Coping w/th working outside a desired specialty

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi guys,

New graduate nurse here. Before graduation I had applied at four different hospitals for a pediatric nurse position. I put my heart into those interviews, but alas other candidates were chosen due to higher gpas, more experience etc. Anyway, I was finally offered an adult med-surg position and I decided to accept it because I realized that a job was better than no job and that I could at least obtain some experience. I want to provide the best care I possibly can, but I feel like my disappointment/lack of passion might get in the way of me giving 100%. For those who didn't land their dream job out of school, how did you not let it affect your work performance? Also, was it easy or difficult to later transition into your specialty? Is there any suggestions ya'll have of steps I should take when making that transition? Ya'lls words of wisdom are greatly appreciated. :)

Specializes in oncology, MS/tele/stepdown.

The advice about changing your username, if it is based on your real name, is wise; you never know who's watching, and who will misinterpret this post as a complaint about your current job. I'm sorry that you are disappointed, but I think you'll find that you will gain a lot from this position that you can take with you into any specialty.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I want to provide the best care I possibly can, but I feel like my disappointment/lack of passion might get in the way of me giving 100%. For those who didn't land their dream job out of school, how did you not let it affect your work performance? Also, was it easy or difficult to later transition into your specialty? Is there any suggestions ya'll have of steps I should take when making that transition? Ya'lls words of wisdom are greatly appreciated. :)

It shouldn't affect your performance at all, because nursing care shouldn't fluctuate depending on the nurse's mood on that particular day.

What I do see is some of your expectations not really describing the way things go for most people. Even in the days of major nursing shortages, a new grad would not expect to land their dream job right of school. In fact, I don't recall that dream job concept itself being discusssed as emphatically as it is today.

Perhaps the reason for that is your dream job as a student or new grad is affected considerably by your experiences on the job.

As far as difficult transitions, that would assume the move from your not dream job to your dream job (assuming your second job is your dream job) is a different category than a transition from one practice area to another throughout your career. Some go smoothly, some are a living hell.

You may be expecting feeling enthusiastic and passionate is part of being a good nurse, and if you aren't, your practice is lacking an essential quality. The reality is people are motivated to excel for lots of reasons unique to themselves, and equally valid.

As they say, many of your impressions will change once you start working. All the best!

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

It's okay to not enjoy your job or lack passion. However, how much you give is your choice. The patients in those beds don't care that you're not in your dream position, nor should they. That's my honest advice, even if it's direct...you don't give yourself permission to "not give 100%" due to lack of passion. You require yourself to give 100%, because nursing care isn't about you. It's about your pt.

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Specializes in Geriatric-Psych, Med/surg.

My advice is coming from a place of complete understanding. I am currently in a specialty that I do not care much for (psych). However, I looked at the positives of my situation and reminded myself of the reasons I wanted to become a nurse in the 1st place. Sure I do not have my current dream job, but I was lucky enough to land an acute care position, and I now have 1 year of invaluable experience that I can take with me as I move forward in my career. My patients are still sick and in need of care, and I do my very best to provide them with the best care possible. I became a nurse so that I could care for those in need, and I realized that a patient outside of my preferred specialty still provides me with the opportunity to do just that.

I have just accepted a position working on med/surg. While it's still not my dream speciality I will take the same approach as before. I will see this as more experience to add to my orificenal, and more opportunities to do what I enjoy doing. When I eventually reach my dream speciality I will be completely ready and comfortable knowing I will bring the experiences from both units with me. In short, just embrace this opportunity, give it your best, and think of this not as a disappointment, but as a foundation to build upon to enhance your skills and learn new things. I hope my words helped out a bit.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I have a few words of "wisdom" that may or may not help, though I am hoping they will.

First, get past thinking that your career is the source of fulfillment for your life. It CAN be, yes, but even in a dream position there are more days of drudgery than passion. Since your job isn't going to be everything you were hoping for (no matter what, even in peds), but you are in the position of having this fact super underlined right out of the gate since it is with adults, you need to make triple sure you are getting fulfillment outside of work. Volunteer at the children's hospital. Join Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Do something that lets you interact with kids in a holistic way so it feeds that desire in you. Then utilize those opportunities to network your way into the specialty you want.

Second, give it a chance. You may have something to give that you aren't seeing right now. If you are a praying type and prayed "Please Lord, let me help your people", you are now kind of doing the equivalent of saying "Wait...not THOSE people!". ;) Have faith that you can grow in this specialty. You are going to need to work very, very hard not to let every challenge you face turn into "I didn't want to be doing this anyway....I wanted to be in Peds....I would not even be having to deal with this if I were in the specialty I was hoping for". Those thoughts are the kiss of death.

