First job: how'd you pick?

Jules Anne · Feb 24, 2008

I don't know if your area hospitals offer summer nurse internships for student nurses, but I recommend that you look into that option if it is available. If not, I would try to work as an aide on one of the units or in one of the hospitals that interests you. This would give you information about that culture of the hospital.

When you are getting closer to graduation, you may want to contact nurse recruiters to see about the openings that they anticipate will be available for you and ask to shadow on those units.

My experience was working as an aide in one hospital and in student nurse intern roles at two other hospitals and ended up taking a position out of state on a unit that I fell in love with while shadowing. Trying out so many different places gave me an idea of what I was and was not looking for in a hospital system/unit. I suggest taking advantage of the opportunity to test out hospitals in a student role as it is more acceptable to "shop around" before you earn your license.

Good luck!

4x4country · Feb 24, 2008

OMG! I graduate this summer and will be licensed hopefully by august 08!

It is so stressful. At this point of time, I really did not know what my dream job is. I work as a CNA in a LTC and their hire grad. nurses, the pay just as a grad nurse is more then hospital will start me out as a LPN. However, I am not sure I want to keep working in a LTC. Granted I :redbeathe my job, but not such if it is my dream job. I am not sure where my "calling" is in nursing, however I know that it is in nursing. That is the nice part of nursing, there are so many different fields in this.

You are in the right direction because atleast you know what area you want to work in. :yeah:

amj12 · Mar 5, 2008

I didn't start looking for my job until after i had graduated. Since the last semester of school is so difficult I didn't want to have interviews lined up and then have to inform them I didn't pass (it happened to a fellow classmate of mine, she shared her story w/all of us in her clinical group so we were all very scared to apply before knowing we were going to pass). I was a Dec. grad so I applied after grad. and shortly after the new year had two interviews lined up. One was my dream job and the other was a hospital I was ambivalent about. I ended up taking my dream job at a childrens hospital on a hem/onc unit. I was offered the job a day after my interview and knew I wanted it. I had never worked there before but I did do a rotation there and had my clincal instructor turn it in for me. My second interview I went on just for fun. To get the experience b/c most ppl don't get their first interview. It was a NICU position. Though I want to work on a NICU more than anything, I learned after that interview I really needed to refine my skills before going to such a specialized unit. A nurse who did a peer interview flat out told me there is no way she could ever work on another unit b/c all she has ever known is NICU and the assessments are so different from every other unit. That scared me. I want to go to grad school and didn't want to be unmarketable b/c I had only been on a NICU. My advice to anyone interviewing or looking for a job. Be sure you want to work for the hospital and unit you are interviewing at. I thought for sure I wanted to work in a NICU straight out of college until I learned there is a good chance I would lose my other assessment skills. With grad school in my future I couldn't afford that. Pediatrics atleast gives me a more varied age group since i will have them from infant to 21. Do your research on the hospital. If you know ppl who work there talk to them. I am lucky the hospital I am working about has magnet status and most ppl I know who work there have worked there for over 20 yrs and love it. It's very hard to go to a unit w/ppl who hate it. I did that as an extern on a unit where everyone hated their job. It made it very difficult for me to decide for myself if I actually liked it or not b/c I was surrounded by negativity. Last but not least, don't freak out! You will find a job, it may not be in the specific area you are interested in right away but there are jobs out there. I consider myself lucky cuz most ppl don't start off in the area they want. Good luck to all you new grads!

estherojin · Mar 6, 2008

When I graduated, I didn't have a clue as to which area I wanted to work in. So i ended up in the ante/post partum unit due to my experience as a PCT on a LDRP unit and time in the NICU for my senior synthesis. I only stayed there for about 6 months, I felt stifled and felt I wasn't being challenged. But I don't regret chosing to work there, because it taught me to manage my time- an essential component to nursing only second to critical thinking.

To be honest, the ICU is a harsh place for new grads. There are a lot of intense personalities that work in critical care areas. I would be very careful when interviewing to get as much info about the track record of new grad orientation, i.e. how many they've hired in the past, how long it is, how they evaluated progress, etc. Also make sure you get an opportunity to speak with at least one nurse on the unit that they hired as a new grad. Unfortunately, I work in one of those ICUs that are very difficult for new grads. If you don't land what you perceive as your dream job, don't get discouraged. Keep an open mind about your future. After I left my first job, i ended up somehow in the cath lab of all places and found my passion in cardiology and critical care nursing.

That being said, I've spoken to some of the new grads hired directly to our unit and it seems like they were chosen because they demonstrated motivation beyond school and grades. Many of them had ACLS or 12 lead certification on their own. The equivalent for that would be PALS (pediatric advanced life support). Also a few of my classmates ended up in NICU after about a half a year of med/surg. That's the great thing about nursing, there are so many possibilities! Good luck!

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Mar 7, 2008

I work as a nurse extern/tech in a large PICU at a teaching hospital. I graduate in May and will be staying on :) I *love* the PICU.

I would strongly encourage you to apply as an extern/tech and see what you think. I will have worked as a tech for a year and it has really given me a heads up in what I am getting myself into. I know the staff, know the routine, know the dr's, all the RNs, etc.

NICU and PICU are totally different though IMO!

Good luck!

jr8456 · Mar 7, 2008

I would definetely do a summer internship. What you learn there is invaluable. Also work as an aide and if the opportunity arises, volunteer to "float" to other units. :specs: In your first semester senior year, I would suggest going to nursing job fairs and hand out your resumes to the nurse managers at the different departments that you are interested in.

SillyStudent, ASN, RN · Mar 7, 2008

When I started nursing school I knew I wanted to be an ICU Nurse. It was actually the only reason I went to nursing school. I worked in a PICU as a tech for 3.5 years, I sucked up all the extra critical care books I could read, and asked pointed questions of lots of ICU nurses about their lives, their patients, and what to do in any number of situations. I felt like I was totally ready to learn to be an ICU nurse.

I applied in an adult SICU, because I didn't feel like learning to be an ICU nurse on critically ill kids with no reserves was something I wanted to do. I understand that many people do this with no problem, I just did not feel it was within my capabilities.

In short, I hate it. As another poster mentioned, ICU is a huge jump from nursing school. The personalities are intense, the orientation is intense, and I have no time to study for NCLEX after I go home and read about all the stuff I learned on the floor that day. Reading about disease processes and the care involved is good reinforcement after you actually take care of these patients.

I take boards next week, and I am in a position where I am calling my clinical educator this morning to tell her that I cannot possibly work until after my exam.

You have literally weeks, perhaps months of time off the floor to take critical care, ekg's, ACLS, hospital orientation, etc. By the time I get back to the floor, I cannot remember what I was doing two weeks ago before I got yanked out for a class.

I was an 'A' student with a plan. I am considering transfer to stepdown or a regular floor.

I hope that your experience is better. :twocents:

suzy253, RN · Mar 7, 2008

When I graduated i knew I wanted to work with the elderly and was thinking of assisted living. A great nurse who worked on a busy tele floor where I enjoyed my clinicals spoke to me about working there. The pace is intense but I like it that way. I got to be BSL and ACLS certified and almost two years on the floor, am still learning and experiencing new things all the time. This hospital has a large elderly population so I get the 'best' of both worlds. Helping my elderly dears and working in a hospital.