I am about to be a GN and have just been offered nurse residency positions in the NNICU and Labor and Delivery. The problem is, I absolutely love both of these areas, and the hospital that is offering them is known for having some of the best residency programs in the country. I currently work as a nurse extern in labor and delivery at a large county hospital, and that has allowed me to gain amazing experience and learn a lot about that area. Since I have more experience in that area, I am naturally more comfortable there, and thus it wouldn't be as hard for me to get into the hang of things and get comfortable if I accepted the residency in L&D. However, I am currently in my role transition clinical and I am in the NNICU for that, and the more I learn the more I love it as well. The hospital that is offereing the residency programs is extremely large and known for allowing people to get great exposure to a variety of things and keep you busy. I would ultimately like to cross-train in both areas. My careers goals/plans are to get a dual advanced practice degree as a certified nurse midwife/neonatal nurse practitioner. A few of the women that I work with have done this, and the knowledge and scope of practice that they have is amazing. I would like to be able to take care of mom and baby from conception to a couple of months post birth. When I toured the units, both places had such a comforting feeling, and were places that I could see myself enjoying. Any advice anyone could offer on making this decisison would be so greatly appreciated! I am so torn on where to start, and I am running out of time to make a decision. PLEASE HELP ME!!! WHERE IS A BETTER PLACE TO START IF YOU WANT TO DO BOTH? L&D OR NNICU? :confused:
Hmmmm...now I am leaning towards Parkland. I would want to get the most experience that I could. Plus if you have to train there anyway and you start to get comfortable I wouldn't want to leave. I really thought about what I would do and I think that when I am a graduate nurse that I want to push myself to get as much training then as I can since you are still on a learning curve.
Plus I know several nurses that work at Parkland that just LOVE it, so I think that I might give that a try.
I would say go with Parkland; their NNICU is HUGE, plus it is right by their labor and delivery department, so you would get exposure to that, and kind of see how everything relates to each other. You would get to deal with the post-partum moms and their babies. Plus, you would be able to easily transition in-house from NNICU to L&D. I don't know about Children's benefits, but Parkland's are pretty good, too.
Parkland's contract is really long IMO (with a 10k buyout!) and while I am not sure what Children's contract looks like, it will probably be less than Parkland! 2 1/2 years can be a really long time if you don't like your job or get along with the people that you work with!
Isn't it great to be going into a career with such opportunity?
Parkland's contract is really long IMO (with a 10k buyout!) and while I am not sure what Children's contract looks like, it will probably be less than Parkland! 2 1/2 years can be a really long time if you don't like your job or get along with the people that you work with!
Isn't it great to be going into a career with such opportunity?
Actually, after you complete your critical care residency at Parkland, you can go work in another area of the hospital as long as you work in the unit you were originally hired into for at least 6 (or something like that) months, without breaking your contract. This would actually be ideal for something like the OP wanted to do, like move from NICU to L&D. However, an L&D residency would probably call for another contract extension.
Besides, I love Parkland, and everyone else I know that works there loves it, too. I couldn't imagine wanting to go to work for any other place. There really isn't a better place for learning the ins and outs of critical care and L&D nursing in the metroplex, IMHO.
Well guys, just a quick update.... I officially turned down the position at childrens, and l&d at parkland. It was heartbreaking. This week I make my final decision about parkland's NNICU. I have one interview left on thursday, and I still have to tell my boss (where I am an extern) that I will not be working there when I graduate. This is going to be so hard!! I am 98% sure that Parkland's NNICU is where I'm headed, however, I am scared that I won't be good at NNICU nursing. (its a bit intimidating). Also, what I love about L&D is that you never know what can come through the door. Things can go from perfectly fine to an emergency at the drop of a dime, and I love the adrenaline rush that comes with that. I hope that I still am able to find that excitement with the NICU, and that I stay busy there (I HATE being bored!), but hopefully with Parkland having 107 bed NICU boredom wont be a problem. I am going to be so sad leaving the labor and delivery department that I work on now, however, the pay there is the worst out of all the hospitals in the area, and I have an unreal amount of loans to start paying off. Needless to say, its gonna be a hard and emotional week, so please keep me in your prayers. Gosh I never thought graduating would be so bittersweet! Thanks again for all your suggestions and encouragement guys! It has helped me more than ya'll will ever know!
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txnursingqt
292 Posts
Hmmmm...now I am leaning towards Parkland. I would want to get the most experience that I could. Plus if you have to train there anyway and you start to get comfortable I wouldn't want to leave. I really thought about what I would do and I think that when I am a graduate nurse that I want to push myself to get as much training then as I can since you are still on a learning curve.
Plus I know several nurses that work at Parkland that just LOVE it, so I think that I might give that a try.