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Hello everyone! I have been working as an RN for about 10 months now working part time temp in a medicine unit in Barrie. I guess I can say that medicine is not really my forte and would like to get into more of a specialty area. I am doing my CC1 (which I find very interesting!), ACLS and TNCC. Since I am only temp, I have been applying for the past month for jobs so I won't be unemployed by Feb. So far, it looks like filling out endless applications have paid off and I just had 2 job offers. One is for a temp part time in medicine in Toronto (scarborough hospital) and one is for a permanent part time in surgery in Barrie (in RVH). Now, I am a city girl and I would really like to move back to Toronto but I do want the experience in surgery. The position in Barrie (surgery) is permanent and I would love to have experience in surgery including a step down unit. However, I don't know if there will be any opportunities in this hospital since they have been on a hiring freeze, which means I don't know if I can get a full time line anytime soon and I really don't want to go up more north to find a supplemental job so I can get more hours. The position in Toronto is temp but I heard it's harder to get a job in the city. Perhaps if I take this one, I can stay for a bit in this unit and apply somewhere else after a few months? I want to get out of medicine but I guess a job is a job. I'm hoping maybe it would be easier to transition to a full time line eventually, or maybe I can apply internally to another unit? I don't know if being in a hospital in the city (specifically the scarborough hospital) would mean I can pick up more shifts. I feel like this might be a case of location vs. experience. I would love to go back to the city but I really want the experience that the surgery floor will give me. Any thoughts??

yeah I was thinking about that.. Just wasn't sure if I need the requirements first, or if I can get hired first then get my certifications (hoping the hospital would at least help me get them). Good luck with your (maybe) future application in a hospital! :)

I really like the idea of being in a float-hopefully an opportunity comes up within my hospital in the near future!

Daisy_08, does that mean for me to apply to another area, I dont necessarily need to have these courses done?

Joanna73, I agree with you as well. I could be in a great specialty but I might hate my job because of the people I work with. I just wish I have a direction that I can go to.. And I apologize for the multiple posts for replying, it's my first time here and not sure how to do things

Fiona59, I wonder if the hospitals in Ontario would do the same... I just don't know if other areas would hire me WITHOUT the education....

Thanks Nurse ABC! You made me think about this issue on a more positive light. I should definitely take this as a learning experience and see what aspects I like about it. I just don't know if all hospitals would pay for your education. Looking at job descriptions, it looks like they already want you to have certifications even before being considered for an interview. For example, for the hospital that I'm working in, you need critical care courses as an essential requirerment to be a float nurse.

Hello everyone! I graduated with a BScN, passed my CRNE, and now just about to start my first job as an RN in acute geriatrics unit in a hospital. The main reason why I took this job was because I just wanted to get some experience already and I got so sick of applying for months for a job. I do think that working in geriatrics is great since the bulk of our population will require geriatric care (baby boomers!) - but it's just not for me. Perhaps I will stay in this position for 1 year or so then I know I would have to move on. Now the problem is, I have absolutely no clue where I want to be in nursing. I could take courses and certifications but I don't know where to start! I was thinking of getting Critical Care Courses but I don't even know whether I want to be in Emerg or ICU-and let's face it, these courses are not cheap. I don't want to spend my time, energy and money taking courses that won't even need after all. Mental health is interesting..but as novice nurse, I think I would be more marketable when I have acquired my " acute nursing skills" first. It seems like Cardiac nurses are in demand nowadays but again, that would mean I would have to take Coronary care courses, which is very expensive and I'm not even sure if that's what I want. Community Nursing would be interesting as well or working in outpatient clinics. Someone did mention to me about the De Souza designation for nurses working in Oncology. This interested me simply because it is free and it is a great asset in a resume if I wanted to be in Palliative/Oncology care. Would taking this course help me in getting a job in Oncology/Palliative care in the future? Travel nursing would be interesting as well, but it seems like the demand is for Emerg and ICU nurses. (I am an RN in Ontario, Canada) Sorry for the long blurb ... I just want to know, how did you get to the area that you like? Did you just keep on changing areas/units until you found what you love? What steps did you take going from one area of nursing to the other? Any advice would be greatly appreciated :) p.s. I am 22 years old with no dependents. I currently work part-time so I guess that creates a great opportunity to study part time as well :)