality of life for you right there. And hey, if your goal was to eventually work in an office or as a school nurse, then I don't see a problem. I would probably suggest staying per diem at the hospital if that's an option, just incase outpatient ends up not being what you want.

I work part time in an outpatient setting and stayed per diem at the hospital. I am so happy with my choice to stay per diem at the hospital, as outpatient in my opinion, can sometimes get monotonous and my shifts here and there at the hospital break it up. Also, it allows me to stay up to date on my acute nursing skills and looks good on a resume. Best of both worlds doing both. Good luck!