New Grad Once Again?

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I am currently working as an ER RN. I am off my "new grad" probation and working full time in a small, community ER.

I'm debating if I should stick this small, community ER out for a couple of years or if I should apply to a New Grad position at a larger, magnet hospital with a *fantastic* ER. The magnet hospital defines New Grad as anyone with less then 1 year of experience. It would be a fantastic learning experience, would pay more, and I would be part of a major hospital system.

However, do I want to go back to being "a new grad" again? In my ER I'm one of the more experienced newer nurses and while I still have a lot to learn, I am able to handle a full patient load and I love it. However, we are a small ER. We don't use a lot of high tec equipment and anything super critical we stabilize and ship out...

Plus, I'd have to move...

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i do not see the point on leaving your job. If you are seriously happy at your job and 90% of your patients are coming in with ankle sprains, then why leave? if you are the rare nurse that is actually happy at your job and not ready to rage their *** off on management for all the b/s, stay and keep your mouth shut. You are still getting experience. Enjoy life.

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The only reason I'm happy is because our *horrible* manager got fired last week! Otherwise it wouldn't even be a question, but in the past two weeks things have already started to turn around.

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This is the way I see it. You are not completely miserable at your job right now. This is priceless. Your are getting ER experience. That is important. No amount of $ can replace being unhappy at your job. I would suggest you stay at your job until you become unhappy. At anytime you can transfer out to a larger hospital for different experience, you ll always have your basic ER expereince until then. Being happy is far greater then nursing ego/stats. Do not be a fool and contribute to burn out stats.

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Specializes in Urology.

Aside from trauma the vast majority of ER patients you see will not change between facilities. The diagnosis for the majority of these patients is also the same in nearly every facility. I'm not sure what you mean by "high tec" equipment. Does your facility not have a CT machine? Do you guys have ultrasound? Not much has changed in the way things are diagnosed in the last 15 years in the ER setting. The grass isn't always greener and in most cases, you might like your job less because now you'll have all of the BS that you dealth with x 100. In some cases, the smaller ER's you'll see more as it is more intimate and the provider resources arent as robust!

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Thank you to everyone for your comments. After thinking it over I decided not to apply for the job. I do like where I work now. We are building a good team together and I trust/like the RNs and the ER docs. I think that is important enough for me to stay over leaving for a magnet hospital. I might not get paid as much, but cost of living is MUCH lower and I'm building a nice life here.

The deciding factor for me was the ER docs. Right now I have *really* great doctors who not only listen to me, but respect me enough to ask what I think we should do. Even though I'm a new grad. One doctor even told me he asks me what we should do so I get used to thinking the next three steps ahead, so that if I have a pt. that needs quick decisions and the doctor is busy, I know i can trust myself and my decision making. I think that's invaluable for me at this stage in my career. I'm learning to have confidence in myself and my assessments.

Wow, it sounds cheesy when I put it like that. But it's true. I think over the past six months what I've really learned, aside from skills like IV insertion, is confidence.

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