Casey, RN

I went from mother/baby to NICU and I'm so glad I did. I LOVED being a mother/baby nurse and I do miss parts of it, but I really like the NICU. I like taking care of sick babies and seeing them improve, grow, and go home. I also like getting to know the families over a long period of time. It's definitely been an adjustment and I've had to re-learn so much that I forgot after working in mother/baby straight out of nursing school. There is definitely more critical thinking involved and it's been challenging. The one thing I will say about switching - I do not like the feeling of not knowing my job well, yet. I went from being a very knowledgable, proficient mother/baby nurse to feeling like a brand new nurse again. I say, go for it! If you end up not liking the NICU, you can always go back to postpartum. You may not have another opportunity to get into the NICU if you pass this one up. I suppose it depends on where you live or where you are willing to move, but it can be very difficult to get into the NICU. I feel like you'll never know if you dont' try. You might even be able to float to a postpartum unit while working in the NICU. Good luck with whatever you decide :-)

Thank you!!

I'm really interested in Olympia, but I wondered about it being hard to get a job there. Can anyone offer insight into what hospitals pay around there? You can PM me if you want want to post on here. The cost of living is a lot higher there, than where we are now, so I'm hoping the pay will be, too :)

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it!

My husband and I will be moving to JBLM next summer. I've been researching the area but haven't found exactly what I'm looking for. I have no idea which hospital I will be able to land a job at and I would like the opportunity to apply to more than one so I'm wondering where the best location would be to live, in order to be within about 30 minutes of multiple hospitals.

Thanks for the info. I'm not too worried about the size of the hospital - just that I can get a job in my speciality. :-) Do you know if the traffic from Puyallup would be bad - is there a way in around I-5 from that part of town?

My husband and I hope to relocate to Lewis-McChord next year and I've been doing a lot of research on the area. I'd like to live in an area that has multiple opportunities, with regards to hospitals. It looks like north of post would offer the most choices, but I hear the traffic is awful north of post. Olympia looks nice, but looks like there is only one big hospital in the area and traveling north to some of the other hospitals would put me traveling about an hour. Can anyone recommend a good area with the most options for me (I currently work postpartum/newborn nursery and would like to continue in that area). I know that limits my options for jobs, which is why I'd like to be near multiple hospitals. Schools are very important to us. My son currently attends private school because we don't live in a good district. I would like to move him to a good public school so that is really a top priority. Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!!

That would never happen on our unit!! We deliver over 3,000 babies a year!! We also end up working most of our call days.

Same here!

I can't speak to transferring from Medsurg to PP, but I currently work PP (first job out of nursing school) and I LOVE it!! If you can handle medsurg, you'd pick up PP in no time!! :-)

Cape Fear in Fayetteville hires new grads

I would contact a recruiter at Cape Fear. I know there are lots of openings so I would give someone a call to follow up on your application. I can't give any advice on Womack (as they don't hire new grads, which I am) but you might contact HR. Spectrum Healthcare also does contracting with Womack. I don't know if they have openings now but you can Google the company. Good luck! :)

Yay!! Congratulations!!! :)

Yeah, I wouldn't say anything until you get your results and I found it hard to believe the "trick" but hopefully it will put you at ease until you get your official ones. I'm sure you passed :-)

The "trick" worked for everyone I know who tried it :-)

I SOOOOO agree with you!!! I can't stand seeing people cough or sneeze into their hands. I always use my elbow and my 7 year old has been doing this for years. I saw Doc cover his cough with the chart in his hand - yuck!!!

I guess I got lucky. Our local hospital is in need of nurses and I was hired (in April) before graduation (in May) into the position I wanted. After reading a lot of posts on this forum, I feel very blessed. Most of my classmates were also hired either before graduation or shortly after.

This makes me sad to read that "postpartum nurses hardly do anything." I work my butt off, have started plenty of IV's, done multiple blood draws, and provided a plethora of patient education and support. In addition, my floor takes care of antepartum patients. I LOVE my job and would definitely say that I do much more than "hardly anything." If you want to recommend one specialty over another, go for it, but, please, don't bad mouth another. I've learned SO MUCH on my floor. I wouldn't say there is "more" to learn in L&D, just a different type of stuff to learn.

Cape Fear in Fayetteville hired a ton of new grads this year :-)

What do you want to know?

So are u taking it tomorrow?

I wasn't able to precept on the floor I wanted to work on, but after I applied for the position, I hand walked my resume down to the manager and introduced myself. I got the interview and the job! :-) Good luck!!

I agree, there's really no good way to prepare. I'm in my first job - still orienting. If you are in a specialty or a certain type of floor you might brush up on that area, other than that, just be ready to work hard and like nyteshade said - ask questions :-) Good luck!!

I graduated May 12th and got my ATT on the 25th. I sent all my background stuff in before graduation and it was done prior to my graduation. It all updated on the website as it was completed.