Should I take this job?

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

So I'm 4 weeks away from having one year of medsurg/oncology floor experience, & an opportunity has come up for me to work at a cancer clinic.

Right now I work nights; three 12hr shifts, & I love that part but my job is really stressful. I'm still a new nurse & I'm already charge and precepting newer nurses; it's a lot to handle. My job is also only 15min away.

My ultimate goal is to be an oncology nurse but I don't know if this is the job for me. It's 40 min away & I would be working 5 weekdays and 8 hr shifts. How do I determine if I should take this job? The pay might also be less...but I really want to work with cancer patients.

Sincerely,

Frustrated Newbie

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Dear Frustrated Newbie,

You said the following:

• Your goal is to be an oncology nurse
  
• You have an opportunity to be an oncology nurse
  
• You would be going from 12 hour shifts to 8 hour shifts; from nights to days
  
• You'd have weekends off
  
• Your commute time is going to increase
  

All of those are just equal items on a bullet list until you assign weight to each one. Only you can decide how important it is for you to have weekends off, for example.

I will say two of your sentences struck me as having feeling: My job is stressful...it's a lot to handle” and I really want to work with cancer patients”

Whenever I've made a big life decision, I look back and realize that I knew the answer all along (I know, hindsight, right?) It's a matter of quieting my fears, following my instincts, and paying attention to signs, such as open doors of opportunity.

It also helps to talk it out with people who know you best and love you- and take what they say under consideration. From your letter, I'd say you have a heart for oncology patients.

Very best wishes to you,

Nurse Beth

[msnorth]

I ended up turning the job down. I was too conflicted about the 80 mi round trip 5x a week, & in my interview was told I would be mixing my chemo as well which made me uncomfortable. Since then turned down another oncology clinic job due to they were looking for a one-woman show. Right now I'm in the process of getting a job at another, bigger hospital on their oncology floor where I would be working mostly with oncology pts versus now where I work with mostly med/surg pts. Hope this all works out! Thanks for your advice :)

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Glad you made the right decision for you. It sounds like a great choice. In a big hospital you'll have lots of support.

Btw, yikes! on mixing chemo! Double yikes!