new grad nurse

[sbostonRN]

Hello,

I am a new grad nurse, taking my boards next week or soon after. I interviewed for a position on a subacute floor yesterday and I am really excited about the position. It's 40 patients on the floor and I'll be working day or evenings, when there's 3-4 nurses working, and 7 aides. The pt turnover is high but the staff turnover throughout the facility is very low. It's privately owned and this is the only location, which I think is nice. The MD does rounds several times a day, and the administration is frequently involved in nursing care and scheduling. Everything about the interview was very casual though and at the end, I had to ask if I was hired or not. She had me scheduled for orientation but had never formally offered me the job.

So I called last night and asked about benefits and vacation because she had never mentioned them to me. She sent me a brief email from her Blackberry, and I'm calling today to clarify things and ask for a formal offer letter. It's 5 vacation days, 2 personal days, 7 sick days, and holidays (which I assume are floating). I'll be working 40 hours a week, days or evenings during the week and evenings e/o weekend. Does this sound like a good offer to you? Like I said, I think the facility is very nice and as a new grad I can't be too picky about my first job. DH is very concerned about the lack of a formal offer letter and that I was basicaly hired on the spot. He is used to jumping through hoops to get a job. Should this concern me?

[mindy1982]

Staffing sounds good. You might want to find out how many admissions per shift. I had a similar hiring process. But my first friday night off orientation I had nine admissions with the last one being a trached patient. at 930 pm. All that i could have handled..but the atmosphere of fear and the lack of staff longevity scared me more than anything Also if the DRs make lots of rounds they probably write lots of orders. Chart check alot. document.always look up meds you don't know.and if you can't read the orders ask the doc.