Mother-baby nursing VS pediatric nursing

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I've got two amazing job offers at the same hospital. One job offer is for the Mother-Baby unit and the other job offer is for the pediatric unit. I have been having a hard time deciding which floor I want to work on. Both are new-grad residencies and both are on night shift. I will be a new RN. I have done my preceptorship on the pediatric unit but, I'm still having a hard time making this decision. Thank you for your advice! 

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Specializes in Dialysis.

What's your game plan? Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years? Let that guide you

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Specializes in school nurse.

Overall, pediatric nursing will give you broader experience and will make you more marketable. You could always go the post-partum route later...

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Specializes in Dialysis.
4 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:

Overall, pediatric nursing will give you broader experience and will make you more marketable. You could always go the post-partum route later...

I agree, but, mom/baby, L&D are hard to get into. I think if that's a future desire, take it now, while offered. Many new grads on here would love to have the mom/baby offer. OP, good luck with that decision, let us know what you decide

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Thank you all for your replies. I am passionate about women's health and would like to become a women's health nurse practitioner in the future. I loved my mother-baby rotation during my clinical rotations. I am strongly leaning towards mother-baby. Some of my preceptors (in my preceptorship) have said very negative things about the mother-baby unit and that is what's stressing me out. I think I'm going to go ahead and go to the mother-baby unit and see how I like it. The manager of pediatrics said I could always join the pediatric unit later if I was unhappy with the mother-baby unit. This is just such a big decision and I want to be happy in my career. Thank you all for your input! 

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
1 hour ago, futurern'2020 said:

Thank you all for your replies. I am passionate about women's health and would like to become a women's health nurse practitioner in the future. I loved my mother-baby rotation during my clinical rotations. I am strongly leaning towards mother-baby. Some of my preceptors (in my preceptorship) have said very negative things about the mother-baby unit and that is what's stressing me out. I think I'm going to go ahead and go to the mother-baby unit and see how I like it. The manager of pediatrics said I could always join the pediatric unit later if I was unhappy with the mother-baby unit. This is just such a big decision and I want to be happy in my career. Thank you all for your input! 

I think you have your answer there. Read through this site and you'll see getting a mother-baby position, let alone a new grad residency, is a rare opportunity. Go for it and learn to not listen to what everyone says because people will always have negative things to say.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
1 minute ago, JadedCPN said:

I think you have your answer there. Read through this site and you'll see getting a mother-baby position, let alone a new grad residency, is a rare opportunity. Go for it and learn to not listen to what everyone says because people will always have negative things to say.

Exactly, and the negatives always yell the loudest

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Specializes in Endo, L&D, med-surg.
On 11/28/2020 at 10:36 AM, futurern'2020 said:

I am passionate about women's health and would like to become a women's health nurse practitioner in the future.

If this is your goal, the mom/baby job sounds like a good way to get into women's health. Would you also have the option to cross train to labor & delivery in the future? At my hospital, almost all of the birthing center nurses rotate between the two.

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I’ve been having a hard time getting into L&D and PP as a med surg nurse. I would do PP and ask them to train you in L&D as well

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Can you share some of the interview questions they asked you? I heard it's extremely hard to get into this specialty. Thanks in advance. 

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