New BSN looking for ER/ICU Job

[kruse]

Hello Everyone,

My girlfriend is graduating as a BSN this May and we are looking for her first job. That being said, her goal is to become a flight nurse, which we understand takes 3 - 5 years or so of ER/ICU experience. As a new grad we've heard that it is very hard to get into one of these departments without at least a year of experience on a Med Surg or Tele floor.

We've also wondered whether or not it would be more beneficial to do an ER or Critical Care Nurse Residency Program for her first year out of school. The hope with this is that it'd make it easier to get hired in an ER or ICU afterwards.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. We're just trying to figure out which path would be best for moving towards her goal. Also, if you could share any tips for either option that'd be appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

[llg, PhD, RN]

If she can get a residency in an ED or ICU, that would be a good thing to do. Residencies are just fancy orientation programs designed for new grads: so, if she can get into such a program, great. They help the new grad transition from student to professional.

However, she shouldn't limit herself to only residency programs. A lot of hospitals have great orientation programs for new grads but don't use the "residency" word to describe them. They may call them "internships" or simply "new grad orientation." The key is to look for and ED or ICU that hires new grads on a regular basis, knows what they need, and has a special orientation designed to meet the extra needs that new grads have - regardless of what they call it.

If she can't get into such a program ... then she should find a good med/surg job in a good hospital and work her way towards her goals. It might take a little longer, but that's OK.

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

Cardiac step-down would be a good place to start if she cannot get an ED/ICU position right out of school. Its are still acute but they aren't quite sick enough to be in a unit but still need special monitoring that a regular floor can't provide.