Newish NJ Nurse in awkward, professional puberty...advice please?

Published Jul 6, 2017

3 Posts

Hey fellow nurses of reddit! There seems to be a ton of advice for brand new nurses out there (how to land your first job as a new grad, career advice for new grads, how to pick a specialty... you catch my drift). But I've now graduated to the 2+ bracket and still need some advice! It's feeling like all the information I find out there is either geared towards new grads or experienced nurses. I feel stuck in the middle, like i'm going through some awkward professional puberty....I've gotten enough experience to not feel like a deer in headlights on the reg in my current job but still feel (and am??) really new.

I work on the telemetry unit of a hospital in NJ. I have some experience working in the ICU or other critical care floors since we float there from time to time but have no experience with vented patients. My unit is crazy, (truly...people from other units will call out if they find out its there turn to float to us I definitely know I do not want to keep working where I'm at, but I'm hesitant to blindly take a new full time spot in another hospital that I know nothing about.

It seems like nurses experiences and job satisfaction vary so much by the unit they work on... There are a few other big hospitals close with 401ks (boo 403bs), tuition reimbursement, and better pay, but I don't know anyone who works there to give me the real scoop on what its like to work there.

Part of me thinks I should just apply to a tele job at NJ hospitals with good benefits and tuition reimbursement options and then get to know the hospital and see if trying to transfer into the ICU would be a good next step for me, but another part is just like YOUR CURRENT JOB IS CRAZY, BUT THE CRAZY YOU KNOW IS BETTER THAN THE UNKNOWN.

Sorry for the ramblings of this newish nurse, I"m just stressed and confused. If anyone has any general advice, or specifics about NJ hospitals....all are appreciated.