Preceptorship ideas? I have it narrowed down

[guest454229]

Hello all,

The time has come for me to select a preceptorship location with my school and I seem to be having an issue with locking something definitive down. Of my rotations I enjoyed both the work and populations within the burn icu and picu/nicu the most. I selected these locations for preceptorships and am getting nearer the time in which i must choose one.

I enjoy the level of trauma that is involved with the burn icu as well as the pain management and overall physiology involved as there is much a nurse can offer and do to help (not to mention the psychosocial aspect of this unit).

However, the picu is a largely diverse population which requires different tactics for the different developmental groups for each age range. This allows me to work with infants-young adults and different disease processes that affect this population specifically.

Does anyone have any advice for choosing or has anyone had a similar dilemma with these choices? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[BostonFNP, APRN]

There are a few things to consider: what area do you want to eventually work in, do those areas hire any new grads, and do have the option for those placements or are they just requests?

In my opinion, med-surg and onc are the best units for preceptorship.

[Tarabara]

Do you have any other experience such as a CNA job or externship? I was lucky enough to have an externship in med-surg/oncology so I went with something I'd enjoy and did labor and delivery for my preceptorship. However, if you dont have that outside experience than I would go with the choice that'll give you better experience for finding a job which i think would be the burn icu as the picu/nicu doesnt hire new grads often.

[guest454229]

i volunteered in the nicu before going to nursing school for over a year (yes that is not job experience but i picked up a lot of tools/tricks) and i felt that both environments (burn/picu) are great learning environments...again, this is why i was having difficulty choosing one. In my area they BOTH had a lot of new grad hirings so i really dont know what to say here...i am torn, hence the post lol

[guest454229]

noted, thank you. as for an area i would like to work in that is the issue, i see myself doing both (i just dont think i have had enough time in one or the other to truly know) both areas do hire new grads and the request came down from my faculty as you need to pick one or the other, so i am at the point of placement between them...