I dont know if this is for me! Advice please!

[mommynurse25]

Well let me start by giving some background on my nursing life I received my RN in May 2012 got my first job at a nursing home. I was a stay at home mom 2 years before getting a job so I took a prn since its still hard on me leaving. My dream job is OB lol go figure my own labor experience actually made me want to do OB. :) I'm persistent, exactly a year later I was finally offered one I kept in touch with the hiring manager built rapport with her absolutely love her and would love to work with her.. at this hospital I was first offered E.R. then a week later offered OB so I accepted OB.. 5 days before orientation i was called from HR, the CNO role took back my offer due to low census and all they would offer me to do is med surg..then transfer when Ob opened up. I am not to fond of medsurg..so now back to square one applying for jobs. I applied for E.R. offered a position. i don't know if i should take it or not. im really scared but I do need experience that's for sure. i need my skills freshened up for sure. but also i don't want to do anybody wrong i feel if offered an Ob job id take that-dream job! also don't know if i should do a midshift or night shift. the manager recommends nights because id get better training and skills on nights as opposed to the crazy midshift.. I want to do this for experience but im really nervous. i feel like i don't know anything or enough to be in E.R. but people say the dr is always there you work as a team and you will learn! but im weary because im not so hot on skills I don't feel that confident on knowledge base for ER but I feel its hard these days to get any job and I need to be thankful and take the opportunity to learn and grow in my career so I can get my dream job make the best of it try my hardest! im just confused as to which way to go. any advice, opinions would be much appreciated! and Thank you!

[klone, MSN, RN]

Personally, with this job market, you should feel lucky that you're offered any job in a hospital at all. I would have accepted the M/S job with the understanding that they would move you into OB as soon as a position opened up.

As they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. A solid ER offer is better than an OB job that hasn't materialized.

[DalekRN]

If you are feeling nervous about your skills, take the med/surg job for awhile. Then you'll feel more confident.

[OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN]

I agree if you feel nervous then take the med-surg job. I'm also surprised that you would not be nervous about OB/L&D. L&D is definitely a very acute area. I don't think I realized this when I started though.

[Katie71275]

ER is very high acuity. You will also get some skills here..alot with IVs, catheters, codes, trauma management, etc. Medsurg you will get skills as well, lots of IVPB, IVP, injections, tons of diabetics, multi organ diseases so again plenty of time to get your skills here as well. If you are looking to segue into OB Id prob recommend Medsurg to get a solid foundation. I'm in L&D and started as a new grad recently. I LOVE it, but it's a HUGE learning curve and I feel like an idiot most days so far and I know TONS about L&D/pregnancy in general, it's just different.

[lovemyjoblandd]

I feel it would be very difficult to start a nursing career in L&D. I know many brilliant L&D nurses that have done just that, but I am glad I had med-surg first. The reason I say that is because L&D is very specialized. There are many skills one must master. I feel it would be extremely nerve-racking to have to learn basic nursing skills and time management at the same time trying to learn all the ins and outs of L&D. Things can and do happen very fast in L&D. Being proficient in IVs and catheters is very important. An abruption can walk in at any minute and in this case seconds matter. Of course emergencies happen everywhere, but I feel it's safe to say in a med-surg and ER, nurses have more staff and more help so more room for a learning curve. At my hospital, many times there are just 2 RNs on nights and no in house doc. If we have 2 patients and an emergency comes off the street, we better darn well know what we are doing and do it quickly. Once again, I'm not saying people do not come straight to L&D and are very successful, I just feel it's "easier" to get your foundations down somewhere else that way when you get to L&D you can focus on the more specialization of the field and not have the burden of learning your basics too. Just my two cents.

[klone, MSN, RN]

OTOH, if you're smart and quick-witted and a highly competent nurse in general, I think it's possible to segue from L&D to another specialty with little difficulty.