At a crossroads; Best path to take?

[FreddyV_84]

Hi everyone!  I have read many posts on here throughout the years and always seemed to find valuable insight from this site and its members, but this is my first time actually posting.  I feel that I'm at a crossroads so to speak in my career and looking for some advice from all you more experienced nurses here. I've been a nurse for over 13 years.  All acute care hospital setting; specializing in Critical Care specifically, with the last 4 years working in ER.  The last several years of my career I felt a pull to pursue a different path; management (I know crazy, right? ? ).  I recently completed my MSN in leadership/administration.  Also, about a year ago I accepted a position as a House supervisor to build some management experience, since all my prior experience was at the bedside.  I would like to pursue other health care management positions outside the hospital setting, but the job market in my area is pretty dry and the few open positions that I have applied for I was turned down due to not having enough management experience.    Recently at my hospital a management position opened up in the outpatient infusion center.  I've been encouraged by administration to apply, but I have a few reservations.   First being that I have no prior experience in this area of nursing.  I feel this is something that I of course could learn in time though.  Another big negative is that I have almost an hour of drive time one way to the hospital; working three 12 hour shifts a week this drive isn't terrible.  But if I become a manager I would be doing the long commute 5 days a week instead of 3.   So my options at this point would be to keep doing the house supervisor position until something closer to home opens up (which has been my main goal), or to jump in to this management position at my current hospital.  The other consideration is that If I were to take this position I would eventually probably want to move closer to the hospital, but I have school aged kids and we love the area we currently live in so I'm not to keen on the idea of uprooting the kids from their school and moving.  Thanks for any advice you guys can give me!

[Nurse Mentor Nancy, MSN, RN, NP]

Looks like there are pros and cons to either decision you make.  Make a pro and con list for both decisions.  See if it is clear from these lists what to do.  

If it is not clear what to do from your lists, keep the job you are in now.  Proactively work on your longer term goal.  Put in applications at places you might want to work.  Ask for an interview with an upper management person.  Ask what kind of experience they would like you to have if you were to apply for a management position there.  Ask lots of questions about their organization.  Bring an awesome resume that speaks for itself.  Don't try to sell yourself.  Make it about them.  Be friendly.  Be personable.  Be someone they would want to hire.  Establish relationships.  Send them a "thank you for your time letter" to everyone you spoke with soon after the interviews.  Keep in touch with the people you connected with the most or are the most influential in their organization.  Send them an article every 2-3 months that might interest them or share with them something you learned or are working on that might help them.  

Don't forget to look at the culture of each organization including the one you are working for now.  What are their values?  Do you agree with them?  Which place will most help you learn and grow?  You may find out that taking the five day a week position at your present organization will move you closer to your long term goal.  If none of the organizations you visited have the culture you want, and your present organization does, consider  the five day a week job.  Try negotiating time spent physically on the job.  Can you do any of the job from home, one or two days a week so you only drive three or four days a wk.  Or could you do 4 10 hour days? 

I would say, Best of Luck, but I won't because you will not be relying on luck.  You will be taking action to achieve your dreams.  

[Orca, ADN, ASN, RN]

You say in your opening statement that one reason that you were turned down for a management position due to a lack of management experience. A year as a house supervisor is not a lot of experience. When I first became a DON, I was in the position for about that long before I had a real sense that I fully grasped the job and I knew what I was doing. 

If the issue is the length of time that you have been in a leadership position, I don't understand how taking another position would resolve this. House supervisors handle a lot of different things in a lot of different areas, and they gain a lot of understanding about how the organization works as a whole. In my mind, this is preferable to being a supervisor over a single area.

[FreddyV_84]

Nancy, Thanks for your response.  It was very insightful and well thought out.  You really helped give me more perspective and weigh my options.

Orca, I really appreciated your response as well.  You're right, a year is not a lot of experience in my current position.  My initial thought in taking the infusion manager position was that it would allow me to build more skills by getting more experience in scheduling, budgeting, and other managerial tasks that I don't do as a house supervisor.  

I decided to not pursue this new position and continue working as a house supervisor for the time being.  Again, thank you both for your responses.  It was nice to get advice from outside sources!