NICU or wait for peds job?

[gennn19, BSN, RN]

Hi everyone. This is partly hypothetical so bear with me...

I am a new grad RN in NYC where the job market is pretty tough. I've been looking for a job for a month & a half, which I know really isn't thaaaat long for NYC. My dream is to be a peds nurse (peds med surg to eventually go to PICU) but there are very scarce openings for peds in general. Here's where it gets tricky for me:

Hospital A is my dream hospital. It's a children's hospital that I've wanted to work at since I thought of becoming a RN. Most of the apps I send to this hospital system get flat out rejected. However an extended family member that has worked there for ~30 yrs recently spoke to 2 NMs about me. He got me their email addresses, but to my dismay they haven't replied to my emails. This was 2 weeks ago so I'm guessing their emails are very flooded by now to even remember to check/reply! He's very well liked there so he said if that doesn't work out he will talk to more NMs about me and hopefully someone will get back to me! This hospital is also a great commute from my apt.

Hospital B is an affiliate of where I had my externship last summer. They have a great nurse residency program and accept new grads into many specialty units. I recently got an email from a recruiter wanting to set up an interview with a NM. She asked me what units interested me and I told her peds (gen peds, NICU, PICU), but unfortunately there were no peds positions. However, a NICU position recently opened up here. I was thinking about emailing her and asking if the NICU was an option for me now and if she'd still be willing to interview me. NICU isn't my preferred peds subspecialty, but it's still peds. Besides I'd rather do anything than ADULT med-surg. This hospital really wants to give me an opportunity to go for the specialty of my choice if available. The commute for this hospital is significantly longer.

Both hospitals are amazing top teaching hospitals in NY and I'd be lucky to work in either one. I'm just torn whether I should continue to wait and see if my dream hospital connections get me in or if I should go ahead and inquire about the NICU job in hospital B before the position is filled.

This was really long so thank you everyone who took their time to reply! Neither option is a guarantee, but a girl's gotta do something!

[Wuzzie]

You should be emailing the nurse manager at the second hospital instead of posting here !!!!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Definitely start exploring the NICU opportunity. Don't risk leaving yourself with nothing. Who knows, maybe something peds will open up before you have to commit to the NICU job. And if not, as you say, NICU is a step closer to what you want. You might find that you love it ... and if you don't like it, it would be easier to transfer from NICU to peds ... that to try to get a peds job with only adult experience.

[gennn19, BSN, RN]

Thank you all for your input. I've emailed the NICU recruiter and am waiting for a response. My connection from my dream hospital also told me that one of the NMs said she will contact me soon!! I hope either of these lead somewhere. I'm just so excited to work as a nurse!

[AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

So what happened? Did you get an interview?

[gennn19, BSN, RN]

So what happened? Did you get an interview?

Unfortunately nothing yet. It's weird because the recruiters at Hospital B are usually very good at responding! I did hear back from one of the managers from Hospital A but it's basically another waiting game. I'm thinking of following up again with hospital B this week. Even if it's not for the NICU job and just an adult nursing job. At this point I just want a job!

[Wolf at the Door, BSN]

update?

[gennn19, BSN, RN]

On 3/28/2019 at 5:01 AM, Wolf at the Door said:

update?

The new grad job market here has really slapped me in the face! Unfortunately neither of the positions panned out but I've been scoring a few job interviews lately. Waiting to hear back. Will update if anything!

[Wolf at the Door, BSN]

I too wanted to start out in general Peds. Had a verbal job offer that never followed up with offer letter. While I was waiting an adult ICU contacted me and gave me an offer letter right after i hung the phone up. Since being in ICU has allowed me to get interviews in IR, L&D, PICU, NICU, various adult ICU, ER, PACU etc. Peds would NOT have opened those doors. Nicu surely won't either. Start applying to adult areas.

[gennn19, BSN, RN]

On 4/5/2019 at 5:13 AM, Wolf at the Door said:

I too wanted to start out in general Peds. Had a verbal job offer that never followed up with offer letter. While I was waiting an adult ICU contacted me and gave me an offer letter right after i hung the phone up. Since being in ICU has allowed me to get interviews in IR, L&D, PICU, NICU, various adult ICU, ER, PACU etc. Peds would NOT have opened those doors. Nicu surely won't either. Start applying to adult areas.

I totally agree. I've had a few interviews (not peds) but I'm waiting and taking whichever offer I get first, if any. I now understand that getting your foot in the door is what is important. Transferring can be done any time later and experience is experience! Thank you so much for your valuable input!

[Wolf at the Door, BSN]

Good luck. Forgot to add cath lab to that list.