Did I waste my time/money?

[vm156]

I will try to keep this breif. I graduated in May 2011, and passed my nclex that July. During my entire time in school clinicals I kept thinking "I wonder when I'm going to have a clinical that I really enjoy". At that point I had worked much too long and hard to just quit. I didn't despise my hospital clinicals, but I didn't really like any of them either. I was very interested in all of the courses and the content (I even won an award for clinical excellence for my pediatric rotation).

My dilemma is this: I have gone on two interviews (both at extended care facilities, which is a field I have NO interest in working). Needless to say, I did not get hired for either job. After that I kind of stopped looking for places that were hiring. I am 99% sure that I have and will have no interest working in a hospital. I am currently looking into getting an interview with a company that does preventive services for corporations (things like immunizations, cholesterol checks, etc) and that seems like something that I would be into. I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions for areas of work that I could use my license that wouldn't be in a hospital. Is it extremely difficult to get a job in an area like physical rehab? How about even a general practitioners office? I feel like I just wasted a lot of time and money and now am out of options.

[tainted1972, ASN, RN]

I do not feel like you wasted time and money, the beauty of nursing is that there are many many options out there. However, you are not going to figure out what it is that you enjoy until you start doing it. Clinicals are very much unlike the "real" world of nursing.

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

Even in hospitals, after getting some experience, you could progress towards more administrative work, or even education if that holds your interest. You could almost think of hospital work as continuing your education to get the needed experience to do what you'd rather do.

You could try clinics. I think many doctor's offices hire medical assistants rather than nurses. You could look into home health, too. Psychiatric nursing. Prison nursing.

In general, I think the first job is the hardest to get, and you may not get the (type of) job you really want, but it is a stepping stone.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

Is it extremely difficult to get a job in an area like physical rehab?

Rehab nursing is a tremendously difficult job.

Keep in mind that many nurses work in jobs they don't necessarily want to spend a lot of time in to gain experience and skills to get the job they really want.

[RNperdiem, RN]

You seem to have a good picture of what you do not want. What about what you do want? This is a difficult question: what do you want?

What kind of work are you doing now?

You didn't flat out hate hospital clinicals. What if even a little hospital experience would make you more marketable for the jobs you would really want? What if taking a job where you could gain a tremendous amount of skill while being paid well and making useful professional contacts could be seen as an investment in your career in the long run?