New Grad- quit current job to pursue PHN?

Nurses New Nurse

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Hey everyone. I started as a new grad at my hospital about a month ago and so far, things have been really rough for me. My hospital offers a 12-shift orientation (a bit shorter than other programs I applied to), and this week will be my last week before I am expected to be on my own and I am completely terrified!

I feel like I started out ok, but things quickly went downhill for me after the first week. I'm super slow at charting, I suck at prioritization, I'm task oriented (and slow at it), and I feel like I'm clueless and always behind schedule. I love the patients and caring for them, but I feel like I never have time to provide the care I would like to give. I work in oncology, and the end-of-life cases are really hard for me. The crazy environment, the hours..even in nursing school, I knew I didn't want to work in the hospital setting, but I accepted this position because I felt like I needed at least a year of hospital experience to get where I eventually wanted to be: public or school healh. I've only been here for one month, but everyday has been a struggle and I am always in a constant state of fear/anxiety/depression. My anxiety has been so high because of work, and although I've heard everywhere that the first year is the hardest, I'm really on the verge of giving up and quitting this job to pursue public or school health.

I have 3 years of public health experience as a counselor, and only left it to go to nursing school, but I loved it and it was my favorite rotation in school. My question is: should I start the PHN application process and pursue a career in public health? How bad will that make me look? Would I even be considered for a position in school health? I have heard that new grads should stick it out for the first year, but I don't know how much longer I can go on feeling this way...any advice would be much appreciated! :(

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I did my last semester internship in public health and got hired as a public health nurse right after graduation. I left the position only because the opportunity to work as a school nurse presented itself. (Leaving public health was a bad choice by me, but that is another tale lol). All of the nurses/management at the health dept. told me that you didn't need that year of hospital experience to work as a public health nurse, and from the bit of experience I gained, I don't really think it was necessary either. If it's what you truly want to do, and you aren't into the hospital stuff, I would say go for it! :)

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I did my last semester internship in public health and got hired as a public health nurse right after graduation. I left the position only because the opportunity to work as a school nurse presented itself. (Leaving public health was a bad choice by me, but that is another tale lol). All of the nurses/management at the health dept. told me that you didn't need that year of hospital experience to work as a public health nurse, and from the bit of experience I gained, I don't really think it was necessary either. If it's what you truly want to do, and you aren't into the hospital stuff, I would say go for it! :)

Thanks for your comment! It's funny- both public and school nursing interest me a lot, but I don't have any experience in school nursing and have heard some negatives about it (as is usual in any job I suppose. lol). Can I ask about your experiences in both and what you like/dislike about them? :shy:

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Well during my internship I got to shadow and work with public health nurses in many different areas including women's cancer screening program, cardiovascular health program, mom/baby home visiting program, immunization, TB/STD clinic. It was definitely an eye opener seeing all the different areas of public health. I got hired into the mom/baby home visiting program a month or so after graduating (the interview process was a very long process that started months beforehand) and I interviewed for the school nurse position before I was offered the PHN job. The PHN job was great in that it seemed relatively easy (basically case work and doing surveys of clients) and offered a lot of independence. They stated most nurses didn't get their own case load for 4 months during which time they were doing orientation things. I did quite a few trainings and it was all very interesting. I did feel like it was more social work than nursing in a way, though. And the pace was rather slow (and almost boring at times). However, I only actually worked there for 3 weeks before I got offered the school nurse job (at which point I left the health dept to pursue school nursing, although I did leave on good terms).

School nursing is very different. As a new grad, I struggle with making all of the triage-type judgments necessary to be a school nurse. The only training I received was two days of going over policies and procedures before basically being thrown to the wolves. If you have experience working in a school or with rashes, lice, dealing with minor/major injuries, etc., this might be much easier for you. However, the staff in the school expect you to be knowledgeable on almost every subject of illness, and being new grad I've found it difficult to not feel incompetent a majority of the time. I do think that with previous experience or more training, this job would be great for someone who enjoys working with kids. It many times feels as though I am stuck between parents, teachers, doctor's orders, district policies, and my own nursing judgment, with no way to do everything 100% the way people want things done. School nursing does however have nice hours (I work 8-4 M-F) and there are many breaks (Christmas break, spring break, summer, along with many random days).

If I were to do it all over again, I would've stayed with the PHN job. But if you are looking for more "nursing" as in doing direct cares, giving meds, etc then school nursing is a better fit.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

If you have your bachelors and PHN cert apply! Your don't need hospital experience to go into public health. I got hired as a new grad and since you have public health experience you are really marketable!!

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I have friends who went straight into public health nursing after graduating because they loved it and knew they wanted to do it. And guess what? They are still doing it and they still love it. If you know in your heart that you want to do public health, I would suggest not wasting your time in an inpatient, acute care setting.

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If you have your bachelors and PHN cert apply! Your don't need hospital experience to go into public health. I got hired as a new grad and since you have public health experience you are really marketable!!

Thank you! I actually ended up applying for my PHN and for a PHN position in SoCal..and now checking my email constantly for updates! Can I ask what kind of dept you work for and how your experiences have been?

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I gritted my teeth through a year of hospital nursing, with many of the same thoughts and feelings you've experienced. Got a job in public health (epidemiology, very cool) one year ago, and I can't imagine going back to that cesspool of anxiety. I get paid somewhat less, but I never freak out about work, the benefits are great, my coworkers are all happy and friendly, I work normal-people hours. My overall quality of life is greatly improved. I say apply for the jobs you actually want, and see what happens!

PS Don't quit until you actually get another job (I know it's tempting, but it's MUCH easier to get a job when you already have one!). Also, I think a lot of people feel like they go backwards the first week or two off orientation. Try not to worry too much!

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
Thank you! I actually ended up applying for my PHN and for a PHN position in SoCal..and now checking my email constantly for updates! Can I ask what kind of dept you work for and how your experiences have been?

I work for California Children's Services. Specifically the Child Health and Disability Prevention Program (CHDP). More specifically, the Health Care Program for Children in Foster Care. There is a CHDP program in every county in CA.

I LOVE my job. Great networking experience and so much room for professional development. The pay is good.

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