questions

1) Most more advanced nursing jobs (e.g., Cath. Lab, E.D., ICU, PACU) require at least one to two years of Acute Care nursing experience. I am interested in working in the inpatient rehabilitation unit but have been told that inpatient rehabilitation is not an acute care setting. If I choose to make the rehab. department my first nursing experience will I be limiting myself in the amount and type of opportunities for growth and ability to move from one discipline to another? Yes and No. It is possible to move to an acute care setting (hospital), but it will probably be more difficult to get a sought out position in the hospital ICU/PACU/Cath Lab without hospital experience.

2) I also have a comment/ question about transitioning from a new graduate into a new registered nurse. From my readings I have the understanding that the new nurse must accept that she/he is "the new kid" and will be basically mistreated for the first few years while going through the learning and growing process. Is this true, one must just "take - it" for the first few years before becoming accepted by others and be considered a competent nurse? Mistreatment of new nurses is not norm in the hospital setting. You should not have the expectation of being mistreated or bullied as a new nurse.