First, thanks to all of you out there; you are such a wonderful resource! I will be graduating this June from an Accelerated BSN program. With the economic downturn, my job choices may be limited. In addtiton, there are 6 nursing schools in this area, so lots of new grads looking for jobs will make it harder to find a job here in NE FL. (especially since I'm about 25 years older than most of them! lol) I would consider relocating if I could find (1) a reasonable salary/cost of living, (2) education reimbursement - tuition/ loan forgiveness (3) MSN NP program nearby and reasonable $. I have done well in school and hope that maybe I can get some help in furthering my education. I know everyone says med-surg is the way to go for a new grad, and I will gladly take whatever I am offered, but in my clinical rotations, I have found ICU to be the most interesting (and challenging!). At this point, I am leaning toward eventually being a family practice NP. Since I am older, I need to be efficient and smart about my choices. So, I'm asking all you experienced smart nurses for your advice as to how to proceed. I would love to find a great hospital to learn nursing skills, and the opportunity to progress in my career in a nurturing environment. A progressive city/area would be the icing on the cake. I am so excited to begin my new career!Thoughts and advice are gratefully welcomed!
It is a cool city for older young at heart professionals! Rent can be pricey in the best spots though. Definitely check out the Mayland section here because there are informative threads on neighborhoods. I don't mind driving and I work overnights so I rarely have a problem with the commute. Rush hour traffic in DC can be murder depending on when/where you are going. Baltimore rush hour isn't that bad although I avoid the beltway from Catonsville to Towson during peak times if I can help it. You sure you want to leave your beautiful warm winters?
I love the beach, and will be sad to leave it , but I think the job prospects are dim here. Too many nursing schools with new grads! I may come back after I have some experience. I'm ready for a change, anyway....Speaking of warm winters, I just came from the beach- it was like a summer's day!
I would consider your longer term goals in thinking where to work as a new grad. ICU is challenging, but if your ultimate goal is primary care/FNP, then ICU may not be the best place for you to gain experience.
What do you think would be the best route to go for (1) family practice NP and (2) Psychiatric NP? I really want to get good nursing skills and try to keep them. I'm not sure how long I will be able to do bedside nursing.....(physically, I mean...)
What do you think would be the best route to go for (1) family practice NP and (2) Psychiatric NP? I really want to get good nursing skills and try to keep them. I'm not sure how long I will be able to do bedside nursing.....(physically, I mean...)
I would work for George Washington University Hospital and do their 100% online MSN. It's a very good school and their program is highly rated--they won some prestigious award recently. If you're an employee, you'd get 90% off the tuition. This seems doable while earning a decent living. GW also has a $4K retention bonus.
That's a great idea about the expectations in the formal acceptance. I have had experiences in other jobs where they assure you that certain conditions will be met to get you to take the job then, wham, guess what?! Unfortunately, there's not much recourse if there are no other job opportunities.....
I think most people want to do the right thing. Circumstances do get in the way sometimes, even often. And if there was a change of management, at your supervisor, or the person above them, things tend to get lost in the shuffle. If you remind people of their promises, many will do all they can to perform. You may not get everything, but you'll get most of it, and certainly more than you would if you had no written record.
What do you think would be the best route to go for (1) family practice NP and (2) Psychiatric NP? I really want to get good nursing skills and try to keep them. I'm not sure how long I will be able to do bedside nursing.....(physically, I mean...)
This is why I'm going to work toward my Psychiatric NP, hopefully I'll finish before I'm a million years old. :)
How cool is that?! What are you doing towards that end? I enjoyed my psych clinicals and have family members with psych issues, as well. Are you doing psych nursing now? I'm excited to talk to someone that is interested in this! Do you think I should try to get a job in a pysch unit right away, or get med/surg or other skills first? Thanks for your insights!
I'm working toward my BSN now and did take a psych job right out of school. There are definitely pros to doing the med surge thing first but for me I knew this is where I wanted to work and at my age don't anticipate making a major shift. Even before NS I knew that bedside nursing wouldn't be my cup of tea. Around here if I did decide to change it shouldn't be hard to find a position with a decent orientation. I know an ED nurse that did psych right out of school and decided to switch at around 50 years old and she does great. Definitely check out the psych nurse forum:
knewb
47 Posts
I love the beach, and will be sad to leave it
, but I think the job prospects are dim here. Too many nursing schools with new grads! I may come back after I have some experience. I'm ready for a change, anyway....Speaking of warm winters, I just came from the beach- it was like a summer's day!