L&D Job offer without interest in the field. I need some advice please!

[Cachetes]

Hi everyone! First, I'd like to give a little bit of my background.

I graduated from nursing school in December 2012, and obtained my license at the end of January 2013. I started working in June in a temporary per diem position at the county hospital, not doing patient care.

I have since applied to several positions and landed one interview, at the county hospital where I currently work, that has yielded some results.

I was interviewed by two nursing managers. One from L&D and the other from Tele/DOU/ICU. Incidentally, my main interest, since nursing school, is in Telemetry. It's where I did my preceptorship, and where I would like to eventually work.

I was approached by the Tele/DOU/ICU nurse manager last night (09/30/13) and she told me that they were both very impressed with me, and that the L&D nurse manager wants to offer me a job in L&D. She also said that if L&D doesn't call me in about a week, to let her (tele/dou/icu) know.

The problem is that I have no interest whatsoever in L&D, but I feel like I'm not in a situation to be particular. I don't want to start off my nursing career in an area that I don't care for, and may potentially be miserable, but I do want to start my nursing career. I actually lost sleep over this last night, constantly thinking, "Who am I to reject a job offer?".. Has anybody been in a similar situation? Any words of wisdom? Should I just take the job if it's offered and suck it up?

[loveRNlove]

I would take it if your job market is anything like most (very slim for new grads). Its a guaranteed job and if you have no other offers, I wouldn't sit around and wait for another one. Get the one-two years of bedside experience over with, then you are more marketable and then you can transfer! I have a coworker who transferred to our cardiac unit with years of L&D experience, so it is of course possible. I still have classmates looking for bedside jobs 1.5 years out of school! Good luck with whatever you chose to do :)

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Suggest you call the tele manager and let her know that you would much rather work in her dept than L&D. Maybe she is required to wait (before offering you a job) because the other manager has 'dibs'.... it couldn't hurt.

Don't blame you about the L&D gig. It's on the bottom of my list also.

[Cachetes]

Thank you so much for your input loveRNlove and HouTx!! I ended up receiving a call for a second interview with the Tele manager and she told me all that was available with L&D was a postpartum position, which they felt wouldn't challenge me enough. She then offered me a position in ICU, which I took! Finally, a real nursing job!