Small vs large hospital - transitions?

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Hi,

I am attempting to reenter the workforce. I used to work at a smaller hospital in the ICU/CCU (no open heart, no angio). I am taking the nursing refresher course and am wondering what direction I want to take my career now that we have our family. I am wondering do I jump in with both feet and go to a larger hospital or go back to the smaller community hospital I worked at. I am trying to reinvent my career and find my niche but feel like I don't know what direction to take. What is the best way (without wasting a lot of time) to get there? I feel like there are so many options I don't know where to begin. I am trying to find nurses in various areas that will let me shadow them for a few days to help (although not tremendously successful at that yet) I am not sure if I will stayin the hospital setting or not. I have also toyed with going back for my Masters but don't know what area to specialize. My other concern is that I have 2 preschoolers and a sophomore in High School- I want to be realistic about my workload/stress level etc. Thanks -any advice would be great!

Carol

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Specializes in tele, oncology.

Personally, I enjoyed it when I switched to working at a larger hospital. I went from one where the average census was about 25 (in the whole house!) to one where the average census is 370-400 (we have 25 beds on our floor alone). It was quite a difference, but I got to get exposure to lots of stuff that I just didn't have the opportunity for at the smaller hospital.

I work tele/oncology and love it...it's more acute than a medical floor (been there done that) but I can transfer patients if they get too unstable, if the bed is available.

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

How old are you? What areas of nursing are you interested in? Depending on your energy level if you can go to the largest teaching hospital in your area, that is where you will learn the most in a quick period of time. If you want to have a more laid back experience (not necessarily easy but more interpersonal relationships) go to a smaller facility. I am 54 and I work at a small community hospital as charge on a med surg unit, which I like very much. But I got all of my experience in critical care and emergency nursing in VERY LARGE teaching hospitals and it has served me very well throughout my career.

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Hi Diane,

I'm 43 and I think I'm open to most areas (except psych). I have worked in ICU/CCU/telementry. I have also worked in Cardica rehab. I have thought about pediatrics and oncology and hospice as well. I'm not really sure which area I want to lean towards and if I wanted to go back to school, not sure what area of study to pursue either. I am a high energy person (LOL although with 2 preschoolers and a teenager),a little tired! I want to be realisitic but would love to find an area that is interesting but not overwhelming. I had left the units when secondary infertility hell took over and tried to reduce stress. It would just be nice to know where to focus. I know there are so many options. I wish there were more opportunities to shadow others in a variety of settings to get a feel for the different areas. - Thanks for writing. Any suggestions?

Carol

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

Carol, I used to allow nurses to shadow my nurses in the ED for a day when I was director of ED at Ben Taub in Houston. I think it really helped them to know if the ED was the type of job they were interested in. You might try seeing if you could volunteer in a hospital. I am not sure how you would be able to get your foot in the door unless you know someone. You could try randomly call the nurse managers of areas that you are interested in to see if they would allow you some observation time. Good luck. Diane

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