Displaced Katrina evacuees nurses getting new grad jobs???

[brina]

Hi everybody. I will graduate this December with my BSN. Well, I just had my very first nursing interview today for a NICU position and....... I was offered the job!! However, this was not my first choice in facilities so I did not accept the job yet. I live in Louisiana and we have a lot of the Katrina evacuees here. Alot of them are deciding to stay in our area and the local hospitals are hiring the healthcare professionals left and right. My problem: Should I accept this position in order to secure a job after graduation, or should I wait to see if the hospital of my 1st choice offers me a position in their NICU? I am really scared that with all of the experienced nurses that are displaced here in my area because of Katrina, that I may lose the job if I wait too long. Experience RN or New Grad RN?? No contest, huh? This is really putting a lot of pressure on my graduating class because we know that while we may be able to get positions in Med Surg, there may be no specialty positions available after graduation.

Please let me know what you all would do in my situation. I am very thankful for the job offer and I am lucky that it is an area that I am interested in. I just wish the other hospital would hurry and call me for an interview. I would hate to accept this position with the 1st hospital and then the hospital that I really want to work at calls me.... I'm just confused right now. Excited. and Confused. Thanks everybody!

Brina

[newadventure]

This may seem too simple. Ask the hospital who offered you the job, how long the offer is good for or when do you need to get back to them by. Then, call the other hospital, ask if you are being considered as a canidate at this time or not and how long before they make a decission.