VAnurse13

I had exactly the same scenario happen to me last year. I stayed with the VA and I couldn't be any happier :) Which state is your VA in?

After long debates, our new VA will be 12s plus one 8 hr shift per pay period. However, as of now, this will only apply to the hospital part (inpatient & ER). The outpatient clinic side is mostly 5 x 8s...

I can very much relate to what you are going through: I was a VALOR as well and when I graduated, I had a job offer at a level 1 trauma hospital (ICU). That was over a year ago, and I must say that I was very tempted. However, I always wanted to be a VA nurse, so I decided to stay. Because the hospital's opening had been delayed (a lot), I ended up working my first year in the CLC while a lot of my peers from nursing school went on to work in PCUs, ERs, ICUs ect. Did I regret my decision? Absolutely not! During the last year, I worked hard to establish myself, participated in extra activities, and got the best out of my placement at the time. Now, the hospital is finally starting to open and I got my dream position! In fact, I will be part of opening up that very department! I Furthermore, most nurse managers who will start up the new hospital come from other VAs or outside hospitals and are used to 12 hour shifts. I honestly don't expect to have only 8 hour shifts in ANY hospital unit once things are up and running :) If you decide to go to the private sector, that's ok! Really, don't let anybody tell you what you should do. Follow your heart and work where it takes you. I can only speak for myself and sticking it out with the VA has been the right decision for me! I love the benefits, my veterans, and the VA has been good to me. Good luck :) I wanted to add to the other comment that, yes, having only CLC experience under your belt will make it difficult to land a job in critical care in the private sector or possibly an outside VA but where you are at, you are already a hospital employee (just like me) and the CLC is only a placeholder position. I am confident that you will be able to switch to critical care once the units have been established.