Peds office vs hospital...conflicted!

[snappycindy]

Hello! I am a recent grad and just passed my boards....officially an RN!

I went into school with a strong desire to work in Maternal/child health, but kept an open mind. Now that I've graduated, I still have that desire. (Not really at all interested in adult nursing, unless its ob/gyn.) Just like everyone else, my instructors encouraged us to get our BSNs and a year of med-surg experience.

I plan to start my BSN this spring while I work. I recently had two job interviews....one in a hospital setting, nights, probably on a respiratory/med-surg floor. The other is in a very busy, large peds office as a triage nurse, no evenings, Sundays, or major holidays. The second being more appealing to me and in my field of interest.

Here's my dilemma....would I be killing any hopes of getting a hospital job in peds or mother/baby in the future if my first experience is in a dr office? Does having a BSN vs. ADN with dr office experience make a difference if I want to go into a hospital setting?

TIA for any and all advice!

[lhflanurseNP, APRN]

I don't believe so. My first job was in a general practice office in a small town, the second was a PACU nurse in a major city. I have bounced back and forth between hospitals and offices and find they are two different work environments. Hospitals are up to date and you don't get a lot of one-on-one time to develop a relationship with your patient while in the office setting it can be fast paced, but you develop that relationship. Moving on to your BSN...if you decide you want to stay in the clinical side, I wouldn't push for that right away. If your desire is to become a NP down the line, then by all means go for it.

[snappycindy]

I also forgot to mention that the starting pay is the same per hour for either job. And, unfortunately, I live in an area with limited choices for peds units in a hospital setting. The ones we do have either want entry level nurses to have their BSN or are not within reasonable driving distance.

[dansamy]

I'd take the peds job.

[~PedsRN~, BSN, RN]

You will lose a certain amount of nursing skills working triage in an office... we have a couple of nurses on the floor that were clinic nurses prior to hospital nurses, and they are oriented like new grads. It's a seriously different pace and patient population. I do think it would be easier to get a job in hospital after getting some experience on a different floor.

And if you really need that "relationship" that the PP talked about, set your sights on a floor/hospital that serves a chronic patient population. I have great relationships with several children and their families, because I take care of them often.

Good luck with whatever you choose!