L&D to OR/ED

[NICUnLDRN]

Hi, I graduated nursing school back in Oct 21 and was working in a level 4 NICU. I thought it was what I wanted to do but I also loved my L&D clinical and fell in love with it. With that being said after 11 months of NICU I left that hospital and landed a job in L&D and I like it so far but just like the NICU I'm not in LOVE with it. Now I'm getting that itch to figure out which area of nursing I love. Lately I've been thinking  about the ED or OR nursing. I'm only about a month into my L&D training but did about 4 months of postpartum nursing but did not love that either. I do like some of the patient interaction I have and love seeing babies born but I don't really like the emotional/supportive side of the job, just more so the tasks that needs to be done. 

With this understanding I was wondering if maybe OR or PACU nursing might be more my style. I still have to communicate with patients but don't need to be there supporting them through labor. I like the idea of minimal convo's with the patients. I also was thinking ED because it's fast paced and I will see and learn a lot but I don't want to get burnt out because I hear horror stories about the ED at my hospital. 

Any suggestions? 

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

You need to shadow those areas before you make a decision. From the viewpoint of the OR, I can tell you that staff will not appreciate taking the time to train someone for 6 months to a year only to have them walk away because it wasn't a fit. It's also not the best thing to put yourself through mentally and emotionally if it's not something you want.

[RickyRescueRN, BSN, RN]

I 100% agree with Rosequeen here. Jumping around like this as a new grad is NOT a good look on your resume and yes, even today that is something that is immediately a red flag to a hiring panel when we receive applications and have to interview prospective candidates. The OR specialty takes 6months to a year to fully train into and typically they will not want to make that investment in a RN who shows little commitment to the specialty or when it appears that the person is trying to find their niche. Also, connecting with patients and their families is PART of being a nurse. If that is not something you feel comfortable with then maybe case management or infection control or some other non patient contact area is a better fit for you.