Potential dream job AFTER I started orientation (beware, really long)

shoegalRN, RN · Apr 20, 2011

Really, I would be worried to be starting on a brand new unit where all my co-workers (or most of them) are gonna be new grads. That's like the blind leading the blind. I surely hope that manager is planning on staffing that unit with some experienced nurses as well.

If you are passionate about L&D, that's where I would apply. You are only in week 2 of your orientation. The hospital can fire you for anything at any moment during the orientation and not think twice about it. If you get the job, give a two weeks notice and then move on.

Rookie12 · Apr 20, 2011

Apply for the job, and if you get it take it!! you have to look out for yourself and follow your dreams! You won't be the first person to leave during orientation, and you certainly won't be the last. When the hospital has to "downsize" in this economy and let people go, do you think they think twice? Don't mention anything till you hear about the L&D job, then kindly offer your 2 weeks. Best of luck and I hope you get the job!

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Apr 20, 2011

Go after the new job. Jobs in L&D are hard to come by from everything I hear, so you might not get as good an opportunity again any time soon. Cut your losses (and your current employers) and take the L&D job if you get it.

RNDreamer · Apr 21, 2011

If I got an offer for my dream job, I would leave current job without thinking twice.

But that's just me.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2011

There is no reason that you shouldn't apply for this L&D job and see what happens. You don't have to tell your current employer and you can specify that they do not contact them for a reference. If you get hired, then you can weigh the benefits, salary, etc. You have only been on orientation for a few weeks, not a few months, you the hospitals investments are rather low and there are plenty of other nurses who will be willing to fill that position. You letter of resignation should state: "I appreciate the opportunities that I have been given in this organization, however I don't believe I am a good fit for this position." Don't mention the other job at all. In nursing, it's easy to get burnt out- you'll be happier in a specialty you love.

Ashley

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 21, 2011

op: i understand your concerns, but bedside nursing is a different beast. i agree with the others, if given an opportunity and a solid reference for a dream job, i would accept the new job.

a unit full of new grads? i do not know why this is the case.... i suspect that your manager is crazy and/or fears supervising experienced nurses.

you are on probation, correct? at any time your employer can get rid of you with short notice (see many posts of nurses being called at home in bed and being told he/she no longer has a job) and you can leave with little to no notice. therefore, in no way are you obligated to stay any longer than the start date you are given by a new job. gl! :up:

