Difficulty trying to transfer

[Zelda, RN]

Hey all,

So I'm a new RN, graduated May 2015. I've been working on an inpatient pediatric psych unit for 4 months now. My facility allows transfers after 90 days. I've been wanting to transfer into peds or NICU, so when a position in the NICU popped up recently, I applied. Surprisingly (to me), I got an interview! I thought it went well and I was really hopeful about the whole thing. I notified my manager about the interview and she was very supportive and understanding. Unfortunately, I didn't get the job. They didn't even notify me I wasn't selected; rather, I had to call HR to find out. I was disappointed but survived. After all, I don't hate my unit - it's just not really for me (and I'm bored out of my mind).

About two weeks after I didn't get the nicu job, two positions opened in peds. I applied for one and also had an interview. Okay. I went into the interview a little more confident and a little more cautious not to get my hopes up. They said I'd hear back by the end of this last week, and I haven't yet. I've pretty much decided I didn't get the job.

So I was looking at the posted positions, and saw the nicu one I didn't get had been put back up. So what gives? Am I just terrible at interviews? Are they just interviewing me bc I'm an internal transfer and they have to? And what should I do - keep applying for peds and nicu jobs? Or forget it? This hospital is really my only option for peds and nicu - the other big hospitals are an hour away. Peds and NICU is all I want to do. I'm just confused as to why I'm not getting these jobs. I'm smart - very smart, and I'm wonderful with kids. I always seem to be able to talk down the kids in huge meltdowns. I think I'd be a wonderful asset to a peds floor.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

The reason is probably because you only have 4 months nursing experience. While some large NICUs hire new grads, they have an established training and preceptorship program lasting 10-12 weeks before you are on your own. Smaller NICUs have a short orientation, so the expectation is that you have a good base knowledge before starting in the NICU and at the 4 month mark, you don't have the experience that they are looking for.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

You may or may not get the position you want, but where's the harm in applying? If you don't apply it's certain that you won't ever get it. Good luck!

[Zelda, RN]

I'm worried I'll never get the experience on my floor. We are part of the hospital (in a separate building), but we don't even have a proper crash cart. Just an AED and an ambu-bag. Our patients are medically cleared - and if they aren't, we don't take them.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

You're not really a new grad, so you're not eligible for new grad programs. And you don't really have enough experience to be useful, either. The "transfer after 90 days" policy may (officially or unofficially) not apply to new grads. The unit that hires them needs to train them, and after four months they're not really skilled or experienced enough to have contributed anything to that unit in return for the training. Wait a year, become competent where you are and then try again.

[Zelda, RN]

I'm often (every other Wednesday) the only nurse on my unit, with two techs and up to 16 kids. I don't even have a charge nurse those nights. It makes me nervous to stay here a year. Beyond that, my husband and I are planning to move halfway across the country (to Washington) in two years, and I really want some solid experience so that I can get a good job, since the Washington nursing job market is so hard to get into.

[turtlesRcool]

Have you considered a transfer to something else, like med-surg? I get that NICU and Peds are your main interests, but they are also specialties and often don't take new nurses unless there's a special residency or something. NICU is especially technically demanding, and is unlikely to hire someone whose only real experience is with people who are already medically cleared. Unless it's a children's hospital, there are probably not many peds patients, and, thus, not many nurses needed. Peds nurses get down staffed a lot because sometimes you might only have a couple of patients in your census.

Since you are planning to leave fairly soon anyway, why not pursue a job that will get you the clinical skills you'll need to be considered for a specialty job in the future? I mean, if you're going to be using the next year or two as a stepping stone to the Washington job market, it makes sense to get a job that will hone your clinical skills.