Hello NY ER Nurses! I'm a new graduate nurse who's been given TWO amazing opportunities. I've been offered positions at both a great, private hospital (Level 1 Trauma Center) and a renowned, public hospital (also Level 1 Trauma Center) in the ER and I don't know which one to take and would love some advice!
Things to consider:
Private-->Start off caring for inpatient patients who came through ER and are already admitted. This means I don't really get to be a "real" ER nurse until after a year or so, when I get to transition to ER. But, I get good med-surg training and a guaranteed ER staff position after a year. Kushy benefits and amazing salary. Nights position. Three month orientation.
Public-->No inpatient nursing. Immediately get to go into ER (with a 6 month training/orientation) Get to rotate through all parts of emergency department (Adult, Pediatric, Psych, AND TRAUMA ICU!! (which I'm really excited about because I want to eventually do critical care). Downsides are: I'm told that they're understaffed and nurses are STRESSED. This scares me. Will nurse/patient ratios be so high that I can't learn effectively? Or will the stress make me learn even more? Another negative is that the salary is significantly less because it's a state hospital vs. private. That doesn't concern me as much.
I want a place where I can learn a ton and get great exposure. But I don't want to hate my job. What do you think? I feel like I'll be babied at the private hospital and slowly move my way to trauma but at public hospital, I'll immediately be thrown to the wolves. I'm leaning toward public, but am nervous I'll be too overwhelmed, overworked to appreciate it. Let me know what you think!
