New Grad RN offered Hospital Position & Dr.'s office Position Need Advice :-)

[kaylynnd06]

Hi everyone. I am a recent new grad BSN, RN in NJ. I've applied for well over 300 jobs and finally got 2 job offers and now do not know which one to accept. The first is for a large Pediatric group that is about 30 minutes away from my home and all of the staff seem really nice and willing to take on the responsibility of training me for my 1st RN position. It is a 9-5 position Monday - Friday with the occasional Sat. (no nights, weekends, or holidays) and it pays pretty well for a dr.'s office ($24/hr) with full benefits. The 2nd position is for a hospital that is about 50 minutes from my house for a Cardiac Rn position. It is full time (36hrs/wk) and pays $26.75/hr for the day shift which I feel is kind of low. I feel extremely lucky to have both offers because I know how difficult it is to find a job out there, especially in NJ. I always saw myself as a Pediatric nurse but I am afraid that if I take the dr's office position I will never be able to get into a hospital for lack of acute care experience. On the other hand, I am afraid if I accept the hospital position I will be stuck in Cardiac and stressed out. I know in nursing school we are told to take any hospital position we can get our hands on, but what if we are offered a dr.'s office position in the specialty we really want? Any help, comments, suggestions, advice would be really appreciated :-) Thank you in advance!

[Wave Watcher]

Docs office without a second thought. No holidays, no nights, you know your hours.....your not working 12+hr shifts, stressing yourself out. Plus, you can always get experience in peds and then apply for school nursing....even better.

Best of luck either way! Hospitals are over rated in my opinion. You don't have to work a floor to get experience and be paid what you are worth.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

It is totally up to you. What you plan to do with your nursing career is subject only to your wishes/desires.

Word to the wise: it is useless to say "never" or "always" in your Job Search. Do what seems right for you at this time.

[happyinillinois]

I'd take the hospital position. The reason hospitals don't want to high many new grads is because the training they provide is extensive. You will never get that training in a doctor's office. Not only education classes, but certifications which they not only pay for, but pay you to attend the classes! In a couple of years you could go work for a Dr. office, but I am not sure that in a couple of years a hospital woud want you. You won't be a "new Grad", but they won't consider you experienced, either.

[Fixit]

I'd go with the hospital job for the reasons you listed. Plus it doesn't seem like a doctors office would have a career ladder for a BSN to climb.

[DemonWings]

How about you take the hospital position and ill take to drs office position:)

[JessiekRN]

Hospital, hospital, hospital. With jobs being the way they are..do not pass up the opportunity. If cardiac is not what you love, it is usually very easy to transfer within a hospital system, once you are an employee already. You will get invaluable experience and training that you will not get in a doctor's office, no matter how busy or specialized it is. Stress is normal as a new grad and normal for nursing, period. Stress makes you grow. If you want to learn and advance and keep growing, do not turn down the hospital job.

Just out of curiousity, where in NJ is this hospital..that salary seems awfully low for RN in NJ..? I still say take it though. Even if its a terrible hospital, it will be much easier to find a new job at a different hospital with previous hospital experience, than with office experience.

[kaylynnd06]

Thanks everyone for your input. It's been really valuable and I really really appreciate you taking the time to write :-) The hospital is in Toms River.

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

It's not nearly as easy to transfer departments as it used to be. My concern is the 50 minute drive to the hospital. That seems fairly far and dangerous after a long shift...which often times turns into overtime. My only direct mention of which job is a better choice.

Everyone is going to have something different to tell you about which one you should take. Make a list of the pros and the cons of each, spend a day thinking about it and what you want and what makes you happy then decide.

I try to view each job not only as a stepping stone, but, if I died tomorrow could I say I was happy with where I'm at today? If not...then I'm probably making the wrong choice and need to make a change.

Congrats on the job offers in this very rough economy.

[GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

Think of which will make you happy long term. Do you have kids? Do you want to have kids someday? 9 to 5 hours sound so nice with no weekends or holidays. You can easily get daycare for those hours. Daycare is tricky to get on holidays and weekends. Just a thought. I would JUMP on the office job. But then again, I don't like stressful hospital nursing.

[Nurzelady]

I think you should take the hospital position and make the communte. Because honestly as a New Grad RN. You could accept the hospital position and turn down the drs office position and always have the option of going back later. But if you accept the drs position and turn down the hospital one now, you probably won't be able to get the hospital position later. I'm a new RN and I commute to my hospital with the same amount of time as well.

[jessica.lanelle]

I would personally do the doctor's office position, but that is only because I work in one now, and know how much less it sucks than working in a hospital.