New Grad can't decide which job!

[amaikiwi]

Hi!

I have been looking for work for months because most places in my area are not hiring new grads. I have a BSN-RN degree with a lot of CNA experience. This week suddenly I have been offered 2 jobs. I am also a single parent of a young school age child.

1) Telemetry on the acute care floor, 3 nights in a row of 12 hour shifts at a one facility that is hour drive through woods. I have my second interview there tomorrow morning. :) This job would be great for experience!

2) Charge nurse at a reputable nursing home with 27 beds, day shift with 4 days a week. I would be working with one other nurse. I was told by a former friend that worked there that they are very kind to new grads as charges and will orient them for as long as the new grad wants to be oriented. I was also told they wanted me as management because of my degree. Many nurses do not have a BSN degree in the area so I was valuable to them. I hesitate because I have not work as a RN yet and lack the experience.

Please pass me your thoughts!!! Thank you so much!

PS I passed my HESIs and NCLEX largely because of advice on AllNurses!! Thanks so much!

[HappyPediRN]

Tele position, hands down. You need acute care experience and I'm not a big proponent of new grads as charge nurses. The other nurses look to you for experience and you need to be able to handle all kinds of situations...you will be a valuable resource as a charge, especially as possibly the only RN, but you can't get that experience without working a floor first. A new grad cannot comfortably run a code without participating in several first. You will be much more marketable with ACLS and telemetry experience than as a charge nurse in LTC.

[TexasPediRN]

I'm iffy on the tele position - let me explain why.

A 12 hour shift is actually a 12 1/2 hour shift (30 min for lunch). +, you have a hour drive each way. This is assuming you can always get out on time, which in some places is rare.

So say you leave your house @ 0530 daily, you dont get home until 0830ish. Then its dinner/shower/bed up by 0430 and do it all again.

By 3 days, you are going to be tired..

Not to mention the millage on your car. And do you have child care?

However, I think the tele fit is better - as an RN you need to get hospital experience - but please think about you first and your needs! Dont take that charge nurse position, the previous poster is right - you need the floor experience.

New grads should never be charge nurses - you dont have the experience to do so.

[kmoonshine, RN]

I agree with OctoberBride - go for the tele job over the LTC job. Being charge nurse is a huge responsibility and should be for nurses who have experience in that specific area.

More importantly, get more info:

• Find out what the patient-nurse ratio is
  
• Find out about the staff turnover rate
  
• Ask how long the nurses have been in the department (its always good to have a mix of staff, with both newer staff as well as staff that have been around for many years).
  
• Ask about the length of orientation
  
• Get more info regarding the acuity level of the patient population that you'll be working with
  
• Find out what nursing model they use (is it team nursing, primary nursing, etc)
  
• Ask to job shadow for a few hours

[amaikiwi]

1)Tele position is on Nights for 3 days of 12 hour nightly shifts in a row. You are right that I have to figure longer for the commute though. The winter roads are tough. I may have to figure 1 and one half hour or more of commute. I witnessed an accident on this road this past winter. I am concerned I might get too tired to safety travel in a storm from the hours of the job.

2) Charge nurse position: I would share the 27pt skilled unit with another nurse. Day position for 32 hours/week. There is also a med-tech. I was told by the HR that 2 other new grads are there as charges in different wings and they are doing wonderfully in their positions. Orientation is as long as I want it. HR said they do team nursing. The drive would be about 20 min in small city. You are right that I do not have experience of what to do in a code. That is serious, and would the pressure of having CNAs look up to me to have RN experience! I hadn't thought of those.

Babysitters are great in both locations.

Thanks! I appreciate your comments!!

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

tele.....

[futurecnm]

I would go with what works best for your family. When I look at the 2 I would prefer the tele job but probably would go for the other one due to location and hours. Night shift is not for me, and I would not accept a night position. Have you worked nights and do you like them? That is a big factor. They are not for everyone. Also, 12 hour shifts can be really tough and also not for everyone. If the nursing home has great training then I'd go for it. Can you meet with one of the other new grads who is working as a charge and talk with him/her? It is sometimes common to have even a new RN work in LTC as charge. I don't think it is out of the question. obviously, more experience would serve you well as charge but you are qualified to do it, and others are doing it. Get their input!

[angel337, MSN, RN]

you have to wonder why the LTC can't hire a more experienced RN for such a great position??? as a new grad you have to think about that when you apply for jobs. are they desperate??? why hasn't another nurse snatched up a straight day job like that? just something to put on your brain. tele experience is invaluable, but on the other hand nights can be hard. if it were me i would take the tele job, i just wouldn't want 3 12's in a row. you will be more confident with the tele, acute care experience under your belt. even if you did it for a year, its better than no experience at all and then you can take that charge job at the LTC. but then again do what works for you. Congratulations!!!i hope things work out.