Case Management and Clinical experience

[JoI8815]

Hi Nurses!!

I'm reaching out to all of you for some advice concerning which path is wisest to take. However, a brief background.

I'm a new nurse with only 11 months of experience in the LTC setting. I thrived at the bedside and was very good at what I did. I even got promoted to nursing supervisor 9 months into working there. However, I did not love it. I always wanted to be an ER nurse, but felt like that opportunity was way beyond me, especially as a new nurse in a large city where the competition is fierce. I was fired at 11 months after being physically assaulted by a patient. It wasn't the first time it happened, but I must admit, I did not handle it well at that particular time and deserved to at least be suspended.

So here I am again looking for jobs. I noticed that almost every position requires at least 2 years clinical experience. So I become desperate (I gotta pay bills), and I reach out to an agency who sent me to an extremely reputable insurance company to interview for a case management position. One week later, I hear that I got the job, BUT I also have an interview for an ER position later on this week, AND a friend of mine who works at another hospital, her supervisor said she was going to pull my application. I also got a few calls for positions from other hospitals outside of my city.

So you can say my job hunt is coming along well. The problem is, I'm afraid to accept the case management position because my job hunting experience has showed me that it is very difficult to land a job in nursing without the clinical experience. Also, this is a contract position, and I keep thinking that when this contract is over, where would I be? I'm not sure if I can apply to other case management positions, even with the experience, because most case management positions also require years of clinical experience that I don't have.

I'm not crazy about going back to the bedside, but I know that bedside experience is just necessary in the world of nursing. What would you do if you were me? What if the ER miraculously offers me the position (this hospital is 2 hours away so I would have to move). I feel very conflicted, but I want to make the most beneficial career move for my future . Would my nursing career be doomed without clinical experience?