Help... Try to decided on my first nusring job

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I'm a new graduate and after 7 month without an interview or an offer I have two to choose from and would love some expert guidance. I have been offered a position as a in-patient Rehab nurse at the VA full time or working as a med/surg nurse part time in a rural hospital with the opportunity to float an extra 12hr shift in other departments. This would include ICU maternity, ED and OR. What are the pro and cons for these career opportunities as a new grad?

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

I've never worked within the VA system but I can tell you that at a small rural hospital you'll get a lot of experience because you will do it all . Floating though those departments is good experience.You would likely be downstaffed ,sometimes pretty frequently and I wouldn't count on the extra shift unless it's in writing. Back in the day when our little local community hospital consisted of 50 beds they were either mostly empty or stacked up in the halls. No IV team and patients of every age on med surg. A small 10 bed ICU/recovery and that was all.There was a real feeling of family amongst the staff.

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A fulltime position makes it easier to have work-life balance, a set schedule means you are not constantly receiving phone calls from work on your time off. With fulltime you can predict your pay and organize your finances. With fulltime you know your schedule well ahead of time and can make plans with family and friends. With fulltime the intense first year learning curve, is quicker and you gain a more solidified knowledge base.

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Thank you both so much. I have to make my decision be mid week.

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I've worked both the rural hospital and the VA. The VA paid better but the insurance was high. They do offer federal benefits, a uniform allowance and reimbursement for travel for if needed. A rural hospital isn't going to offer that - the VA offered 8 & 12 hr shifts. I worked M-F 8 hrs. That is partially why I left - I did not care for a M-F gig. BUT, you need to ask yourself what you envisioned yourself doing after nursing school, where you wanted to end up - ICU etc. The good thing about the VA is if you want to transfer to another job w/in the VA, even in a different state, you can.

Both of these jobs sound good - I'd base my decision on pay, travel distance, shift/hours and how many days/wk.

Good luck and congrats on having 2 offers!

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Specializes in Geriatrics/family medicine.

If I was in your place would take rural hospital as my first job, VA might be nice later when you have a family if you don't already

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Marshall1- thank you for your input! You make some very good points. I'm an ED/ICU 3d-12hr shift kind of person. I agree that being able to transferring within the VA and the benefits that they offer are great reasons to take that position, I'm just not sure what to expect as a rehab nurse. Decision has to e made in the next two days. ?

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Congrats on the offers! Both sound like good experiences! I would probably take the job in the rural hospital because it is med/surg and also offers other opportunities for floating if that's what you want to gain even more experience. I work in a rural hospital. I am a med/surg nurse but I'm floated wherever its needed. There are things I dislike about working in a rural hospital such as understaffing, high staff turnover, less resources, less flexibility with schedules, less PTO an benefits than bigger hospitals, older technology (terrible charting system). What I like is knowing nearly all the staff, the close knit community feel, free parking, short commute, small size of the hospital, less people running around. There are pros and cons to both. I thought Id like bigger, more urban better. went from a 130 be hospital to an 800 bed hospital and went back to the rural one. i guess I prefer the smaller community hospital. . for now at least. Go with your gut!

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Specializes in public health.

VA offer great benefits. Heck, I would even work as a psych nurse there (not to say it's easy, it's just my least favorite area of nursing.)

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Thank you all for you help. I have decided to take the rural job to gain more experience my first year out of nursing school. The VA was hard to turn down, but I'm sure that I will be happy with the decision that I have made. ??

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I guess I am a little bit late to this thread, but taking the VA job would be a no brainer to me.

The benefits are excellent and in many markets, the pay is well above the prevailing rate. How many other jobs offer a legitimate retirement plan retiring at age 55 nowadays?!

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Specializes in Geriatrics/family medicine.

good for you and keep us updated on your progress

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