confused new grad

Published

Hi! I am graduating at the end of April. I will be starting my practicum (240hours) on a labor and delivery floor next week. My goal had been to start off in Labor and Delivery straight out of school. Now I am debating on whether or not that is the right path. I love women's health, but I have an opportunity to interview for a GN position on an Ortho unit. I eventually (within the next 3 years), want to go back to school to be either a Family or Women's Health NP. Does anyone suggest going straight to L&D? I know a lot of people say that its great to get other nursing experience first to beef up your assessment skills and time management before attempting L&D. Would Ortho offer that even though it is also pretty specialized?? I am just so confused, I had been so set on only wanting to do L&D and now I am second guessing myself. Also, even if I apply to both L&D and ortho units, I will probably find out from Ortho first. I don't want to reject an offer from ortho in order to wait for L&D and then not even get an offer for that unit. If anyone has any advice, opinions, experience they can tell me about, I would really appreciate it!!!! Thank you SO much.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Adolescent & Adult Psychiatry.

I may not be the best advice-giver since I'm a new grad as well, but I'll try anyway! If I were you, I would try to get some experience in L&D since that is where you are planning to get an advanced degree. That always looks appealing on your grad school app since it shows that you took the time to experience what it is that you'll be learning and working with on that specific unit. Also, it will also give you a chance to see if that is the area in which you want to expand your knowledge. It may be that L&D isn't what you initially thought it would be and you may become interested in another area.

If you find out that you got the Ortho New Grad job first, take some time to think about if you want some experience in another area as well. This does add to the "well-rounded" nurse and can actually be fun if given the chance. Who knows, you may want to go to grad school for Ortho instead; it all depends.

This is what makes nursing so awesome; you have the opportunity to experience any and all units/fields and since you were able to land several interviews in this economy, your resume and experience will obviously take you places.

If you're still having a difficult time deciding, just "eeny-meeny-miny-moh" it! I'm unconventional in that aspect and you shouldn't be scared in trying something you wouldn't necessarily think you'd enjoy.

There's so many opportunities! Take advantage of them all and good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency, Cardiac, PAT/SPU, Urgent Care.

If you are seriously considering going the FNP route that soon, then I would discourage you from going into L&D. Reason being, it is a highly focused specialty, so you won't see the whole spectrum of conditions that affect peds, adults, geriatrics, etc. If you want only women's health, then yes, it would be a great unit to get experience on.

I personally think the best place to get good experience that will help in an FNP program is the ED. You see all the age ranges, and you get to see a lot of stuff that you could also commonly come across in the office setting (headaches, sore throats, ear aches, eye problems, abdominal pain, sprains, etc.). Even an urgent care facilitly could provide this type of experience.

Best wishes to you!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you so much for your advice! Since I am not sure whether I want to pursue an advanced degree in Womens or Family, if I started off in L/D would that put me at a disadvantage for a Family DNP program? Would it be more beneficial to start off in Ortho where I would be involved in the care of more diverse patients? Also, you don't think that I need prior experience before starting off in L/D? If they offered me a position in mother/baby, in the hopes of being transferred to L/D, should I take it or would I better use my time in a place like Ortho? I am probably overanalyzing, but I am just use to planning out everything so it is nerve racking not to know which next step is best! Thank you SO much!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

If you haven't already, you might want to do some research on what the job market is actually like in your area-- if it's as bad there as it is in the places I've been applying, you might want to go ahead and accept the first offer you get. I know I probably will :p

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion