Coping w/th working outside a desired specialty

nutella, MSN, RN · Jun 11, 2017

Hi guys,
New graduate nurse here. Before graduation I had applied at four different hospitals for a pediatric nurse position. I put my heart into those interviews, but alas other candidates were chosen due to higher gpas, more experience etc. Anyway, I was finally offered an adult med-surg position and I decided to accept it because I realized that a job was better than no job and that I could at least obtain some experience. I want to provide the best care I possibly can, but I feel like my disappointment/lack of passion might get in the way of me giving 100%. For those who didn't land their dream job out of school, how did you not let it affect your work performance? Also, was it easy or difficult to later transition into your specialty? Is there any suggestions ya'll have of steps I should take when making that transition? Ya'lls words of wisdom are greatly appreciated. :)

You have the power over your mind.

Re-frame the way you think about it! We all face situations where we have to do something we do not want to or do not like to.

Instead of being a downer because you really wanted peds tell to yourself:

"this is a great opportunity to learn all the ins and outs of nursing. I will make money" and approach it as a professional challenge to do your best.

And - my recommendation is also not to tell your colleagues that this was "just my second choice" - people take that personal because they feel they are doing a "lesser job" and that you are just there because you "have to" - they may not treat you that nicely.

Just tell everybody that you are excited about the job and smile often.

Funny enough - our behavior often not only changes when we change the way we think about something but also when we "do" it in this way. Some people feel it is not authentic but "fake it until you make it" is a saying for a reason...

Wuzzie · Jun 11, 2017

The adult patients to whom you are assigned deserve a nurse who gives them 100%. It is not their fault you didn't get your desired specialty. If it was your mom or dad lying in that bed and you knew the nurse caring for them was letting their disappointment about the job impact the care they were giving you would be livid.

I addition, if you communicate in ANY way to your co-workers your unhappiness about having to take a med-surg job You can be sure you'll earn their disrespect and your time there will be miserable. Your attitude will greatly impact your chances of moving to a peds position.

To be perfectly frank with you your post comes across as immature and sulky and I'm afraid you are going to take some heat from other posters. You need to listen to them and practice a little introspection. Your nursing of other vulnerable humans should not be impacted one iota by your disappointment or any other thing going on in your life. I don't know how old you are but this is also known as being an adult which you may not have a lot of experience in. Trust me, being a grownup sucks more often then you would like to believe. I wish you luck in your new job. Learn from it and become a nurse with compassion for every kind of patient and you will go far.

dishes, BSN, RN · Jun 11, 2017

If you can be identified by your user name suggest you ask the moderators to help you change it. As pp pointed out, your colleagues may feel like it's a waste of their time and energy to invest in your orientation, if they know you are not interested in the patient population and will be leaving at the first opportunity.

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Jun 11, 2017

1. You are a new grad with an acute care job in med-surg; in the kindest way possible, I suggest you get over yourself. This job, if you learn from it and apply yourself will put you in a good position to change to other specialties down the road. Again, you are employed. Look at other posts if you don't think you're lucky.

2. Do whatever you can to make inroads into getting into peds. Study/review, get certifications, offer to float, get a per diem job somewhere, make yourself known through the hospital by joining committees, doing extra things (within reason). In short, make connections.

Career Columnist / Author · Jun 11, 2017

Think of this time as your audition (networking, exposure) and training (time management, skills) for your dream job.

Focus on your development; be the best nurse you can be. Best wishes and congrats on landing your job.

Marisette, BSN, RN · Jun 11, 2017

Dream jobs don't always turn out to be dream jobs. Working in a specialty may limit you to that specialty for a long time, unless it's a specialty like working in the ICU. Medical Surgical Nursing gives you a good background in general nursing. This is an opportunity for you to show that you are a competent nurse, and a reliable employee. This is your opportunity to prove yourself so that you can move on to your dream job. IF it happens that you land your dream job, and it's not in fact as dreamy as you imagined, you have a good basic foundation in nursing that will take you to the next "dream job". It's not so easy these days to transition from one specialty to another because there is no nursing shortage. Therefore, keep your eyes wide open for any opportunities to work with the pediatric population elsewhere, part time nursing or volunteering at a children's hospital. Yes, it's challenging to do work when your heart is not in it, but life is'nt fair. You'll have to take some lemons and make lemonade. I don't think your any less of a person or nurse for feeling this way. Everyone has challenges in their chosen career. Good luck

destirichardson · Jun 12, 2017

Hi guys, if I came off as sulky, immature, or unprofessional I apologize. I honestly was feeling guilty that I wasn't fully optimistic about my new nursing position. I have seen other new graduates post similar information. I was hoping I would be able to gain some advice from some experiences nurses. I understand that one post does not allow others to hear my tone of voice, facial expressions etc, however, I would hope that as adults I would be questioned on the meaning of my words first, before assuming my intentions. Yes, I am new to all nurses and new to nursing thus, I have a lot learn. I truly desire to put my best foot foward at whatever nursing position I am in life.

allnurses Guide · Jun 12, 2017

Allnurses has a lot of straight shooters, you will find. They do offer

good advice.

Med Surge is a wonderful place to start your career. You will get so

so much valuable experience that will help you succeed in whatever

area you end up in, whether it be peds, or somewhere else. Spend a

year or two learning what you can, coming to work with a great

attitude, and then start looking for your Peds position, if that is

still what you want!

