New Grad RN Infusion Center Nursing

[NurseDoug07, BSN, RN]

Hi!,

I recently got offered a job at a pediatric infusion center in a hospital. A small unit about 8 beds with the ability to expand to 12. I was trying to see what other nurses thought about a new grad RN starting there? Will I learn a lot? I don’t want to be tied down to Med-Surg if I don’t have to be! Pediatrics is my love. But I also want to start somewhere I can learn and translate to other areas of practice. Thank you!

[CritterLover, BSN, RN]

As long as you won't be working alone I think it would be OK.

Pediatric infusion centers see kids with a lot of interesting conditions/diseases. If peds is where you want to be, it should be an OK start. Not quite the well rounded experience you'd get in an all peds unit or hospital, but you'll get a lot of experience with central lines/ports, and some very expensive and uncommon drugs.

What is your ultimate goal? Basic peds? PICU? NICU? Peds ER? You might decide you love it there; infusion centers tend to be popular places to work -- usually no nights or holidays though there is often (but not always) a weekend rotation.

If/when you decide to move on from there, I'd think you'd have a relatively easy time getting a job elsewhere in peds unless your market is really saturated in peds nurses. You won't have the time management or assessment skills that you'll need, but you'll have great central line skills and good experience with some of the less common conditions that exist in the pediatric world.

[NurseDoug07, BSN, RN]

16 minutes ago, CritterLover said:

As long as you won't be working alone I think it would be OK.

Pediatric infusion centers see kids with a lot of interesting conditions/diseases. If peds is where you want to be, it should be an OK start. Not quite the well rounded experience you'd get in an all peds unit or hospital, but you'll get a lot of experience with central lines/ports, and some very expensive and uncommon drugs.

What is your ultimate goal? Basic peds? PICU? NICU? Peds ER? You might decide you love it there; infusion centers tend to be popular places to work -- usually no nights or holidays though there is often (but not always) a weekend rotation.

If/when you decide to move on from there, I'd think you'd have a relatively easy time getting a job elsewhere in peds unless your market is really saturated in peds nurses. You won't have the time management or assessment skills that you'll need, but you'll have great central line skills and good experience with some of the less common conditions that exist in the pediatric world.

Thanks for the response. I’m not entirely sure. I wanted to get into a general pediatrics floor but haven’t revived any interviews for any of those floors. I know it’s hard to go from adults to peds so I figured getting my foot in the door now would be better - not to say I’m settling! The infusion center intrigued me and I love that you see a patient for a little and oftentimes send them on their way. It is a full-time night position that has certain weekend requirements. I was apprehensive about the amount of skills that would be utilized at first but the clinical supervisor assured me that there are many things they do that revolve around things like urology. I hope to move to a gen peds floor when possible!

[CritterLover, BSN, RN]

Well an overnight position at an infusion center is odd. Are they still outpatients? Or is this an inpatient unit that deals with infusions?

Either way it should be fine as long as you aren't working alone.

[NurseDoug07, BSN, RN]

I’m honestly a little confused too! I’m awaiting some response. From when I toured the unit, I thought she said it was a 7AM-7PM unit. So, when I got an offer for full time nights - I was confused. Again, I’m waiting for more clarification LOL.

[CritterLover, BSN, RN]

They might do evenings to accommodate parents' work schedules but overnight would be a little unusual in the OP world.