secondfiddle

Yes, I am aware that most home care agencies (if not all) will not take new grads. And I do agree with that policy - it wouldn't be safe to send new people out in the field alone. However, this is what I'm talking about - it seems that you need to have a couple of years of med/surg to do just about anything. At 30 years old and having spent 7+ years in school (undergraduate plus the ADN now), I really don't want to waste too much more time doing something with my life that I don't enjoy at least somewhat.

I'm graduating from my ADN program in about 6 weeks. I passed through with flying colors - 4.00 GPA and excellent recommendations from my instructors. I was a "returning" student, 30 y/o, have a previous bachelor's degree. Problem is, I am not too excited about my prospects upon graduation. My program was in a rural area and all of our clinical experiences were in the same community hospital. I was also a nurse extern at this hospital while in school on med/surg/telemetry (basically an aide). I did my preceptorship on another med/surg floor at this same hospital with some orthopedics. I have come to the realization that I REALLY hate working med/surg. I learned a lot on my preceptorship from a clinical standpoint, but I truly cannot imagine myself working as a floor nurse in that capacity. I hate the work, the stress, the patient population, and just know I would be miserable there. This was not what I envisioned doing in nursing - I guess I had my head in the sand. To complicate things, I am also pregnant with my first child and plan to stay home until after the birth and I feel comfortable returning (probably 4-6 mos.). When I am ready to return to work as a new grad, I am deathly worried that there will be nothing for me that I can stand. Most of my experience has been in med/surg, which I fear will pidgeonhole me in there. When I decided to go to nursing school, I thought the options were vast. I kind of saw myself working in a clinic or doctor's office setting, or some kind of outpatient surgery. L&D might be an option, but going into school I thought that would be a ridiculous choice for me as I had never been pregnant. It seems now like the options are so much more limiting for a new graduate. Anybody have advice for me, experiences to share? I am so worried that I've just wasted the last 2 years of my life (I know that sounds dramatic, but the thought has crossed my mind...)

jov, thanks for the advice! I agree with what you said, and that has actually been my decision - I have an interview coming up next week. I am going to interview as I would have normally and give myself a chance. I guess the question to myself will be whether I decide I want to take the job when they send out offers. AND whether I should tell them of my situation at that time (when I've already been offered the job). My husband and I are now sort of leaning toward me not working at all until after the baby is born, so I'm wondering if would be possible to defer a job offer when, and if I get one. This is such a confusing situation - I have to say that it takes a lot of the happiness out of the pregnancy for me (Doesn't help that I'm nauseous 24/7).

RN Amanda, did you go back full time after the baby was born? How long did you stay home before you returned? If you did return full time, how did it work out? I figure I have no chance of getting hired part-time for my first job. Thanks for your input!

I took this part of your post as saying that MRSA could negatively affect the fetus - the use of "fetus" sounded to me like you were talking about effects MRSA could have while the baby was still developing inside the womb as opposed to something that would occur after it was born. I'm sorry if I misunderstood.

Thanks, everyone for the replies so far. Just to clarify, whatever my decision turns out to be, I would NOT postpone the NCLEX until after the baby. I'd probably just take an extra month or so after graduation to brush up on the studying as there would be no rush if I wasn't needing a job ASAP. It is interesting that most of you feel that nondisclosure isn't a great idea, because I have been feeling the same way. I would think that it would just create conflict later on when the truth came out if they hired me not knowing. I'd rather just be straightforward and tell them when I'm due and that I'd ideally like to come back part-time afterward - but I fear that they won't hire me because of the part-time part. As for the health of the developing fetus, I wanted to add also for other pregnant people who might read this - I agree that there are some patients a pregnant person would want to avoid (shingles patients, for example), but that MRSA itself is NOT a teratogen. There would be a risk that a mother colonized with MRSA could acquire a resistant infection and even possibly that the new baby could develop one - similar to the risk anyone colonized with MRSA would face undergoing invasive procedures where skin damage might occur. Just don't want any preggies to freak out about dealing with MRSA people - it can't cause the fetus to have 3 heads. :)

I'm graduating from my ADN progam in May, and I'm 7 weeks pregnant right now. This is my first pregnancy and was quite the surprise, but we are happy (despite the somewhat bad timing!) I was planning on trying to get a year of nursing under my belt before getting PG. I am trying to figure out the best way to approach taking a job after school. I am due on Sept. 25. Although money would be a bit tight, we could have me stay home and study for boards and start work after I have the baby and feel ready to start working. Or, I could take a job right away and try to get 3-4 months of experience under my belt before the baby assuming all is healthy in the later stages of this pregnancy. The clincher is that I do not want to return to work full-time once I have the baby. I am trying to decide if I should take interviews and mention nothing about the pregnancy (I am not showing, of course) - this is the suggestion of my nursing instructors. Or, whether I should be open about it and tell employers that I would like to return part-time or PRN after the baby. OR, whether I should just postpone work entirely until I pop this thing out! My fear there is that I'll technically be a new grad then and I'm sure will be expected to work full-time for at least 3-6 mos. Any suggestions on this topic would be great - especially from those who may have been in this situation or have friends who have. Thank you!