There isn't necessarily anything wrong with telling people that

you eventually would like to be a Peds nurse, but I wouldn't

make it the center of every single conversation or anything

like that; it may indeed start getting on ppl's nerves.

Good luck. :)

purplegal · Jun 12, 2017

Hi guys,
New graduate nurse here. Before graduation I had applied at four different hospitals for a pediatric nurse position. I put my heart into those interviews, but alas other candidates were chosen due to higher gpas, more experience etc. Anyway, I was finally offered an adult med-surg position and I decided to accept it because I realized that a job was better than no job and that I could at least obtain some experience. I want to provide the best care I possibly can, but I feel like my disappointment/lack of passion might get in the way of me giving 100%. For those who didn't land their dream job out of school, how did you not let it affect your work performance? Also, was it easy or difficult to later transition into your specialty? Is there any suggestions ya'll have of steps I should take when making that transition? Ya'lls words of wisdom are greatly appreciated. :)

I actually had landed a "dream" job as my first nursing job, on a cardiovascular surgical PCU. Three months later, I found myself no longer in the position because I wasn't ready for a nursing position with such intensity, and six months later, I found myself in my second nursing job, working at a rehab/ltc facility. I will have to say that landing your "dream" nursing job may not necessarily be a good thing, simply because you are new and may not be ready for it.

I completely understand your disappointment. I was not happy when my current position turned out to be the best nursing job available at the time. I never wanted to work in long term care. However I had some people encourage me to try it, and so far I've been doing much better. I have a feeling that I could probably transition to a higher acuity now better than I did initially, because I have some basic nursing skills to back out on.

I can see how your performance may be affected. I hate to admit that I may not have always been the best nurse possible simply because my position is not my first choice. However, I have to remind myself that I am still taking care of people, I am still a nurse; I am just working in a different setting and a different population than I initially planned. Regardless of whether or not it is my "dream" job, my patients should not get the brunt of my disappointment and deserve the best care they would get even if it were my chosen field. I also remind myself that some people do not even make it through nursing school, and that I should be happy I even get to work as a nurse at all.

As for transitioning into a specialty, I cannot help you on that one, as I have yet to do it myself. I am still trying to figure out what my next steps will be.

My thought is, if you would like to be a pediatric nurse, are there any pediatric home health agencies you could work with to get some pediatric experience on the side? Caring for the little ones is quite different from adults, and it seems like pediatric home health agencies are eager to hire. At least, they are where I am. I have not worked in that area, however, so I don't know if it's a good fit for a new grad or not, but it is something to think about.

purplegal · Jun 12, 2017

Hi guys, if I came off as sulky, immature, or unprofessional I apologize. I honestly was feeling guilty that I wasn't fully optimistic about my new nursing position. I have seen other new graduates post similar information. I was hoping I would be able to gain some advice from some experiences nurses. I understand that one post does not allow others to hear my tone of voice, facial expressions etc, however, I would hope that as adults I would be questioned on the meaning of my words first, before assuming my intentions. Yes, I am new to all nurses and new to nursing thus, I have a lot learn. I truly desire to put my best foot foward at whatever nursing position I am in life.

I didn't really think you came across as any of those things. You were just being honest, and were asking for advice on how to still be the best nurse you can be, despite experiencing some disappointment. At the same time, other posters are right about keeping quiet about this not being your preference at your nursing job. That's not something your coworkers or patients, if they were to hear, would appreciate hearing, and the more you talk about it, the more you remind yourself that you aren't in your chosen field. My current position is not my first choice, but no one at my job knows that because I want to maintain good relationships with my coworkers. Some things your coworkers do not need to and should not know.

Wuzzie · Jun 12, 2017

Hi guys, if I came off as sulky, immature, or unprofessional I apologize. I honestly was feeling guilty that I wasn't fully optimistic about my new nursing position. I have seen other new graduates post similar information. I was hoping I would be able to gain some advice from some experiences nurses. I understand that one post does not allow others to hear my tone of voice, facial expressions etc, however, I would hope that as adults I would be questioned on the meaning of my words first, before assuming my intentions. Yes, I am new to all nurses and new to nursing thus, I have a lot learn. I truly desire to put my best foot foward at whatever nursing position I am in life.

I didn't assume your intentions or directly accuse you. I said you were "coming across as sulky"... which gives you the opportunity to clarify which you did. Others may see it differently. There's also a big difference between not being "optimistic" about a job and not giving 100% which is what you said you were afraid was going to happen. You can not like something but do it very well. Regardless, your patients deserve a nurse who is fully committed depsite the circumstances. This is especially important as you learn your new role. My advice is to stop focusing on your disappointment and make the conscious decision to learn from and enjoy your new position. Med-surg is an excellent place to learn all the things you did not learn in school and the skills you will obtain are easily transferable to other specialties. Not only that but having a good attitude means good references which is what will allow you to move into an area that holds your interest. If you continue to stew in your disappointment it will be obvious to your co-workers no matter how well you think you are hiding it. This will not reflect well on you and may impact your ability to get that dream job. Look at it this way. You got a coveted acute care position (many new grads dream of getting ANY position in a hospital) that could be the launching pad of a great career. You will be exposed to many different disease process and if you put a little extra effort into it you could become an expert in them. It all boils down to what you make of it. You are the captain of your ship.