Need help deciding between Trauma PCU and Neuro PCU, please help!

[AesthesiaSeeker]

Hey y'all,

So first off I want to say I hope I'm posting this in the right place - if not, I'm sorry. I've been a member on here for a while but I haven't been very active so I'm still fairly new-ish to this site. I'm in a bit of this awesome predicament where I got two job offers and being a new nurse/a semi-young kid I want to make sure I make the right choice.

Secondly, to other people in this forum reading this who is looking for work/having trouble finding work - I want you to know I don't mean to come off boastful or too prideful. I know how tough and competitive it is out there; I understand the pressure. I was raised to be a humble guy and to not show off what I have to others. Something will come along for you, it might not be what you want initially but don't give up an opportunity that may be a stepping stone.

Alright onto this lucky mess that I'm in:

I was offered two PCU jobs: one for trauma and one for neuro.

Trauma I find fascinating, I really do. I loved the unit, I loved the people I met there, and the manager offered me a job on the spot - something that made me feel really special. The only catch: it's a night position. Now for some people that may not be a big deal; for me I'm not so sure. I have chronic sleeping issues and quite a bit of genetic health problems that made nursing school even more of a hell to get through. I asked about the possibility to switch to days after a certain period of time and was told that wasn't an option.

Neuro I find pretty interesting as well. I did my preceptorship for nursing school at a NSICU so I have a bit of a background in it. I find it all really interesting, although part of me really prefers trauma. Now Neuro actually offered me days - which I found really interesting and consider myself to be very lucky to have the opportunity to start my nursing career working days.

I'm close to making up my mind but I have a couple of things stuck in my head that I just need to work out:

1). I want to get as most experience as possible. My friends who were techs during days and now work as nurses at night say they learned more when they worked days. I feel like if I work nights I may miss out on situations to really get my hands dirty and not learn as much since everybody's going to pretty much be sleeping.

2). - And this is semi-related to number one, if anyone has trauma experience I'd really appreciate an answer to this - Does more nursing care/work/learning experiences occur during the days or the nights on a trauma floor?

3). - This is geared towards everybody and anybody who would like to answer - How hard was it for you to adjust to working nights? If anyone has a sleep disorder how did you manage to switch to nights?

I guess what it all boils down to is my conflicting career goal (be a SICU/Trauma ICU nurse) and my conflicting life goal for this year (Get healthy/Get on a stable schedule/Eat healthy/Work out on a set schedule/etc.).

Any advice/input is extremely appreciated. If you managed to read all this you're a gentleman/gentle-woman (?) and a scholar. And if it seems like I've thought waaaaay too much about this/devoted this much brain power to this decision, it's not bcz I'm totally neurotic and more due to my Asperger's XD lol

[Nienna Celebrindal]

I felt like you, that I would be terrible at night shift. I hated it, I never slept well and I honestly had an emotional meltdown over it. I'm also a mom to 2 small kids which played a big role. If I heard them cry boom I was awake and done for. Conversely I worked with people who were certain they would hate nights and loved them and are still there. You have to weigh it out for yourself there.

Now I will also say having worked neuro icu and trauma that (at least in my hospital) neuro is deeply specialized. If you want a wider range of experience do trauma. Hands down.

Good luck!

[RUmedic]

Have you decided between the units? I am curious because I was offered a trauma PCU position and it is a night shift as well.