New Grad Internships

[n1wgmp]

Hey everyone, I am graduating in May and applying for some new grad internships. Here's my dilemma, there are some at a hospital I would consider working at, however they are not on the unit I would like. I am very interested in ICU and would really love to get an ICU internship at one of the level 1 trauma centers in Dallas. (Baylor, Parkland, or Methodist) However, I understand Dallas is saturated with new grads and it may be difficult to get the exact internship I want, so should I go ahead and apply to say the Med/Surg or Observation Unit internships even though I do not want to work in these areas? OR should I wait until the internships I really want open up and only apply for those?

I just don't want to end up accepting a job offer for a unit that I may not really enjoy, but I understand new graduate internships are hard to get into as well.

Any ideas for me?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Any ideas for me?

Get in where you can. Form connections. Make a great impression. Prove to your potential future coworkers that you will be a good asset to add to their team.

As a nursing student in a metro area such as D/FW, you cannot afford to be too picky, and you cannot always start in the specialty where you'd like to start. I also live and work in D/FW, and many of my coworkers are newer nurses who could not find jobs at any of the major hospitals. Hence, they commute to the smallish specialty hospital where I work with the hope of accruing the experience they need to secure employment closer to home.

It will not be the end of the world if you start off in med/surg. Just work there for six months to one year and apply for a transfer to the ICU. However, be cognizant that there's a waiting list to be hired into med/surg floors here in D/FW because the area is so overly saturated with new grads, the vast majority of whom want acute care hospital employment in any unit that will take them.

Good luck to you.

[n1wgmp]

Get in where you can. Form connections. Make a great impression. Prove to your potential future coworkers that you will be a good asset to add to their team.

As a nursing student in a metro area such as D/FW, you cannot afford to be too picky, and you cannot always start in the specialty where you'd like to start. I also live and work in D/FW, and many of my coworkers are newer nurses who could not find jobs at any of the major hospitals. Hence, they commute to the smallish specialty hospital where I work with the hope of accruing the experience they need to secure employment closer to home.

It will not be the end of the world if you start off in med/surg. Just work there for six months to one year and apply for a transfer to the ICU. However, be cognizant that there's a waiting list to be hired into med/surg floors here in D/FW because the area is so overly saturated with new grads, the vast majority of whom want acute care hospital employment in any unit that will take them.

Good luck to you.

Thank you so much! This information is very helpful!

[TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN]

Like Commuter said, do not wait for the perfect opportunity to come along. Get a shoe in the door and make an opportunity come along.

[KeepItRealRN, BSN, RN]

Another option if you want to work in ICU bad enough is to relocate to an area that has what you are looking for.