A job offer...

[fourbirds4me]

Some background: I graduated with my BSN in May. I just recieved ATT (finally) and will test on July 2. Yesterday an instructor of mine calls and basically offers me a job. She is currently consulting for a headstart project and they are creating a nursing position as part of some new programs they are doing.

The position sounds great -- salaried, basically set your own hours and develop the position for yourself.

However, I'm sure I'm gonna turn it down. I really like the sound of it... lots of teaching... working with young children and their parents but lets face it... I'm a new graduate, I need clinical experience. What if I took this job and several years from now the position fell through or lost funding or I want a change... then what? I go back to a hospital setting and have NO clue about anything clinical because the only exposure I got to it was in nursing school.

My dream has always been L&D/newborn nursery and am very interesting in nursing education. I have been offered a position in this area at a local hospital and I think I will take it.

I don't want to disapoint my instructor but I'm afraid this job will pigeon-hole me...

So what do you think... am I making a mistake.

[Katnip, RN]

Only you know the answer to that. But it sounds like you know what you want and what you need to do.

Don't worry about offending the instructor. Just tell her how you feel if you choose to turn down the offer.

[nimbex, RN]

Right out of school, I took a job consulting, teaching all the blood borne pathogens in hospitals, infection controll classes and med administration for group homes, GREAT $$$$, set my own schedule....

Didn't give me a bit of clinical exp. Just like you're worried about. Nursing is so flexable, you can do SSOOOO much with your degree. if working with children and teaching is important to you than you should follow your heart.

Not every nurse is a floor nurse, research, teaching, managers, school nursing, clinic nursing, on and on.

But as you said, you are interested in the local hospital'l offer, be true to yourself, your instructor should be proud of that!!!!!, maybe thank her and ask for a reference.

Good luck at the start of an exciting career!!

[roxannekkb]

As nimbex says, there are many avenues in the nursing world. The hospital is just one of them. In my case, everyone said that I needed to put in at least a year in med/surg to "get the skills." Well, they were skills that I really didn't want at the time. I went straight to the NICU against all advice. And I am glad I did. I would've lasted five minutes on a med/surg floor.

And you know, there were several NICU nurses that I worked with who eventually went to adults. And vice versa--adult nurses coming to be trained in NICU.

You can always move around in nursing. It sounds like you'd really like this job, but are just afraid that you need the "clinical skills." There are many nurses who've never worked in a clinical setting--their calling lay elsewhere. And even if this headstart program doesn't last forever (and most jobs don't, these days) you will have a plethora of skills in education, working with children, and so on, and can go many places with it.

So think about it. If you really want L&D, then go for it. But don't go to the hospital just because you think you have to.