New graduate employment advice

Specialties NP

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Hello all, I am in need of some advice. I an AGACNP graduate (6/19), I did not take my exam until Nov 19 and the job search started after the Holidays were over. Little did I know that there was a pandemic brewing...

Fast forward 7 months I am still looking for an NP job (still working as an RN). As I am acute care, I really want to be on the inpatient side, however almost all the jobs that have been available have been ICU level. As an RN I have ED and solid organ transplant experience but not ICU and this is severely impacting my job search. I have at least made it to the inpatient interviews for two inpatient positions but they went with an experienced NP in both cases. I am now applying to specialty clinics in the hopes that I will be able to transition to the inpatient roles. I have at least gotten some interviews in these positions and I am waiting to hear back.

My question currently is this. I applied at an urgent care clinic with multiple locations in the area, they at first said they do not take new graduates however they were looking for people to run their "covid ready clinics". From the description that I got of this position, I would be covid screening employees that are coming back to the work places. It sounds like it is exactly what I am doing as an RN when I triage in the ED. Everything about the position appears to be in the RN scope of practice and not NP. I have been upfront with them regarding this concern and that my goal is to work in the clinic. I initially told the recruiter no to the covid position but she contacted me a few days later stating that there was a clinic postion open that I may be appropriate for given my ED experience. I had a phone interview with the medical director under the guise that maybe they would hire me into the clinic as I have ED experience and had ED clinical rotations. She then backtracked, stating that they really needed people for their covid clinics. She sold the position saying that it may be a way to get into the clinics as I would then be familiar with the company and the EHR (I have had enough jobs to understand that learning logistics is a big part of the learning curve at a new place of employment). I asked what the training would be like if I did eventually get into the clinics, and her response was "what would you like it to look like"? That felt ominous, so I responded with "at least two months" (every other hospital I've interviewed with states that they would have at least 2-3 months, along with some other training benefits). The look on her face clearly indicated that amount of time was not going to happen. She indicated maybe two weeks and then I am on my own (the only provider in the clinic with an MA and maybe an RN) but able to reach another provider by phone.

Again, my initial concern, which I shared with both the recruiter and medical director was that the covid ready clinics did not sound like NP experience and that if after the covid clinics were over, and there was no clinic position available,other employers may assume that I have solid NP experience when I really would not be making clinical judgments at the NP level.

I was offered the position yesterday. It appears to me that they are in dire need of NP's to run these covid clinics and I have the impression they will take any APP that walks in the door.

I am also skeptical that I would be hired into a clinic and my instinct is to say no, but as I am having such difficulty finding an NP position that perhaps I should accept it?

Thoughts?

Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

This is a very rough time to try and get a job as a new grad NP. You are not in a position to be picky. Take the job.

4 Votes

something to consider... the facility where I work does have APRNs (including a new grad) doing COVID screening and treatment.. trust me they are working as an actual APRN and gaining experience... it's more that just swab them and tell them to self quarantine for 10-14 days.. they actually order tests and prescribe medications and a lot of consultation with the physicians if a patient requires either admit to a hospital or transfer to an ED.

You may actually getting more experience than you think.. and like FullGlass mentioned... some new grads would be happy to have this offer.... Even in my area our largest hospital system just laid off about 90% of their APRNs.

4 Votes
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