No clue what to do! New job, pregnant, etc.

[JulyRN80]

I am currently in my 4th month of a NICU internship. This was my dream job! My bubble started to burst on the very first day, when several nurses told me that they were all miserable there and that I'm likely going to want to go back to my first career. The morale on the unit is horrible and the staff is not very friendly or helpful. It feels like there's a black cloud hanging over the whole unit. I'm stuck on night shift (there is a waiting list to do to days and I'm not super close to the top) which I absolutely hate and find terribly depressing, especially since no one really talks to each other all night. I feel like maybe I'd be happier on a med surg floor where people are nice to each other! The kicker is that I recently found out that I am expecting, which was a total accident. I already have two little ones at home.

So here are my options: stick it out and try to ignore the ugliness and feeling like crap all the time until I've put in my one year which will be right around the time maternity leave ends, possibly try to find something PRN somewhere ASAP (how much experience does this usually take?), or accept a PRN offer to do pedi private duty home health that I've already received. I don't need to make a lot of money and I have benefits through my husband's job. My husband has no clue what to tell me and I'm afraid to talk to anyone at work. I need some words of wisdom!

[Marisette, BSN, RN]

It all depends on what you see and want for your future. I find there is a lot of negativity out there. You can't fall into it with the crowd. Think independently and ignore it. IF you want a career in a hospital in NICU and pediatrics, then it's definitely worth ignoring the negativity and getting the experience. Get a calendar and start the count down to a year.

The job in private duty home health sounds good also. However, once you do this, it will make going back to hospital work very difficult. You may not get hired due to lack of hospital experience. Your fortunate to have a spouse that carries insurance.

So where do you want your nursing career to go? Hospitals, Acute settings or Home health? I think it's better to pay your dues in the beginning of your career, pay your dues so to speak and gather good nursing skills so that you will have more options in the future.