Chaetognath

mianders, I have now graduated (2 months ago) and now work in Atlanta at the Shepherd Center hospital (shepherd.org). It's relatively small hospital, so there's no IV team - just nurses with more or less IV experience. So I'll get plenty of practice, probably. I realize now that my desire to pursue a specialty has had more to do with trying to avoid the stress of being overwhelmed with the thousands of unfamiliar tasks and responsibilities faced by any new grad. Really, though, there's no healthy way around that - I just need to work through my first six months, then my second six months, then my second year, etc. Then later, after a healthy growth of varied experience (as everyone has reminded me), I will be more justified in choosing a speciality.

Hi, all. I graduate in May (BSN), but I've been surprised by an early job interview invitation. I've been invited by a recruiter to an interview at a spinal injury/acquired brain injury hospital I want to work at, but I since I hadn't expected to be interviewing this early, I'm rushing to be prepared for the interview. I'll be interviewed by the recruiter first. If that goes well, at a later time I will be interviewed by the nurse manager of the particular unit to which I hope to be assigned. I'll be searching the forums here for interview tips and experiences, but I invite you to point me to specific threads or stickies I've overlooked or sites that would help prepare me for my interview. In advance, thank you for your advice. - S

And thank you, too bettycat.

Thanks again, sbivrn. It's reassuring to receive advice from veteran RNs like you.

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Since first posting, I've spent some time with a PICC team, too. They, too, seemed highly satisfied with their work. What I'm seeing, though, is exactly what you pointed out in your post: I'll need a "few years of bedside nursing" first. I'm working on figuring out what's bothering me about my med-surg experiences, and I think it boils down to frustrating staffing ratios for both nurses and (especially) the PCTs that support them. I'm not afraid of experiencing the anxiety of being a novice and working extremely hard to become competent, but I am afraid of being asked to do more than is safely possible by one new nurse - or, as I'm seeing, with a veteran RN. Within the last week, I started considering a place that has excellent staffing ratios (just for starters), and bedside nursing looks a lot better from there.

Hello, all. I'm a male student nurse, 33 years old (2nd profession, etc.) and about to graduate in May, 07. Throughout school, most of my clinical experiences have been med-surg, which is what my school recommends for new graduates' first years as RNs. However, I've hardly ever felt like med-surg is a good fit for me. Perhaps it's just my ignorance and pre-graduation jitters, but I just can't see myself enjoying work as a med-surg nurse. That being said, I'm investigating other routes I could take as a new RN - and IV nursing has caught my eye. The few I've talked to at hospitals say they enjoy their independence and traveling all over the hospital. They've enjoyed honing a finite skill that is also a necessary service. But I'm curious about what others of you might have to say. What do you do as an IV nurse? Is IV nursing (whatever your particular kind) a realistic pursuit for a new grad? What do you like about about your work? In advance, thank you for sharing your opinions. - S