New grad looking for work

Nurses New Nurse

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I am a new grad and I have been offered two different positions. One is at a rehab hospital and the other is at a major hospital on the neuro med-surge floor. Here is the issue. I have heard that if you start out in a rehab hospital area, you tend to get stuck there. If you start out in a regular hospital your options later are broader. So my question is...is this true? Both are the same shift and pay about the same so I just want to make the best choice which will allow me the most flexability later. Any suggestions?

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Specializes in psych,maternity, ltc, clinic.

You are blessed to have been offered 2 good jobs as a new grad in this economy. Congrats. Consider the reputations of the 2 facilities as well as any personal experiences you have had with them (clinicals etc) and then go with your gut. I have been able to do a variety of different things over the last 15 years and MY experience has been that I have not been pigeonholed, based on previous experience. Good Luck!!:yeah:

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Thank you for the input. I appreciate you.

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Specializes in Peds Hem, Onc, Med/Surg.

That is what I heard. You are as stuck as you want to be.

I would be careful with the rehab center just because my friend started at one and she had 22 pts a night. Not safe at all. So really look at the nurse to pt ratio. Same with the hospital. Good luck!

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Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

Of the two positions offered, I *think* the more rounded experience would be neuro m/s. I could be wrong, though :)

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In an economy where some new grads go more than a year with no job offers at all, just wanted to congratulate you on being able to choose between two. Unless there is some other compelling reason, I would go with the med surg offer over the rehab one for a first job. Good luck with your new job.

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That's interesting that you guys think it is hard to find a job. In South Florida, there are tons of jobs available but I guess they want experience.

In answer to the other question, I have been out of work for 18 years but one thing is true. Specializing in a particular area helps everyone. The more familiar you are with disease processes and what to expect, the better care you will give. Certain phenomena will become second nature to you and you will be able to spot a problem a mile away because you've seen it so many times. In my experience, that made me a better nurse.

Many blessings!

Vera

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I will second the notion that it's really hard to find a job right now. I am a recent GN and have been looking for 3 months in St. Louis but gotten absolutely nothing. I even have almost 2 years experience as an LPN where I basically did an RN's job. I take my NCLEX next Tuesday and hope that might make me look a little more attractive to potential employers since they won't have to wait for me to pass the test.

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