New grad nursing job question

[mikala3]

I graduated in December, took my nclex the first week in January and have had only one job interview. The interview is for a psychiatric hospital. What I really want to do is work on a cardiac floor in a hospital. Seeing that I cant even get an interview at the hospital near me, will taking a job at a psychiatric hospital help or hinder me?

[Newgrad_STAT]

Have you been offered the job at the psych hospital?

It will definitely Help... how would it hinder? lol

You'll gain experience... might not be "acute care" but it is definitely nursing experience aside from just your clinicals.

Be thankful for that... it's really hard out here.

[Dragonfly777]

same here....applied to a bunch of hospitals...they all reply back with need experience and suggest doing residency program. If doing teli on hospital is what you want then consider doing residency program and if it's not and you just want experience and decide to move on maybe to another setting then take psych job.

[mikala3]

I think it may hinder because it is not hospital nursing. I will never see an IV, I will not have to access the same things I would in a hospital. I would basicaly give PO meds from a window and call that nursing. I am afraid a hospital would say, "well, yes you have experience as a nurse, but you have never started an IV, called a code, given IV meds etc etc etc.....

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Here's the deal. The economy is absolutely horrid right now, and many local nursing employment markets have been affected. A new grad with no experience cannot be too picky if (s)he wishes to secure employment. Beggars cannot be choosers.

Choice#1: Psych RN position = RN pay and RN experience

Choice #2: Wait for a cardiac job offer = No pay and no experience

Of course the psychiatric position will help you. There's no guarantee that a job offer for a cardiac position in an acute care hospital will ever come. You do not want to end up in the undesirable position of the 'old' new grad who has never worked as an RN. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[mikala3]

You are right, and my capstone was on a floor with detox patients, so there is some overlap there.

[NoviceRN10]

As a new nurse that has been working acute care for almost two years, I am thinking psych nursing may be something to consider. If you can get a job there, give it a shot and keep looking for the job you really want.

[D.R.A.]

I'm a new nurse. I'd take the job....it's a starting point. It's a resume builder. I agree with pp's.....take what you can get, and move on as opportunity present's itself.

[Deltaflaze]

Definitely take the psych job if offered, it's a wonderful starting position to learn meds, organization, charting, basic labs, and therapeutic communication; like the post above, its a bad market. You can use all of these skills to apply to a medical floor in a year or two. I worked at a psych unit while I was in nursing school and plenty of nurses came in for a year and transferred to another floor within a couple years. I wouldn't recommend telling the manager that is the plan though...who knows, maybe you'll love it.