no luck with jobs

[MelissaCT]

I really wanted to work in labor and delivery.

No luck as a soon to be new grad.

So, my question is, would it be career suicide to work outside of the hospital (eg in a clinic or something)?

I really hate med/surg nursing.

I may end up there.

Any ideas of the type of floor I should try to find (least horrible med surg floor-I hate stuff like chest tubes, etc.).

??

[MelissaCT]

I will keep trying.

But it seems that experienced RN's are transferring into L&D units.

That's not happening in your area??

[dstout-rn]

The L&D in the hospital where I used to work at hired new grads. Is there a university or teaching hospital in your area usually they are more open to new grads. Give peds or NICU a try, I never ever thought I would like NICU but given my options after graduation (HATED M/S and adults in general) it seemed like a logical move and I love it now!!!!! Good luck:roll

[canavywife]

My sister got a job directly out of school in L&D. In fact a lot of students I went to school with went that route. Of course they all got the noc shift though.

Try other hospitals in your area! Ask if they would be willing to train if they don't.

[Teshiee]

Melissa,

I have to agree with what some of the nurses are saying don't go to med/surg yeck! I did that for 6 months and hated it. I finally found a hospital that offered a NICU training program. I can't understand why they are being so picky. Can you move? Los Angeles is dying for L&D nurses! Don't settle go for what you want! Screw that! You should be happy in your area. Good luck

[MelissaCT]

There are hospitals in my area that hire new grads, but if there are experienced RN's interested, they will choose them first.

I would much rather end up in postpartum then in med/surg.

Since I want to be a midwife, postpartum experience would be valuable in the long run.

But postpartum is hard to get into as well!

I did my internship in postpartum, and when the internship ended, the manager said that everyone liked me and she would hire me when I graduated.

I'm going to see if that offer still stands.

I really can't afford to move, becuase I wouldn't really be able to afford living without a room mate (and I wouldn't know anyone to have a room mate).

I have a lot of loans to pay off!!

[whipping girl in 07, RN]

If you are interested at all in critical care, ICU is a good place for experience, and I was hired there as a new grad. In ICU things can go bad in a hurry (just like they can in L & D) and there's not a more critical unit you can transfer the patient to (just like in L & D). I think it depends on the unit director and how desperate she is whether or not she will hire a new grad. My ICU director only started hiring new grads last summer (after almost 10 years of requiring a year of experience first), as no one is knocking on her door looking for a job. As a matter of fact, if she had enough preceptors, she probably would have hired more of us!!

Don't give up your dream, but do be patient. And consider getting more experience than 2 years before becoming a midwife. It's a very tough profession, and you have a lot of autonomy, which means you have a lot of responsibility if things go wrong.