WIN007 · Apr 21, 2011

Hi everyone,
I want to preface this post by saying that I know I will probably come across as incredibly ungrateful, particularly in the current job market...trust me, I wouldn't be posting this if I wasn't incredibly conflicted. And I apologize for rambling...I tend to do that when I'm really stressed out
First, some background information:
I graduated with my BSN last December, and took/passed the N-CLEX in February. The specialty I've always been enamored with is women's health (mainly L&D, but I love general gynecology as well) - I really want to go to grad school as soon as possible so I can complete my master's and become a nurse-midwife. In addition to my OB rotation, I did my management and capstone clinicals on labor and delivery units. Of course, I know L&D positions are incredibly hard to come by, especially for new grads - most of the hospitals around me who had OB positions posted would write "NEW GRADS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION!!!!" (seriously, all caps/exclamation points and everything...talk about discouraging!). Since I knew going straight to grad school wasn't a choice (at least, not if I wanted to be able to afford rent/food while in school!), I applied on units that were hiring new grads (you know, all two of them...sorry, I told you I ramble).
The situation:
I was incredibly lucky, and after a month of hearing absolutely nothing (I count those "we appreciate your interest but have chosen someone with more experience for the position" e-mails in the "nothing" category), I landed an interview - and got an offer! It's not related to OB at all, but it still sounded like an amazing opportunity: it's for the first PCU at a major downtown hospital, and the unit will be opening in a couple months. So, not only can I pay rent now (hooray!), but I'll have the chance to be part of the birth of a unit, which seems to be an incredibly rare and exciting thing to be a part of. I accepted the job, and started orientation the week after - I'm now on week 2.
The thing that makes me at night:
So, a few days ago, my capstone instructor called to let me know that she will be leaving her position as an RN to become the L&D clinical instructor at her hospital...and she wants to make sure I apply for her position, because the manager will be posting it soon. I told her I had already accepted a position and was on orientation, and would feel awful leaving a job after only a few weeks/months, but she just kept telling me she would let me know when it was posted. If she had just been telling me that another nurse quit and a position would be open, I could easily let it go and stay where I am - but seriously. She is trying to make sure that I get HER position - what an incredible honor to have your mentor recommend you for her own job!
In addition: now that I'm on orientation, I'm finding out a little more about the patient population of our unit, and it turns out the nurse recruiter didn't quite know what she was talking about. She made it sound like we would be getting the patients that were stable enough to get out of critical care, but too complex for med-surg - and now it sounds like most of our patients will be either bariatric or going through withdrawal.
The conflicting voices that I can't get out of my head:
I have no idea what to do - I keep going over the pros and cons of both in my head. On the one hand, I know how disrespectful it would be to leave my position for another one; I would be wasting all of the money they have put into my hiring/training process, and I'm not even on the unit yet. It would also be really unfair to the manager who's trying to put together a unit (and I guess other new grads, but honestly, most of us who have been hired on the unit ARE new grads and she wants to hire plenty more). Also, the hospital I'm at right now is a HUGE health system in my state, and they're getting even bigger - I don't want to be "blacklisted" from the organization, particularly because they own most of the hospitals in the state that employ nurse-midwives. Finally, even though my benefits are kind of crappy at my current hospital, the L&D job would be at a county hospital that mostly serves the local immigrant population and those on Medicaid - which is actually the population I prefer, but I've been told the insurance they offer is pretty bad.
But on the other hand...nursing dream job aside, I never saw myself staying on this unit for that long anyway. I told myself I would stay at least a year, but now I keep wondering if that would be an even bigger slap in the face to them: they spend $60,000+ to train me, and I leave before 2013? Also, I really DO want to go to grad school in the near future - I turn 23 next week, and unless I love L&D nursing so much that I truly can't bring myself to leave it (even to further my education), I would really like to be a practicing CNM before I'm 30. I need as much experience as I can get. And crappy insurance, a probable pay cut, and worse working conditions aside...I would be doing the specialty I'm passionate about, the thing that got me into nursing in the first place!
I asked my preceptor about working there per diem on the weekends, but she said they always hire really experienced people for those positions (which makes sense...it's hard to become an expert when you're just moonlighting a few times a month). I could just wait a year and then look for other L&D positions, but everything I see requires 1-2 years of "recent experience in the specialty" - which makes it impossible to GET any experience in the specialty (I don't think being present for the "birth of a unit" counts as L&D experience!). Also, it's worth mentioning that I'm freaking out so much about whether I should even bother APPLYING for the L&D position - I don't want to offend my preceptor (and L&D contact/reference) by not applying, but I don't want to have my manager find out, lose my current job, and then not get hired at the other job, either.
So, that's it - if you actually read through the whole post, I commend you What would you do if you were in this position? Seasoned nurses - do you have any advice?
Thanks,
Nursing Noob

Do what's best for you. Apply and accept if offered and don't look back whatever happens berating yourself for your decision. Life is short and we don't often get to redo missed opportunities. Apologize to your CM for her inconvenience but firmly explain that this is where your heart is. She may be more understanding than you think. The unit isn't going to fold because a new nurse leaves.

tucsonash · Apr 27, 2011

I'm facing a similar situation right now (well **hopefully**). I've wanted to be a midwife as long as I've wanted to be a nurse. I worked for four years before/throughout nursing school as a PCT on postpartum/newborn nursery, so I have lots of experience (just not RN experience). I struggled in this horrible job market and looked for OB/L&D/postpartum jobs first. Nothing for months. No one would even meet with me. It was terrible. I eventually landed a job on a medical pulmonary ICU (end of Jan/beginning of Feb). I've been orienting there, constantly looking for a better fit for me. Then I found a great CNM program that might take me without experience. The only catch: it's super heavy on clinical hours and I wouldn't be able to work and go to school full time. IF I get in (I should find out next week!!!) I'll have to quit my job (that I'm three weeks away from being off orientation for). They've literally invested in me and an extra nurse to come to work for almost four months for nothing and I have intense guilt about this.

