Career guidance... Please help!

[AlhendyRN]

Hi all,

I have been an RN for almost 2 years now and I feel like I could use some advice. I worked in the pediatric ICU for about a year and a half. I was getting mandated for 16hr shifts at least every other week, and the management was pretty awful. I was given unsafe patient assignments quite often. Also, with my 1.5 yrs of experience I was considered "experienced". I precepted new nurses and had students frequently. While I enjoyed teaching, I had a hard time with it due to the unsafe staffing. I finally decided to start applying elsewhere.

After applying for several positions through my facility's internal job posting portal, I never received a call or email. I later found out that our manager was hindering the process of my application reaching other units. Anyway, I ended up taking a job at a local dermatology office. I thought it would be a nice change. While it is much less stressful, I feel like it may hurt my resume in the long run. I've been working here for about 5 months. After being in the office setting, I quickly realized I'm losing my skills. I also realize that my bank account is suffering... Haha! Now I would be somewhat fine with that if I were actually utilizing my degree and enjoying what I do. But my tasks at the office are essentially what a medical assistant would do, besides an occasional SQ injection. Anyway, I want to get back into the hospital setting or possibly get into clinical research. However, I feel that working in the dermatology office has put a damper on my marketability. I feel like hospitals and other employers will look down on that since I currently work in an office. I feel that dermatology makes employers question my abilities as a competent nurse. Or maybe that's just me being too critical. So to put it simply, I am looking for some insight on what I should do in order to get a job that I actually enjoy and can hold long term.

Thanks in advanced! :)

[llg, PhD, RN]

I think 5 months is not long enough to ruin your chances of ever getting back into a hospital again -- if that is where you want to go. PICU is a very tough field for a new grad, and most people would understand if you said something like, "I realized that PICU was not for me and I needed to get away from that environment for a while to reconsider my career plan. Now I have figured out what I want for the long-term and am applying for this job as .... because it matches my talents and interests in ...."

However, don't linger in that dermatology clinic much longer unless you want to get stuck in that sort of work. 5 months is OK ... but more than a year will most likely make it difficult to go back to an inpatient setting. So start searching for a new job now, explore a few possibilities ... put in some applications to jobs that appeal to you soon -- to catch the "summer hiring season." A lot of hiring goes on in late spring and summer. Be a part of it.

On what terms did you leave the PICU? Will they give you a good reference? Do you have (or can you get) a copy of a previous employee evaluation that was positive? etc. The fact that you were considered competent in PICU will help you -- as long as it was not more than a year or two ago. So use whatever documentation of your success there you can get to help sell yourself as a competent caregiver.