First hospital job as new RN

[erawlins21]

I graduated last May but only passed the NCLEX in February. I have been applying like crazy and it finally paid off! Last week I had three different interviews and heard back this week that two if them wanted me. It honestly was one of the best feelings to know that finally someone was willing to give me a chance. I have now accepted the position of charge nurse of a rehab unit at a local hospital. I am kinda nervous that my first real nursing job is as charge nurse but Im ready to give it a shot. Any advice for starting my first nursing job?

[yukka99]

What's the second offer? A decent orientation of 2-3 months on a med-surg or tele unit in acute care setting is an ideal way to start your first job out of school. Keep in mind that transitioning from rehab to acute care may be very difficult. So ask yourself if you are willing to focus your nursing career in a rehab setting vs acute care.

[erawlins21]

The second offer was a charge nurse of a nursing home unit and only offered 5 days orientation. The job I accepted is charge nurse of TCU and rehab unit and will give me 5-6 weeks of orientation.

[yukka99]

Sounds like you picked the better job. I would ask for the maximum training period of 6 weeks and leave the rehab unit after a year for acute care. In the meantime get your ACLS and maybe the IV therapy certifications. This will look good on your resume if you ever want to get into acute care

[schnookimz]

Is the unit just made up of LPNs and cnas? How is a brand new RN with no experience the charge nurse? What if something goes wrong and you have no idea what to do?

Id be scared if I were you!!! But I hope it all works out!!! Ask lots of questions!

[erawlins21]

Yukka99 Thanks I planned on doing ACLS asap and good idea for IV therapy cert.... luckily I do get to spend time in the GI lab practicing IV starts as part of my orientation.

Schnookimz the unit has a mix of RN's, LPN's, and CNA's and I was told I always have a house supervisor as a resource along with the staff members on the floor. I was also kinda shocked they were willing to give a new nurse a chance but they must have seen something they liked :)