New Grad jobs aside from floor positions

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Dec 21, 2023

You are just starting nursing school. Far from a new grad. As you progress through clinicals, you will see and do many things. You are trying to get out of floor nursing , before you even start school. Rethink your career choice. You are not cut out for nursing.

iccul84 · Dec 21, 2023

I am not looking to get out of anything. So don't judge someone when you don't know all the details. I actually work in the hospital currently and deal with all types of patients and see all the different departments and just know who I am and what I want and where Id like to be. YOU don't even know me and already are telling me Im not cut out for this. I'm actually extremely compassionate and enjoy helping people, just because I choose not to want to work on the floors doesn't take away from that or that I am not cut out for this.

Maybe you should consider retiring if you are being an *** to someone asking a legitimate question about the career. I wonder how you are treating nursing students where you work. ?

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Dec 21, 2023

I always treated the students concern. I remembered how nervous I was as a student.

I wish you a lot of luck in clinicals with that attitude.

If you do your own research, you will find several areas to start out in.

londonflo · Dec 21, 2023

iccul84 said:

I wanted to ask what avenues a new Grad can go aside from working on the hospital floors (med/surg, ICU, telemetry, etc) after graduating.

This information is already available on All Nurses. Why the post?

subee, MSN, CRNA · Dec 21, 2023

iccul84 said:

Hi everyone. I am starting Nursing school in January. I wanted to ask what avenues a new Grad can go aside from working on the hospital floors (med/surg, ICU, telemetry, etc) after graduating. I really would not prefer to work on the floors. I was looking into one day surgery, a rehab center, cath lab, etc.

I also do not handle foley catheters well and want to try not having to insert these if possible throughout my career. Another reason for not looking to work on the floors.

Is it possible to get a non floor job out of school? Any feedback would be great. Thank you.

Well, you can write off surgery now because you will have to insert Foleys often. Most of the jobs you have mentioned above are reserved for folks with experience except for a rehab position. But then, there is those awkward Foleys again because some of the patients will have neurological conditions that might interfere with emptying their bladder and bowels. Possibilities might be addictions or dialysis. But if you really want to make sure you don't want to work on a floor, perhaps a lab job would be more suitable for you. Med techs are in short supply and require only a 4 year degree. In fairness to you, if you need a paycheck, I would choose another career.

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Dec 21, 2023

First, nobody handles catheters well before they've even started nursing school. You're going to gain confidence and expertise with all nursing skills as you progress through school. Is there a particular reason that this one area is a point of concern? You have many hours of clinical to further decide areas that interest you in nursing, you may not have been exposed to many of them as of yet. There are outpatient office nursing positions in many specialties. There is home care nursing, there is school nursing, psych nursing. Give yourself time to get through school and investigate your opportunities, good luck with your education.

iccul84 · Dec 21, 2023

JBMMOM,

It all started when I was an ER TECH in my early 20s (turning 40 soon) I was assisting a Nurse with a Foley Cath and I guess seeing how the insertion was being performed on a female, I quickly began to get white as a ghost and lightheaded. I'm not afraid of a womans gential but not to be mean at all, but on this certain female I guess it made me grossed out. From that moment on, I've had this phobia. It's not so serve with a man, but I also did get the same feeling when I had to help again weeks later.

So now I have that in my head when it comes to foleys. Other things like stomas, kinda gross me out but I can push through. Vomit, blood, needles, feces, etc don't bother me.

I know I can be a good Nurse but torn if I will ever get ahead of this phobia and if I can't, I don't want to waste any time starting the program. it's just a tough decision.

FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP · Dec 21, 2023

I think it is too soon to be so concerned about this. You haven't even started nursing school yet. In school, you will receive a lot of training on various nursing skills, like inserting Foley catheter. First, you will practice on dummies in the school lab. Then, while on clinical rotations, you will have a chance to insert into a real patient. Your clinical instructor will be there to help you through this the first few times.

When I started nursing school, I was terrified of the psych rotation. I was convinced I would hate it. To my surprise, I loved it and am now a Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

As you go through your various clinical rotations, you will discover what you like and don't like. You may be surprised by what you discover.

Yes, there are options for new grad RNs besides floor nursing, but just focus on getting through nursing school for now.

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Dec 21, 2023

iccul84 said:

I know I can be a good Nurse but torn if I will ever get ahead of this phobia and if I can't, I don't want to waste any time starting the program. it's just a tough decision.

You're much older now, there's a very good chance that you will have passed through, and out of this stage, although you need to reframe your mindset. You said you currently work in a hospital, are you ever around catheters now? Maybe you could be in a room with someone inserting a catheter? And you'll start seeing catheter insertions early in your nursing clinicals, and I guess if you REALLY can't handle it, you'll find out. But there's very little chance you'll get through nursing school without having to do it. Clinical instructors aren't going to let you just pass on it if your patient needs a foley. I'm pretty sure I had done at least a dozen by graduation. Good luck.

DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN · Dec 21, 2023

You had one bad experience with a Foley catheter. When you've been shown how to insert them correctly and gained confidence, you will go on to insert them with no difficulty.

Nursing involves many unpleasant procedures. The best way to overcome your fears is to confront them head on. I used to hate colostomies and ileostomies. After years of just gritting my teeth and getting on with it they now don't bother me. Think of the suffering you will relieve inserting a foley catheter into the patient in retention? That always feels good.

I personally think floor nursing is the bread and butter of nursing. I always advise any new grad to find their feet on a bog standard med/surg floor before doing anything too specialized or leaving the hospital environment. If you don't want to stay there forever that's fine. However I share the dismay of some other posters at the thought of somebody embarking on nurse training who seems to want to avoid bread and butter nursing care the minute they qualify. I don't think other posters are being rude to suggest you might want to seriously rethink your career choice. I don't doubt that you are a caring person, however there are many other "caring" professions: social work, physiotherapy, ergotherapy, clinical psychology, dietetics etc. And these people never have to touch a Foley.

allnurses Guide · Dec 22, 2023

As many have said, You are just starting and really don't know what kind of job you want. I currently do pediatric and adolescent psych which I love but straight out of school I went in LDRP and I sure started a lot of foley's sometimes several in a day. It got so I could do them very quickly. My biggest fear was IV start's. I was pregnant in nursing school and for some reason the sight of blood (Even just the flash) made me want to vomit, but then almost everything made me want to vomit. My husband joked that I had morning, noon and night sickness for 9 months which was pretty much the case.

There are jobs off the floor for new grads but they are hard to find and you basically need to be really good at selling yourself and showing how taking a risk on your lack of experience will be a asset to an employer. Also those non floor jobs tend to pay less than floor positions so if you are taking out loans you might want the higher pay. One of the things I have noticed when new grads start in psych w/o med/surge experience is that sometimes not all, they lack fundamental assessment skills which can be dangerous for both the nurse and the patient. Most psych facilities don't have all the resources that bigger hospitals do but if you are lucky enough to find a good mentor you will be fine. Our new grad psych orientation is just 9 weeks long and them you are on your own as a charge nursing managing the care of 10 or more patients as well as the unit staff. I am actually a Master Trainer where I work and also act as a resource for our young nurses. Newer nurses on the unit can call me if they have a question.

I think you can do OK and you will gain confidence as you move through school and into your career.

Hppy