Selecting a position/specialty unit training

JoniL&DRN · Jun 20, 2005

Just out if curiousity why is graduating in December a negative? I will graduate in December too (not this December though) and I also had thought it might be a plus since the schools in this area graduate less students in Dec than in May, thus leaving more open positions...

saminde · Jun 20, 2005

I have found that December hasn't been necessarily a GOOD time to graduate because most facilities have their new graduate programs geared towards June grads. They run specialty training/internship programs from June. So, if you want to go to any specialty area, you have to try to find a floor that will take you from January until June or else not work until June, which isn't really a possibility for me. It has just been limiting. I had thought that I'd have an advantage, since I wouldn't have to compete with as many other new grads, but that's not really how things have turned out in this area (Virginia/Western MD/Central PA). I'm not saying that I CAN'T get a job or anything, I just don't have as many options as a new graduate as people who graduate in June.

I started looking months ago at new grad internships because I have been looking for a perioperative one, and I'm finding that of about 8 hospitals... only 2 are possibilities for me as a December grad.

I'm sorry if this isn't very good news. If you want to go Med/Surg, I'm sure it's not a problem. There are tons of M/S jobs out there and they don't require internships.

Good luck!

Sara :)

JoniL&DRN · Jun 20, 2005

Thanks.. It makes sense really. I'm going to go into L&D since I'm going to do midwifery school (eventually). I don't know how they do their orienting. Right now there are a couple of L&D jobs listed for "RN I" which is the newly graduated nurse so hopefully that will be the case when I graduate!!!

Good luck to you! Whatever specialty you decide!! Can't wait to be where you are now!

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Jun 20, 2005

Hi, everyone! I am a student in a BSN program and will graduate in December (which I thought would be an advantage... and is actually a limiting factor). I wondered how you all have selected a specialty or chosen which floor to work on if you are in a hospital? Many of my school's clinicals are on the med/surg floor of the same hospital. I know what I don't like or what I'm not sure that I can handle... but after that, it's all fuzzy! I loved the OR experience that I had, and interviewed on a post-surg floor that I loved... but how do you really decide? I'm not sure what I'm going to want to do over the long term, other than to say that I want my MSN and to keep learning new skills and advancing. Many career choices seem to limit what you can do and where you can go. So far, I love the OR, the ED, PACU, and the post-surg unit. I'm completely fascinated by the nurse anesthetist, but didn't especially care for the ICU, which you need to have if you are going to apply to CRNA schools. I also have two very young children, so I will have a few years to work before I want to return for more education... and with a little experience. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I feel so lost!

Hi! I just graduated from a BSN program last month and will take NCLEX July 1st. I will be working on the med/surg/tele floor I did my senior student clinical practicum on. I know the unit really well and the nurses as well, and I loved being there for clinical. I've always loved med/surg and especially love taking care of cardiac patients and interpreting EKG strips, so that is why I knew where my first RN job would be. Like you, I plan to eventually go back and get my Master's in nursing, but not for a couple of years at least. I am also interested in other areas of nursing besides med/surg and tele such as OB, NICU. Also, I think I want to be a nurse practitioner one day and also teach college students one day. so I know how it feels to like everything! I guess you just have to go with your gut and ask what you like the very best and where you can see yourself being happy and go from there! good luck!

-Christine

Kristen_RN · Jun 21, 2005

I just graduated from an ADN program in May and will sit for my NCLEX tomorrow (Yikes! Why am I posting tonight?). Anyway. Most of our clinicals were on med./surg. floors, which I knew from the beginning I hated. We did mini rotations through ohter units, but it was hardly enough for a person make a decision on. I thought that I wanted L&D, but since I've graduated, I've changed my mind. Here's what helped me make up my mind: I worked as a Nurse Extern (basically, a glorified tech. with almost as many privileges as an RN - but not the pay) in the ER of a busy Dallas hospital. I would recommend seeing if any facilities near you offer an externship. Also, my ER offers "observation" days. Basically, they let you come and be a fly on the wall for as many days as you want to, to kind of see what goes on. Hope this helps!