Preceptorship is coming up

[aeris99]

I wanted to bounce some ideas around before I have to decide. I'm thinking about my preceptorship and weighing the options. We have a 3 month rotation. We work the schedule of our preceptor. I don't have any professional contacts that would be appropriate so that will be decided by the facility and my programs coordinator.

Location: Is it better to precept in a facility you'd like to work at? Which means, for me at least, closer to home and smaller in size, acuity etc.

Or precept in a facility where you will likely be exposed to at least a few uncommon conditions? This is a bit further away, mid-size, higher acuity.

I'm also debating about which unit to select as first choice. I would love to see what it's like working in an ER. But I realize that I may be just shadowing if can even get into an ER.

I don't believe I can get into ICU, though I would love that. I did get in one day during my first semester and really learned a lot.

Bah! Too many decisions need to be made with not enough information.

[blah_blah_blah]

My program didn't offer a preceptorship, but if I were you, I'd pick the hospital you want to work at. The state university's nursing program in my area does preceptorships and when I interviewed at the only children's hospital in the area (thus VERY hard to get into), the recruiter told me that they hire internally first, then they hire students that precepted at the hospital from said university, if they were a good student. It sucks for me since I didn't do a preceptorship, but I did get to shadow a couple nurse managers at this hospital and befriended one so I'm hopeful that I can still squeeze myself in =]

[Awesomocity0]

You might be equivocating the wrong things. I think the bigger, higher acuity hospital should be the one where you should aspire to want to work as well. They're more likely to hire new nurses/have residencies (and by the way, residencies are easier ways to get into specialty areas and be properly trained), and you're more likely to be hired if you work at one of these facilities. I had a residency at a large teaching hospital about fifty miles away from where I lived, and I became competent. And when I switched jobs, I got a phone call from every place I applied and had people bending over backwards to take me (I mean, the flexibility they showed in order to try to persuade me to come was very unexpected).

Your odds at getting a job at the bigger hospital are generally speaking better than at the smaller one. Play the numbers. Don't play ideal scenarios.

[aeris99]

You might be equivocating the wrong things. I think the bigger, higher acuity hospital should be the one where you should aspire to want to work as well. They're more likely to hire new nurses/have residencies (and by the way, residencies are easier ways to get into specialty areas and be properly trained), and you're more likely to be hired if you work at one of these facilities. I had a residency at a large teaching hospital about fifty miles away from where I lived, and I became competent. And when I switched jobs, I got a phone call from every place I applied and had people bending over backwards to take me (I mean, the flexibility they showed in order to try to persuade me to come was very unexpected).

Your odds at getting a job at the bigger hospital are generally speaking better than at the smaller one. Play the numbers. Don't play ideal scenarios.

Neither of these hospitals have official nurse residencies.

Also, I live in northern New England. Distance to clinical sites and work factor into the decision.