Seeking advice- new grad in ED

[nursejess12]

Hi everyone! After 6 months of job hunting, I landed my first job in a level 1 trauma center at my local hospitals ED. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to learn and become a more knowledgeable nurse but my dream nursing job is to be in Labor and Delivery. So my question is how long should I stay in the ed before I start looking for a labor and delivery job? How many years is accecptable for it to not look like im leaving too soon?

[BloomNurseRN, ASN, BSN, RN]

Most places expect at least 6 months before employees look to transfer. I also look forward to working in L&D but I think working someplace like the ED or a med-surg floor for 2-3 years isn't a bad idea. It will give you a great base to build from when focusing on one specialty. Good luck and congrats!! :-)

[danggirl]

At least a year is probably "acceptable" but I would go more for 2 years. You will spend the first year really getting a grasp of real world nursing and the second year gaining a huge variety of experience. There will be plenty of opportunities to care for OB/GYN patients in the ED for issues related both to pregnancy and to other medical problems while pregnant. I think it will be a fabulous opportunity for you to learn about caring for pregnant women with additional medical problems that you will encounter in L&D such as hypertension and diabetes etc. Plus you will get so much more experience with just general medical stuff...IV's, medications, labs, time management...thinking on your feet. The other consideration for not leaving sooner than that is the nurse manager has invested a large sum of money in hiring and training you so you will want to build that bridge and give her/him some solid return on herhis investment. If there is an opening in the L&D area after you have been there for a while, perhaps you could start cross training to that specialty or split your time. Good luck to you whatever route you decide to take.