Leaving level one trauma center for rural hospital. Advice?

[bear94, BSN, RN]

It's finally official. I am leaving my first job as an emergency department RN, and starting a job much closer to where I live. Commuting an hour one way while working nights just about killed me. Literally. I fell asleep at the wheel more than twice and had to pull over on an interstate exit to take a 20 minute nap before I could continue to drive home. It was not unusual for the 32 bed ER I worked at to zip through 180 patients in one day. I am used to 3-5 patient teams (I usually take on 4), sweating through my scrubs, and having little help at times. The hospital I am going to start working at is an 8 bed ER, and sees an average of 5,000 patients per year... So about 14 patients per day. It is clear to me already that I will be wearing many different hats as an RN in a rural ER. I would like to hear from others who have left large hospitals to work at small ones, and even RNs who have always worked in rural hospitals.

[FutureNurseInfo]

I am not an RN and far from becoming one (still taking the pre-reqs), but based on the description of your work experience at the larger hospital, it seems like taking an ER RN job at a much smaller hospital sounds like a sweet deal. I mean, if money is not an issue (I do not know how much in pay cut it is), I would take that small hospital job in a heartbeat. Ultimately, it is your decision to make.

[bear94, BSN, RN]

I am not an RN and far from becoming one (still taking the pre-reqs), but based on the description of your work experience at the larger hospital, it seems like taking an ER RN job at a much smaller hospital sounds like a sweet deal. I mean, if money is not an issue (I do not know how much in pay cut it is), I would take that small hospital job in a heartbeat. Ultimately, it is your decision to make.

I am actually getting paid the same as I was at my old job at the big hospital. Where I live, rural hospitals tend to pay just as much or more as the "big hospitals" around here. Thank you for your input!

[Cola89]

I work at a critical access level, 24 bed ER and my advice to you is to not brag too much about your experiences elsewhere (don't really talk about it, unless asked). Kind of mention it like you didn't care for not being able to spend more time with your patients, lack of teamwork, or something else to make them feel like you're happy to become a part of THEIR team.

[bear94, BSN, RN]

I work at a critical access level, 24 bed ER and my advice to you is to not brag too much about your experiences elsewhere (don't really talk about it, unless asked). Kind of mention it like you didn't care for not being able to spend more time with your patients, lack of teamwork, or something else to make them feel like you're happy to become a part of THEIR team.

I can't stand people who compete in the misery olympics, so "bragging" about how much I had to handle at my last job definitely isn't on my agenda lol! However, I definitely would not be lying if I chose to talk about how much I have hated not being able to spend time with my patients. I am really hoping I will get to spend more time with my patients at this smaller hospital. Guess I'll find out once I start!