Is hospital work mandatory?

Piglet68 · Mar 29, 2008

I am not a nurse so I don't know for sure. The statistics I have seen show that 40% work in hospitals. I have looked on monster.com in my area and there seems to be a large need for home health care nurses. Nurses that come out to the home to care for patients.

I think however you learn a lot more if you spend some time working in a hospital after graduating. Your exposure to difference incidents appear to be greater and will make you more well rounded.

As a little aside school nurses in my area have to have their masters.

Jen

Salamanda NP, MSN, APRN, NP · Mar 29, 2008

Hi! I am new here but wanted to chime in. I worked in the human resources department of a Visiting Nurse Association before leaving to go back to school for nursing.

I know that we had a requirement that any nurse we hired had to have at least a year of acute hospital experience. That rule was inflexible even though we were desperate for nurses. From what I have heard from friends who are in the field that is a pretty standard requirement, but after that you can go to any variety of settings! Hope this helps a bit!

justme1972 · Mar 30, 2008

No, but here is something to keep in mind.

1. Physican's offices pay less...alot less.

2. Your general nursing skills will quickly diminish from lack of use.

My father has had an RN at his practice for 11 years and she decided she wants to work in a hospital because she is recently divorced and needs to make more money. She has a BSN.

She has interviewed with every hospital system in this area and no one wants to give her a job. She's in her early 40's.

I'm not saying that this will automatically happen to you, but think about how routine the care is in a doctor's office. Think about how many skills you'll learn and never use again.

The same issue has happened in our area with nurses working in nursing homes...after they have been there for so long, it's almost impossible for them to get jobs working in hospitals.

elkpark · Mar 30, 2008

No, but here is something to keep in mind.
1. Physican's offices pay less...alot less.
2. Your general nursing skills will quickly diminish from lack of use.
My father has had an RN at his practice for 11 years and she decided she wants to work in a hospital because she is recently divorced and needs to make more money. She has a BSN.
She has interviewed with every hospital system in this area and no one wants to give her a job. She's in her early 40's.
I'm not saying that this will automatically happen to you, but think about how routine the care is in a doctor's office. Think about how many skills you'll learn and never use again.
The same issue has happened in our area with nurses working in nursing homes...after they have been there for so long, it's almost impossible for them to get jobs working in hospitals.

And the "other" side of this issue is that most nursing positions outside of hospital bedside nursing require some significant clinical experience in order to be considered qualified. It's not mandatory that new grads work in an acute care, inpatient setting at first, but it's a darned good idea.

Hospitals are typically accustomed to hiring new graduates with no experience, and are set up to provide them with a more or less thorough orientation (some better than others, of course), and provide a work environment with sufficient support and back-up to help you get through the transition phase from student to practicing professional. Other types of healthcare employers, while they may be willing to hire you, are often not equipped/prepared to deal with new grads; new grads are often left to fend for themselves.

9livesRN, BSN, RN · Mar 31, 2008

why not!!! hospitals are great!

why dont you grab a 3rd shift?

coolpeach · Mar 31, 2008

I don't know. I do know that to be a travel nurse you must work in a hospital for at least a year or more first. And the town I live in will now hire ADN as school nurses, but they must have a year in a ped's area of a hospital. Up until a couple of years ago they would only hire BSN's as school nurses here.

I have always wanted to work in trauma, and I think I want to work with children. It is good to know that Dr's office work is an available option when I get older, and my bones don't want to do the hospital nursing.

jelorde37 · Apr 2, 2008

we are like the opposite. you dont have to work in a hospital, there are other "arenas" that you can work in. as another poster has stated, dr. offices pay less, nursing homes pay more but acuity level isnt as great, and then theres home health and hospice(i have no experience in these fields). so, those are jobs acouple of arenas that you can work in, but you dont have to work in a hospital.