New RN offered ADON position?

[Alanna_Kayy]

Hi all,

I am a fairly new RN- I got my first (and current) job in April of 2016 on a subacute rehab unit in an LTC building. I have been extremely flexible at this job in terms of picking up shifts, changing my schedule around from nights to days, being the admissions nurse and so on. Clearly me being so flexible has shown my supervisors that I am dedicated and really care about this job because a few days ago my DON told me that she wants me to take the ADON/unit manager spot that is opening up because my current ADON is going PRN.

Ever since nursing school I never thought of myself to be in a nurse management position(I went to school to be a nurse, not a manger) but now that the opportunity has risen I feel myself wanting it more. There are many pros (looks great on a resume, get to be on wound team, see a side of the unit from a different perspective, etc) and cons (leaving the bedside, my lack of experience, etc) to accepting this position. But my biggest con is that I am afraid that if I take this position I may get stuck in administration, since I have such little floor experience. I'm afriad that when I do finally go out and apply for hospital floor positions(which I do want to do, subacute was not my first choice), they're only going to see me as an administrative nurse rather than a floor nurse. But then I think, I am incredibly young (I'm 22) and have lots of time to work ahead of me, so I'll be able to get back on the floor eventually, right?

Any hiring managers out there, do you see an issue hiring someone for the floor after they work in administration? Or is it seen as a positive?

Thank you!

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

I think it's a little scary to jump into a management position with such little experience. I wouldn't have taken an ADON position after working for less than a year.

[Bumex, DNP, NP]

I have been offered spots in management with little RN experience due to my leadership attributes (first offer was less than a year of RN experience as well). However, I to have never seen myself in management so I've always said "thanks, but no thanks." I feel like I would need a great amount of experience to be an effective manager/director, and if I took a spot without it, I might be screwing up my entire career by not doing well. My instinct would be to stay in your current capacity for awhile in order to learn more about the profession. Remember that people are looking up to you when you're in management- it's a good idea to be as prepared for the job as possible.

On the flip side, it may be difficult for you to get back to the floor after leaving so soon. It may be seen as an issue with losing the skills that aren't yet developed as a floor nurse. Future opportunities may consider you a new grad again.