Pinellas Graduate Nurse...what to do?

[thebirthoflove]

I am trying to figure out what the heck I want to do when I graduate (May 5th!). I had thought I wanted to work for Baycare, since I like that they are not-for-profit. St. Anthony's, specifically, because that's where I have done most of my clinicals and it's fairly close to my home. My intention when starting the nursing program was never really to be a bedside nurse. I wanted the RN credential, so I could further my education and eventually pursue midwifery (a natural, holistic, birth-center/homebirth type midwidery NOT necessarily hospital midwifery). Yet, after 18 months of nursing school and a family to support, it is becoming increasingly apparent, that as I pursue my BSN, I will need to get a job working as a nurse! I've pretty much made peace with that and I do think I will enjoy it if I find the right fit.

My opportunities are as follows:

1. Try to get in as a nurse resident through Baycare. They hire from within first and have very few openings for the program. The program is offered through most of the hospitals in this area, but I don't think we actually get much choice on which hospital or floor we end up working on and I am sure there is a commitment to work a certain amount of time.

2. I do have a contact at a Baycare hospital, St. Anthony's. She has made it clear that if I get 6 months of experience working in an independent rehab facility, she could get me right in on her floor at the hospital. However, the idea of working in a rehab is less than thrilling to me.

3. Then there's HCA...they pay less, are for-profit and most people tend not to like them. They have a massive nurse residency program throughout many local hospitals. It's a 13-week program. The first part of the program is like nursing school from what I understand...lectures, powerpoints, tests and simulations. The campus is a good 45 minutes to an hour from where I live. They pay you to be in the program (although, they pay less than once you are actually working) and then once you've completed the classroom component, you begin work with a preceptor at a local hospital. That contract commitment is for 2 years, though.

4. There's also the residency program at Florida Hospital in Tampa, but that's about an hour and 20 minutes from me. It looks like they pay about the same as HCA. I own my home and I have a kid in school, so relocating right now is not an option...and that's a lot of driving and missed time in transit!

Right now I am pretty much applying for everything and seeing what happens. Any ideas? What do you think you might do with these options?

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[veriteblesse]

I'd try to work for Baycare. I worked HCA as a new grad, and work for Baycare now, and there is a large difference in support and administration's priorities. Frankly put, HCA does not staff appropriately. Baycare is by far the better company, imo. The nurse resident position would be nice, but it is hard to get into, at least it was for me--I applied to a dozen different nurse residency positions after I got my license and never even got an interview. If you've got a spot in a rehab facility, and you and the management are both clear that this is a path into acute care for you, I'd take it.