Hi everybody. I'm not a new grad yet but starting to plan - I graduate from my ADN program in May. I have been working as an extern on the Med/Tele (essentially a CNA) for the past year at the local community hospital where I will most likely seek employment upon graduation. For better or for worse, I'm doing my preceptorship in the ICU which is a medical (not trauma) ICU. I'm not sure that was the right decision, but our program has not exposed us to very many clinical areas and I had to choose something. Here's the problem: the longer I work on the Med/Tele floor, the more I realize that I am going to be very unhappy working there. I could suck it up for a year or so to get the experience, but it isn't going to be a fun year. I just don't like the work atmosphere, the patient population (many very sick total care geriatrics) and I just don't feel "at home" there. It seems to be a high-stress area for the nurses without being fast-paced like the ER. I am wondering what my options are as a new-grad for employment. I don't want to dread my job, but us it best to just suck it up with Med/Surg to open the door to other areas later? Or, are there other possibilities I should look into for my first job? I felt that the ER would be too much for me as a new grad, and I did not like the OR. Thanks in advance.

Thank you so much for the replies. They confirmed my gut feeling that I should just start out in med-surg given my situation (also not a bad idea regardless to get that broad experience, I think). I want to clarify, though, that I don't plan to start nursing and then "stay home and have babies" as one poster seemed to think. Being a stay-at-home mom is really my worst nightmare - I definitely want to return to work as soon as it is healthy and comfortable to do so. Depending on how I feel, I may want to come back part time for a while, but I'm going to play that by ear. Thanks again :)

Here's my situation: I'm an ADN student graduating in May. I'm 29 years old and currently work as an extern (pretty much a CNA) on the tele floor of a community hospital. I plan to stay at this hospital when I graduate. I have always been interested in ER nursing, but we only get 1 day in the ER to observe as students so it's been hard to make a judgement call based on this limited time. This is a "second career" for me, so I am still learning basic patient care from scratch, but I do consider my critical thinking skills to be strong. I'm trying to decide whether to do my preceptorship in the ER and try to get hired there upon graduation, or do my preceptorship in ICU or general tele and get hired on the floor where I currently work. The monkey wrench in this situation is that my husband and I want to have a baby (our first) this year. I know, sounds crazy trying to do this as a first-year nurse, but many factors have weighed into our decision and we feel that now is the right time. I am wondering which choice might be easier on me considering our plans. I have more familiarity with the tele floor, but it is certainly not an easy place to work either. Regarding the ER, it is a community hospital as I said, so serious traumas get flown out. Although I ultimately see myself in the ER, I wonder if given my situation it might be best to get the general med-surg experience while I deal with a pregnancy and then head to ER when I have more experience. I am trying to find a balance for what is best for my family, nursing career, and mental health :chuckle, which makes for a tough decision. But any advice and input would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance. :)

Indy, thanks! Nah, I know 30 isn't old in any sense! My sister is 36 and due any day now with her first baby (however, I would not wait until my mid-30's by choice). I don't have any health problems now. I just got to thinking that it is more ideal from a health & fertility standpoint to have one sooner than later, and we have been married for 6 years (hubby is almost 34). At first I was thinking that being pregnant in school then taking a short break before beginning my first job to have a baby (if I had lucky timing) would be an idea. Like I said, the folks on the student board heavily warned against it, so I was thinking of going off the pill as soon as I graduate instead. That way I'd be likely to get a year of experience under my belt before having a baby. I am just concerned that being pregnant during my first year as a nurse might be extremely difficult. Financially, yes we could handle 3-6 months of me not working if needed. But we do need me to be able to return to work eventually, at least part time.

I've posted over on the student nurse forum about my family planning - hubby and I were originally thinking about TTC for the first time in the late summer or fall (I graduate from my ADN program in May 2007). However, almost everyone responded with a resounding NO (don't get until school is over). However, I will be 29 by the time I graduate, so I won't want to wait too much longer for my first. So I am considering TTC once I graduate and pass the boards. However, I am concerned that being pregnant as a first year nurse will possibly be worse than being so in school. We only have 6-7 hour clinicals 2x a week and the school work has not been difficult for me thus far. I'm much more worried about transitioning into being a "real nurse" for the first time. However, if I wait until I'm comfortable in my job, I am concerned that I will be pushing my age further than I would ideally like. Anybody have experiences/advice to share on the topic? Thanks for listening!

Thanks, Suzanne4 - that's exactly what I needed to know. I'll head to the hospital for my first year. Thanks for the advice!

I'm in an ADN program, with a previous unrelated Bachelor's degree. I'm graduating in spring of '07. I am very interested in oncology nursing, as my dad is an oncologist and I find the field a fascinating one. There is a new cancer center breaking ground about a mile from my house that is affiliated with the hospital, but is a separate entity (outpatient). I would love to look into starting my career there, but wonder if would be possible as a new grad without working in a hospital at all. Any ideas or thoughts? Thanks!

Hey guys, Thanks for the replies! Very interesting to see the diversity in what keeps you going as nurses. Another question though as I see a couple of you were nurse externs while in school - did they pay you for that? My local hospital offers an extern program starting in the summer after the first ADN year, and I was wondering whether it was likely a volunteer position or whether they would pay a little.