Can a new grad have spidey senses??

allnurses Guide · Apr 12, 2018

You mean, you want the first job. You said at the end you want the ER nurse position,

but did you mean critical care position? Just trying to clarify.

I would take the closer, med surge position for three reasons:

1. Closer to home

2. Interview went better and you didn't get an "icky" feeling :laugh:

3. Critical care as a new grad... it's hard. Really hard.

If you read through this website a bit, you'll see a lot of threads

from nurses who started out right into CC and ended up having

to take it down a notch and switch to a step-down unit or a

med-surge. So, I have to recommend getting a bit of med surge

experience first before tackling CC. I am certain there are

people who will disagree with me on this, and you know,

with everything else in life your mileage may vary.

Good luck!!!

Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B · Apr 12, 2018

So as a rule in my life when I see a red flag I try not to say "my favorite color is red!" You got a bad vibe, its an HOUR AND A HALF AWAY!!! And trust me you were their second choice after the first candidate turned them down.

caliotter3 · Apr 12, 2018

Hope reach for the stars and follow your dreams lady does not see this thread! Ha, ha!

elizzyRN · Apr 12, 2018

An hour and a half is going to be a long long drive after an already long, exhausting shift! Some days I feel like I am barely able to make it home and my commute is only 20 minutes. Unless you're willing to move closer I would go with the second job.

blondy2061h, MSN, RN · Apr 12, 2018

I can't imagine commuting 3 hours for a nursing job. Go with your gut.

EDNURSE20, BSN · Apr 12, 2018

Agree. Med surg job. There will always be another ER job that appears. And after a year of med surg you will be in a better position.

As a new grad being in a supportive environment Is the most important thing. From there recruitment it's obvious your not going to get that support, probably just mucked around some more.

Crush · Apr 12, 2018

In this case, I would not reach for the stars. I'd take the med-surg, esp as a new grad. Other critical care, ICU, ER jobs will come along. Plus that drive. Goodness, and you had red flags.

ruby_jane, BSN, RN · Apr 12, 2018

Nursing intuition/the "spidey sense" are to be encouraged and nurtured. Don't ignore yours.

Also - if I had actually gotten a med-surg nursing gig at the outset instead a "we'll train the new grad, but not really" ICU gig - I might be still be bedside! Who knows? What I can tell you is that my med-surg classmates are excellent nurses and have seen more and done more than I ever did. Many transitioned into critical care positions with no trouble.

Cowboyardee · Apr 12, 2018

Agree with others about the commute. You have to reeeeaaalllly want the job to justify that kind of commute if relocation isnt an option.

That said, most of the time you get a job offer under circumstances like the ones you've described, it just means that they had another candidate in mind for the job opening and that candidate fell through for some reason. Its not really, on its own, a reason to decline the job.

I'd be more concerned with not having much of a feel for the unit director or the culture of the unit, based on the half-***ed interview. That, and the commute.

Guest219794 · Apr 12, 2018

SOOOOOOOO I have literally been driving myself crazy trying to "secure the bag" as a new grad by applying for several jobs. So far I have been offered two positions, but I'm not sure which one to accept. Although the first contender is located an hour and a half away from me, I'm attracted because it's a critical care RN position and offers several certifications during the course of the residency program. Whats weird is during my interview with the director of the unit she only asked me two questions and told me to reach for the stars.(LOL IF I DIDNT HAVE TOUGH SKIN I COULD HAVE CRIED) Two weeks later I got an email from them saying that they have selected another candidate blah blah, but within hours of that same email, I got a phone call saying oh that was a mistake "insert director name here" actually wants to hire you. The second contender is at a hospital closer to my home, thirty minutes to be exact. It is on a med/surg floor and the interview went 10 times better than ole "reach for the stars and follow your dreams" lady. I want to take the position as an ER nurse but the way I was offered the job seemed weird especially in conjunction with the way the interview went. What should I do ignore my gut or follow my heart and hope for the best?

A disorganized manager offered you a job with practically no interview. Sounds great.

Wake up at 0415. Leave by 0500- that 0700 shift starts at 0645. With a 1.5 hour drive, you need more leeway. There are 3 times more chance of something screwing up than a 1/2 hr drive. Back in your car at 1930- the shift ended at 1915. Driving in the driveway at 2100.

You have 7 hours, 45 minutes to eat sleep, shower, poop, prep food, exercise, socialize, and take care of anything unexpected.

I wouldn't bother with spidey sense- just go for common sense.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Apr 12, 2018

There are plenty of reasons to take the med surg job, but the fact that you were "second" choice at the first interview should not be one of them.

I did a critical care residency right out of school, and it was the best decision I ever made. But the program was top notch, our class of new grads was nurtured and supported to the nth degree. No one failed out, and we all went on to do really well in our eventual home units.

All that said: it was approximately a 7 minute commute each way. I would not have signed up for a 1.5 hour commute each way, primarily because I had young children at the time.

A new grad critical care residency can be a fantastic thing IF it is run the right way. Otherwise, it can be a miserable disaster. I've read about some of them here on AN, and the common denominators seem to be that they are too short in duration and that they lack a team of enthusiastic, SUPPORTIVE preceptors and unit managers.