NICU to med-surg

[angel877977]

So I have been an RN for about a year now and was accepted into a new grad program for NICU. It was the first job offer I received and I jumped at the chance because I wanted to begin my career as an RN, as it was about a year after I graduated nursing school. While in nursing school, I was a CNA on a med-surg unit for about two years and I absolutely loved it. I didn't accept a job on that unit because I wanted to move out of state (which I did). Now working in the NICU for about a year, I hate it. I dread going into work sometimes. Especially knowing I can float to Peds/PICU and I had a terrible Peds experience in school. It also doesn't help that I live in an area with the majority of spanish speaking patients, and I don't speak spanish. This makes communicating difficult, as I need to use a translator on the unit or a computerized translator. I hate doing this because I feel you lose the connection with parents doing so. But I feel like since I started my career in NICU, I'm stuck. I have no experience working with adults as an RN, and going to med-surg I would have so much to learn. Are managers going to want to hire me knowing I only have CNA experience with adults? I have learned so much in the NICU but do not think it's for me at all. I'm not really sure what to do

[ED Nurse, RN]

I would just apply and see what happens. You have a year if experience and have learned plenty you can take to med surg with you. No use being miserable- med surg is tough though, even with CNA experience it's not the same as being the nurse. Don't quit your current job until securing a new one.

[RNperdiem, RN]

Do some homework before you make a move. Sometimes a nurse can be too busy escaping difficulties in one job that they can land in a worse situation.

I suspect part of stress is being a new nurse. You could have written the post and swapped NICU and med-surg around and the situation would probably be the same.

Shadow some nurses on med-surg. I was a CNA for years in med-surg, but being a nurse there was very different. When you are ready to make a move make sure it will not be a case of "same problems, different location".