Third, keep looking. You never know when opportunity will knock. Never burn bridges. Ever.

My mother has an old saying. She would tell me "The difference between what a person will or will not eat resides in 24 hours". Meaning....there may come a time in your life when you would be grateful to have ANY job, including this one. It will pay the bills while you learn new things.....about life, about people, about illness, about how hospitals work, about being a nurse and about yourself as a person.

Congratulations on your new beginning. I am sure you are going to do great.

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Specializes in ED, Cardiac-step down, tele, med surg.

Try to be grateful for what you have (that you have a job at all). Try to remember that as a nurse it is your duty to do your best for your patients regardless of the setting. See your current job as an opportunity to learn and grow and that you can apply skills you learn at this job a job in your chosen specialty when the opportunity arises.

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I think this all comes down to integrity. You have to make a conscious decision to provide the best patient care that you can give and to be the best teammate that you can be, despite the fact that you didn't get what you want.

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So I was in your shoes about 6 years ago. I was completely and wholly devastated that I wasn't chosen for any of the peds jobs I applied for. I was most upset that I didn't get my then job in NICU stepdown. I ultimately took a job in adult med surg / telemetry and stepdown. I decided that I'd take the job, get experience, and re-evaluate in a year or when things changed significantly in some other way.

I learned a great deal: time management, prioritization, IV skills, assessment skills, telemetry monitoring skills and communication skills. Not only that, I learned so much about myself personally, moving several hours away from home. I told myself that it wasn't my preference, but I owed my patients my "best". To be willing to learn anything I needed to, to try things I never thought I'd enjoy doing. I didn't love it, but I made the best of it. I made things work with coworkers, learned what I could from the situation that wasn't my first choice.

My family moved halfway across the country, and I didn't appreciate the distance factor. Then I had emergency surgery and was unsure my status at work (wasn't yet qualified for an FMLA protected absence, didn't have that much PTO). I started looking and applying. I interviewed for 7 positions prior to choosing my current employer.

My current job was never part of the plan either. My plan was peds (ideally PICU or NICU), then peds ICU if I wasn't able to start there, then on to CRNA school. Not a bad plan, just not what ended up being the plan. I ended up in the OR of a level 1 trauma center. I care for patients of all ages and stages. Somedays I care for NICU babies, others the elderly (sometimes both in the same day). The skills I learned as a floor nurse help me no matter what age patient I am currently caring for.

My advice to you would be to assume you will learn a lot, and be willing to try it. Drop the reservations, get the pouting and unhappiness out. Try it, make the best of it. Reassess in a year or two. I know that I would have a hard time with some specific stuff in the peds world, knowing what I know now. You may find yourself enjoying things you never imagined you'd enjoy. Or it could just be a starting place, and you'll get there eventually.

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Specializes in ICU.

Sure it sucks you didn't get what you wanted but keep in mind that anyone you take care of needs to be cared for. Whether its a kid or grandma. Imagine when you are taking care of "regular people", or grandma, or whoever it is, that they are someones family member. They could be just like your family and you would want to give them the best care possible.

And seriously be thankful you got a job! After some experience, you can try again. Until then, focus on doing your best and learning everything you can.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

I know a bunch of posters have probably already said the same thing I'm about to, but I think it's still worth hearing. Med-surg is a great nursing foundation. You will get the opportunity to learn to be a nurse across a varied patient population. The skills you master there will allow you to transition into your dream job without locking you into that specialty forever if that makes sense. A good general background can help you move to about any specialty down the road where if you had started in your dream specialty and never learned anything else you might have a harder time transitioning out of it if you decide your dream job really wasn't your dream job after all.

Welcome to AN and congrats on the job offer!

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Hey there! I wish you good luck. You have gotten a lot of good advice. I love OB and have had opportunities to work in different aspects of this specialty for 27 years. Back in the day, when I graduated we were encouraged to start in med-surg. A new grad in ICU, ED, L&D, or OR was unheard of. Someone who had been an LPN or military medic might have that kind of opportunity, but no one else. My first three years as a nurse was spent on a telemetry floor. I did not always like it. I learned a lot. I still use what I learned there in my practice today. Having med-surg is icing on the cake of your nursing education. Though you may feel disappointed, you really have a great opportunity. You may look back in a few years when you are a peds nurse and say"wow med-surg really pepared me for this situation." Who knows? You could love med-surg and find your home there. All the very best to you! :)

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