Not Sure if I'm Ready to Leave the Nest

[jpeters84]

I have been one of the lucky new nurses who got my dream job soon after I graduated nursing school. I absolutely love where I work and what I do. I love the people that I work with. I work in an incredibly supportive environment and have some co-workers who have worked for my same unit for 20-30 years that are always helpful and full of knowledge and pearls of wisdom. And believe it or a not there is a really supportive administration at my current hospital. The problem being that I moved out of state for this job. The town where I know work and live is a conservative, religious city where people get married and settle down at an early age. There are literally no signle-young professionals and I'm single and in my early thirties. Also my floor does not get a steady stream of acquity and when we do it goes to the nurses with seniority. I really want to get my master's after I have at least five years of experience but at the rate that I'm getting exposed to acquity at my current hospital I feel like it will take me ten years to get the experience I need to be a good NP.

So after just over a year and a half I'm thinking it's time to leave the very comfortable nest at my current hospital and venture to a large city with a large academic hospital where I can get lots and lots of acquity and start dating again. The problem is I'm afraid that I will 1)get my butt kicked since I have it soo good here(not too crazy busy with lots of humble, helpful co-workers) 2) my co-workers won't be nearly as helpful and wonderful 3) I might end up hating my job from the stress 4) that I just won't cut it anywhere else 5) that it's too soon, I'm being impatient, and that I need to continue getting a solid foundation before I move on to a more demanding position 5) that I won't be considered a new grad if I move and I won't get the support that I might still need.

I'm not really sure what to do but I can't stop daydreaming about what hospitals I want to apply to and where I might live next. But then at work I realize just how good I have it and I become torn. Thoughts?

[Shelbster]

Well I'm still a nursing student, so I don't really know anything about the 'right' job yet. But if I were you, I'd go to the bigger city. I personally think that life is too short to sit where you're most comfortable and dream about 'what ifs'. Just go for them! If you can't stop daydreaming about it then it says that it's something that you really want to do. Don't wait until it's too late and regret not doing what your heart told you to do. Also think about if your current hospital would hire you back if you left and didn't like it. Plus there's gotta be more than just one really great hospital out there. Hopefully this helps

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

I know where you're coming from. I ADORE my job and my co-workers. It's a wonderful place to work. The problem? I don't have a full time position and, after a year, there isn't any indication that I will be able to move into one any time soon. My hospital keeps hiring "flex" employees who work "on call" rather than opening full time positions. Since I have a baby coming in September, it's really important that I have both a set work schedule and a guaranteed paycheck. But I truly have no desire to leave my current unit.

Sometimes, though, it's about the future, not about the present. It looks like I'll have to take the risk and sacrifice some of the benefits of working at my current job in exchange for the thing I need the most- a guaranteed position.