But the more I think about it and talk to others about it, the conclusion is this: DO WHAT YOU LOVE! I'm so excited at the prospect of going back to school to do something I LOVE SO MUCH! Be positive, go for the job. Future midwife love. :)

HappyrockRN · May 1, 2011

Thank you all for your replies/support!! I have to admit, it was NOT what I was expecting to hear - everyone I've asked around me has told me to stay with my current unit for at least 6-12 months. However, none of them are nurses (the only nurses I see all the time are the ones I'm working with, and I'm not about to ask them!!) :) I've decided I'll definitely apply for the L&D job - if I don't get it, at least my preceptor is still working with the unit, so she'll still be around to give me a good recommendation. If I'm still on my current unit in 6 months, I'll qualify for transferring to L&D in my hospital system - and if I stay at the hospital I'm at right now, I'll be working with (I think) the largest group of midwives in the state. Either way, I've decided to quit stressing about it, as either outcome will be a great one - I might just have to wait a little longer for one of them :)

And to tusconash: Future midwife hugs!!! :) I know how you feel about the whole going-back-to-school-immediately thing - all through nursing school I had planned on going straight to grad school, until about the middle of my 7th semester when I realized that there was no way I'd be able to pay for grad school (or things like rent and food) without getting rid of my current debt. And it's really hard when there are no jobs in your specialty, so you feel like the experience you ARE getting isn't even relevant...sigh If you can afford grad school right now, then go for it!!! However (and this advice is completely unsolicited, so you can feel free to ignore it), have you thought about taking your 'core 3' courses at a college near you (or maybe online?) while you work, and then transferring to the school you want to go to once you've finished those? That way you could be actively on your way to your midwifery career, but you wouldn't feel guilty about leaving your current unit.

Luv2care0907 · May 1, 2011

If you happen to work in my area and this were the case, I would highly advise you to stay put. That mega-hospital is running the show here and it is like pulling teeth trying to get in the door. But...once you're in, you're in. If there's a position for L&D, you will be first on the list. If you leave and find that same L&D position available and apply, hands down they won't hire you ever. I would further research the L&D you are applying to. How happy have people been working there and having a baby there? Because thatsnwhere you're going to be for a very long time. If the L&D from the mega-hospital has a great reputation, bide your time. Go to their L&D and introduce yourself.

Jolie, BSN · May 1, 2011

Hi everyone,
So, a few days ago, my capstone instructor called to let me know that she will be leaving her position as an RN to become the L&D clinical instructor at her hospital...and she wants to make sure I apply for her position, because the manager will be posting it soon. I told her I had already accepted a position and was on orientation, and would feel awful leaving a job after only a few weeks/months, but she just kept telling me she would let me know when it was posted. If she had just been telling me that another nurse quit and a position would be open, I could easily let it go and stay where I am - but seriously. She is trying to make sure that I get HER position - what an incredible honor to have your mentor recommend you for her own job!
So, that's it - if you actually read through the whole post, I commend you What would you do if you were in this position? Seasoned nurses - do you have any advice?
Thanks,
Nursing Noob

I'm not trying to be a Negative Nellie here, but think that a small dose of reality is warranted.

Yes, it is great that your mentor is recommending you for her job and wants you to know about it before it is posted. That says a lot about her impression of you.

Unfortunately, I doubt if it will matter a whit in terms of the manager and HR making a hiring decision. The job will probably be posted internally first, and is likely to generate much interest from internal candidates wishing to make a change. Once those candidates are considered, if the job is still open, experienced L&D nurses will be the next to be considered.

A new grad won't be a serious contender unless there are no other options to fill the position. Then, and only then, will your mentor's recommendation matter. And even then, it may not. The unit manager and HR are likely to make the decision without the input of staff, especially staff who are leaving the unit. I'm not saying this to be mean, It's just the way it is with hiring decisions.

Feel free to apply for any position that interests you. But in the meantime, keep up your attention and job performance in your current position, as it is most likely the job you will have for the next year or two.