Moving often - impact on career?

[lisadol]

Hi

I am considering either an accelerated BSN program or an RT program.

If I become an RN, while I don't know what area I would like to specialize in, I am pretty sure I don't want to specialize in med-surg. I expect to move every 2-4 years for the next 15-20 years. Some locations will be medium sized cities with 3-5 medical centers/hospitals, some will be small cities with only one or two regional hospitals. While I know some smaller hospitals don't have certain units (eg our local regional hospital does not have a NICU), do you think every time I move I will be stuck with whatever unit has an opening?

While it could be interesting, nursing is so broad I would prefer to get skilled in one area and get very good at it.

Which, in a way, is why I am leaning towards RT. I will always be doing respiratory. And as an RRT, I will likely be spending a lot of time in critical care, no matter which hospital, so I will get used to working in critical care. And while the NICU or PICU is not the same as an adult critical care unit, and regular respiratory care on non critical pts is not the same, it is not the same as say, working L&D one month and then the ICU or ER the next.

So, how likely or unlikely is it that I could, while moving a lot, still manage to stick with the one area as a nurse I like to work in and am skilled in?

Thanks.

[Jolie, BSN]

Hi

I am considering either an accelerated BSN program or an RT program.

If I become an RN, while I don't know what area I would like to specialize in, I am pretty sure I don't want to specialize in med-surg. I expect to move every 2-4 years for the next 15-20 years. Some locations will be medium sized cities with 3-5 medical centers/hospitals, some will be small cities with only one or two regional hospitals. While I know some smaller hospitals don't have certain units (eg our local regional hospital does not have a NICU), do you think every time I move I will be stuck with whatever unit has an opening?

While it could be interesting, nursing is so broad I would prefer to get skilled in one area and get very good at it.

Which, in a way, is why I am leaning towards RT. I will always be doing respiratory. And as an RRT, I will likely be spending a lot of time in critical care, no matter which hospital, so I will get used to working in critical care. And while the NICU or PICU is not the same as an adult critical care unit, and regular respiratory care on non critical pts is not the same, it is not the same as say, working L&D one month and then the ICU or ER the next.

So, how likely or unlikely is it that I could, while moving a lot, still manage to stick with the one area as a nurse I like to work in and am skilled in?

Thanks.

Sounds like you will be in a situation similar to what I experienced early in my nursing career.

I graduated and ignored my instructors' advice to spend a year or 2 in med/surg. I'm soooo glad I did! I went right into a Level III NICU in a teaching hospital where I received an excellent orientation, and over the next 2 years, learned a number of aspects of neonatal nursing, including charge of a 45 bed unit, transport, precepting of new grads, presenting inservices, serving on committees, participating in research, etc. Those were the most valuable 2 years of my career.

At that point, hubby got transferred for the first time, to a smaller city which had only 2 NICUs. I went to work in a Children's hospital, which was also a learning experience. No in-house deliveries, all infants were transports, a much higher concentration of surgical babies, including cardiac, ECMO, etc.

After less than a year, were were on the move again, to a smaller city yet, with only 1 NICU. No jobs there, so I went to a smaller community hospital as the assistant head nurse of a Level II nursery. More learning, as this was my first foray into management. Unfortunately, the quality of care in this institution was not acceptable to me, so I changed jobs (voluntarily) for the only time in my career. I went to a smaller hospital yet and learned LDRP care. That also proved valuable, as we were transferred again about 1-1/2 years later.

Back to a big city, but by then I preferred working in a community setting. I took a job on a mother-baby unit until a NICU position opened up in the same hospital. I eventually became the nurse manager of the NICU there, then went part time as a staff nurse when I had my own baby.

Having a specialized background was not a disadvantage to me. I shudder to think that if I had spent my first 2 years in nursing doing med/surg that I may have been stuck there forever, as it was my NICU background that opened so many doors for me. I once had a recruiter verbalize that she was reluctant to hire me because "I wouldn't be around long." I politely reminded her that she had no assurance of length of service with ANY employee that she hired. I had a track record of only leaving an employer because of a transfer, with one exception due to poor quality of care. That unless her hospital had a reputation for poor quality, she could be assured that I would stay until I was transferred, unlike any other candidate she might interview. She offered me the job. I turned it down.

Nursing is a career that will serve you well as you move. I have not found specialization to be a drawback, as just about any OB, NICU, or peds job would be acceptable to me.

Best of luck to you!