New grad occupational health help

[JStarr]

Hello all - I am looking for some advice

I am a new graduate and have always had an interest in Occupational health nursing. I am currently interviewing for different nursing positions and one is med/surg the other occupational health. I am looking for advice b/c I have heard Med/Surg should be your first position for experience, but I know occupational health is not always easy to find and I do have an interest in it. Will it hurt my career long term by missing out on the med/surg experience? Or, do you take a leap of faith and go for what you have an interest in such as occ health in this situation?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! All the occupational health nurses I have ever spoken with really love their jobs and have nothing negative to say about it..

Thanks all -

[workingmom76]

Hello JStarr,

I am also a new Grad and have started on a Surgical Floor. I have had a negative experience so I may be a little biased. However, I can honestly say that I have learned a lot. My advice is that you should go where you know you will be happy. I don't see a problem with starting in Occupational Health. It is a specialized branch of nursing and you always have the option to change if you need to. Medical and Surgical floors are always looking for new nurses, since turnover is "usually" high.

It sounds to me like this may be a great opportunity for you. Your path may be different! If occupational health interests you, I say go for it! If you change your mind....med/surg will still be there. This is what is great about the nursing field! Good luck with your decision and I wish you the best.

[JStarr]

Thank you for taking time to reply - If you don't mind me asking why has the surgical floor been a negative experience for you?

[workingmom76]

Well, my orientation was super difficult as I my coach and I had differences and this led to tension while I was trying to assimilate to a new floor. I can also say that when I was told my first year of nursing would be difficult, I don't think I took it seriously. I now know that it was No joke. I have very high anxiety and stress. I have had so much anxiety that I have started antidepressants to help. I guess that if I had the opportunity you have, knowing what I know about the Med/Surg experience, I wouldn't hesititate on the opportunity to venture into a different branch of nursing.

I'm sure things will get better for me over time. I am also sure I will learn a lot. I just have a feeling that sooner or later I will be looking for something a little more laid back and not as fast paced. This may not be true for everybody but this has been my experience. I hope other new Med/Surg nurses will reply to this post so you can get different perspectives!

[3rdcareerRN]

A key problem I see with a new grad choosing occ health is the lack of preceptorship for learning those common hands-on skills that are needed in all clinical nursing positions. Whatever you learned in school, it is not enough to do it as the sole nurse on-site unless you get more training. If there is more than one occ health nurse at your site and/or you can have a multi-week preceptor, then you might be OK.

I learned my skills mostly in the ER prior to becoming an occ health nurse. That is extremely helpful as an occ health nurse -- I'm the only one on site during my shift, and I have up to multi-hundreds of employees to care for (depending on the day of the week).

Many other postings state this, and I will echo: If you decide to go into acute care later without that magic one year of acute experience, you probably won't get in. However, I like occ health so much I may never go back to acute.

Good luck with whatever you decide.