New graduate nurse into office nursing

[clhsunfire]

I love children and have been working with them for years. Do you think it would be wise to start out from graduating nursing school into a physicians' soffice instead of a hospital on teh floor?

I would love to work in pediatrics maybein a doctors office. I know at times the doctors office can get hectic, but I know the pace is way different from the hospital. Just wondering what you think? Do I need to have my license first?

Christine

[Nurse Ratched, RN]

I think you will find most nurses recommend a year of med-surg or hospital nursing immediately upon graduation. There are things that you will not learn in a doctor's office if you don't have that experience first.

You can work in other capacities in an office setting other than a nurse before you graduate depending on the office's needs. I just don't know what the likelihood is that an office would hire a nurse fresh out of school for a nursing position. I find that we get a lot of calls with questions I wouldn't have known the answer to without a little experience under my belt.

If it's truly what you want, start looking into it. Get a feel for the nurse role in that setting and whether your skills match up.

Good luck!

[laurasc]

I agree, get hospital experience first. Start off in a med/surg floor and then move to a peds floor if you want. I've worked in doctor's offices for 10 years (pediatrics up until 2 weeks ago) and find that my experience working on a general surgery floor and in an ICU to be a big help.

Laura