Ready for first job!!

[wilsonra]

Hello everyone! Looking for a job as a new grad. Just want to get your opinion on your careers. What do you like or don't like about your job? (feel free to get things off your chest if need be) I want to hear about everything! I don't know where I fit in...

I am:

- good at physically demanding jobs

- trying to be better at multitasking

- some patience for crazy situations (worked on ICU/PCU as tech)

- not the most textbook-intelligent

- not squeamish at all

- learning to be more assertive (its tough being the new person! you don't want to make anyone mad)

[anh06005, MSN, APRN, NP]

So much of nursing is learning on the job. You're not ready to be independent ANYWHERE as a new grad. In nursing school you learn EVERYTHING but when you get a job you have a much more narrow focus so you're able to become proficient much more quickly (L&D, med surg, ortho, ICU, PACU, OR, etc.). In ER you can get a bit of everything but you still have quite a bit of learning on the job to do and in the ER you have a MD down the hall. Go with whatever you think you will enjoy. If you aren't sure perhaps med-surg so you can get a feel for a little bit of everything. Maybe cardiac is what you enjoy. Urology. GI. Only thing you won't really get is baby/moms and peds.

Anyway as for your list of unsure where you "fit-in" ortho is very physically demanding and pretty narrow focus. Typically not much goes wrong after hip or knee or shoulder replacements (though it can for sure) and some of them are actually elective-ish surgeries due to arthritis pain so the patient starts off pretty stable in many instances.

As I said before, though, go with whatever you enjoy and make it work. Do NOT think just because you didn't do well in your peds rotation it's not for you. If you enjoyed it now is your time to go for it and learn all you can in YOUR area of focus. NOT learning 17 chapters for a test next week.