I need advice please !!

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Specializes in geriatrics,ortho,OB,ASC,cardiac.

Hello All Nurses!

I just registered with your forum today, but I have been reading it for quite sometime. I find it very informative as well as supportive. I have been an RN since April...before that I was an LPN for 12 years. I am currently working nights on a telemetry unit at a local hospital. I do enjoy it, and I work with a great bunch of people....but it is certainly not something I love or can see myself doing longterm.I was accepted into a PICU residency program at a well-known and respected children's hospital that starts in a few weeks. It is something that I have always wanted to do, and it is a great learning opportunity. But it also has it's drawbacks. For one thing, I will initially take a small pay cut. But the drive is gonna kill me..... about 85 miles roundtrip. I am not sure what to do....one minute I am so excited about it that I can't see straight, the next minute I worry about the extra gas money and $7.00 in tolls I would have to pay. I can't decide what to do..... and I have to make up my mind QUICK ! Any advice ???

Thanks!!:smackingf

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Specializes in Only the O.R. and proud of it!.

I wish that I could give you some good advice. You must decide for yourself if the cost of driving is worth it. How about a move? Are you married/kids? If kids, are they in school? What if you move 1/2 way order in order to not disrupt your husbands commute (if any)? What about staying witha friend who lives closer sometimes?

OR - do you like the alone time during the drive? Will the cost of fuel and tolls not bug you so much? Can you get this type of position closer to home?

As soon as you weigh the good, bad, and the ugly, perhaps you will know what to do.

Myself - a 42 and one-half mile drive one way to and from work would not work. 9 miles in the city is enough for me!!!

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Specializes in Day Surgery, Agency, Cath Lab, LTC/Psych.

Have you ever driven that far on a consistent basis to work? If yes, then you know what you are getting into. Is relocation an option for you? If you really want the position and think you would love it then it is something to really consider. But, personally I would not enjoy an 85 mile commute because so much of the day is "wasted." I knew a nurse who had a similar commute and she chose to stay at a hotel near the hospital on her three 12-hour-days stretch. Maybe you can make a pro/con list of both jobs?

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