Staff nurse hoping to get manager's perspective...

Fonenurse · Jan 9, 2006

It might be worth sitting down and doing a SWOT analysis - working out what your strengths and weaknesses are, as well as any opportunities you see coming up and any threats to your future career plans. This may give you an idea of what areas you would be best suited to.

Once you have done that, work out what were the reasons you left each place and what you have one about resolving those issues. This will help you once you are in an interview situation to be able to address any questions.

The thing to be wary of is making any further errors of judgement - the first few posts in your career may seem llike you finding your feet, but if you continue to change jobs every 6 months or so it may be perceived as an inability to commit or being able to do the job.

Good luck in your journey.

trixie · Jan 10, 2006

Perhaps contact a hospital and have them set up some job shadowing. Having worked L&D for 14 years, helping a friend vs. being a nurse on the unit are quite different.

I admire that you were able to recognize that you weren't satisfied with your positions. I have the utmost respect for nurses who can work long term in one job, but some are so unhappy that I wish they would recognize the fact that they need a job change!

Don't give up on finding your dream job, and there is a lot that goes into choosing a new staff nurse. Personality, willingness to learn and teach others, etc.

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 10, 2006

I agree strongly with what the other posters have said. You need to do some serious self-assessment before you try a 4th job. The experiences you had in nursing school were "supposed" to help you do that, but apparently did not in your case. You can't continue to explore the possibilities by taking jobs in various areas until you find the right fit without starting to "look like a flake" as you put it. Figure out what area of nursing you are willing to make a committment to, then stick with a job in that area for at least a year ... then, if necessary, switch to another job in that same realm of nursing.

It's concerning that you now think L&D might be for you based on 1 positive experience with a friend. That's not enough evidence upon which to base a major career decision. Have all of your career decisions been based on so little evidence/reasoning? If so, that might be your fundamental problem. Just because you have a couple of pleasant experiences with a field doesn't mean it would be a good career choice for you. Too many people make that mistake. Something catches their eye and suddenly they jump into a major committment without stopping to analyze it thoroughly. When they discover the negative aspects, they feel disillusioned and bitter because it didn't live up to their fantasies. (All jobs have negative aspects and you need to explore them thoroughly and be prepared to handle them. No job includes only the fun stuff.)

You need to dig deeper and, as a previous poster said, do a deep analyisis of your likes/dislikes, strenghts/weaknesses, etc. Then read about the different specialties and "talk" with people in them to find out what it is really like to work in those areas. Be brutally honest with yourself as you assess yourself and the various specialties. Then make a decision and seek a job there -- armed with what you learned from your decision-making process. Having done that rigorous process, you will have what you need to answer questions, etc. about yourself and your career choices, etc. You won't need "special tactics" to sell yourself because you will actually be the nurse they want to hire and you will be able to clearly articulate why you are the right nurse for them.

My post may have seemed a bit harsh ... and if it does, I am sorry for that. I applaud you for asking the question and trying to do things right this time. I just feel you need to take a different approach this time if you want to be successful. You need to do more deep thinking up front ... and rely less on trial and error in your approach to finding a job.

Also, the fact that you have continued to work ocassionally at the psych facility speaks well for you. And the fact that you went from there to a school setting shows some continuity in your interest in children. Highlighting that continuity as you interview etc. will help diminish the "job hopping" aspect of your career. Do you still have an interest in working with children/adolescence? Is that a foundation you can build on?

Good luck,

llg

jen42 · Jan 11, 2006

Thank you all! That is very good advice... you're right, I have been diving into things without researching properly. I just get so carried away and excited with the idea of doing something that I don't actually dig into the actual practice of it. I tend to do that in a lot of aspects of my life, which makes life interesting... but I need to stop doing it in my career.

I will sit down and try to do a rigorous self-analysis, perhaps during a school vacation when I have less on my mind, and start contacting managers to see who will let me shadow a nurse on their unit. Hopefully that won't be too difficult to set up.

I'd like to thank you all for your candor and good advice. Hopefully I will be able to find the right job for me!

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 12, 2006

I think you have a great attitude, jen42. Such a positive attitude and willingness to try a new approach should take you a long way.

Good luck to you ... and let us know what you decide.

Take care,

llg

Turk182 · Jan 15, 2006

As a manager, my first question would be how did you decide to go into such a specific type of nursing right out of school? What was your clinical experience like during school? Was there a field you liked particularly more than others?

I think you should consider going to a general medical surgical floor for at least a solid year. Get those basic skills down pat and the confidence that goes with them. You'll have many different types of patients and most units, whatever the specialty will want to know that you've done the basics.

I personally would not be too majorly concerned that you've changed jobs as much as you have - as long as your former employer would say you were eligible for re-hire, and there were not attendence or attitude issues. I would rather have a nurse, who doesn't yet have the confidence or skills, but who does have a positive attitude and who shows initiave, over the best and most competent nurse, any time. Skills are obtained with practice and the confidence will naturally follow the skills. Our profession needs nurses who care, who will provide the patient care they would expect to be provided for their family, and who have integrity. That is what is important.

Good luck in finding your niche- everyone has one!

jen42 · Apr 17, 2006

Quick Update-

Did a lot of job shadowing, and my experience in L&D was amazing. I loved the hospital, the nurses, and the experience from beginning to end- actually quite a hard labor, but it ended with a beautiful baby boy. I was able to speak with some RNs and higher-ups about what makes a good L&D nurse, and I think it's a good fit.

Only one hospital (the one I shadowed at) will take me without recent acute care experience, and it's going to be an uphill battle getting the job. All the others want me to have a year of med-surg, which I understand, but which terrifies me nonetheless (I've heard so many bad stories). We will see what happens.

Thanks for your advice, everyone! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.