Starting out in an area you aren't interested in

flightnurse2b, LPN · Mar 4, 2009

i got my first job as a LPN in med/surg GI. i started as a paramedic, and ER/trauma is my first love, but i knew as a LPN that i would be lucky to get my foot in the door. so i took a job at a great hospital in GI, and i am glad i did. i have learned so much and it's just more knowledge to put under your belt. use any opportunity as a learning opportunity and be glad for it--with this economy, any extras on your resume can help you out!

good luck!

sunray12 · Mar 5, 2009

I'd take it. As others have said, you never know what you'll learn along the way. OP says she plans to be a NP. In my opinion a good NP should have a broad base of knowledge - i.e. in this situation s/he should be knowledgeable about mothers and newborns not "just newborns, mothers aren't my department". I don't want to be a new grad with no job so I will take whatever I can get and be happy for it. I'll worry about it not being just right later.

itsmyturn · Mar 5, 2009

Our hospital has the nurse your wanting to be...what is her title? Got to look that up. She is responsible for the cutting of the cord and 1st assessment of the baby right after it is born. Last time I talked to her, she was telling me that they had to be nurse practitioners. I thought what...she would sit there and watch the monitors and when it was time she would go.

cjcsoon2bnp, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 5, 2009

As a student myself, I can understand where the OP is coming from. She has a very specific idea of the kind of nurse she wants to be and that's great but she needs to keep her options open. I would like to be an ED/Trauma nurse and eventually go back to school to be an acute care NP to work in the ED but after thinking it over and speaking with an experienced nurse educator I realized that I would like to get some experience as a Med/Surg. nurse first to build up my knowledge base before I go to the ED. So while Med/Surg isn't my ultimate goal as a nurse it is going to be a part of my education base. With the economy being the way it is I want my education and experience to make me an asset that my employer can't afford to lose so if that means bulking up my experience with some Med/Surg time then so be it.

To the OP, good for you that you know what you want to do as a nurse but just try to keep all of your options open and remember to gain a general knowledge base to back up that specialty your pursuing. You never know, while your learning about the babies and the moms you may find that working with the moms might not be as bad as you thought. Keep your head up and your eyes on the prize (not to sound cliche.) Let us know how it goes, good luck!

!Chris :specs:

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 5, 2009

A So while Med/Surg isn't my ultimate goal as a nurse it is going to be a part of my education base. With the economy being the way it is I want my education and experience to make me an asset that my employer can't afford to lose so if that means bulking up my experience with some Med/Surg time then so be it.

Exactly!

I am graduating next month, and I just accepted a part time grad nurse position on nights on a med/surg unit.

My goal was oncology and hospice. but I know the skills I will learn and practice in med/surg will

benefit me throughout my career. I feel very fortunate to have found a position prior to graduation.

Out of my class of 45 graduating at the end of April, only 2 of us have found jobs. (I live in Michigan).

Like many other posters have stated, in this economy you may not get your dream job, nor

day shift work. If so, consider yourself very fortunate. :nurse:

Best,

Diane

rn/writer, RN · Mar 5, 2009

Just wondering if others have had this type of experience. I really want to be a nursery resource nurse - well I'm not sure if that's what it's called in all hospitals, but the nurse who goes to the deliveries to help with the babies. I think it's the coolest job ever. (I guess I should mention I'm still a student, graduating in 9 weeks). Anyway, I was told in order to have that job I first need to work in the NICU. So I am going to do my preceptorship in the NICU, starting next week. THEN I am told, in order to work in the NICU, I need to do mother-baby. I have to say, I am SO not interested in working with the moms - checking for lochia and massaging the fundus. Not to mention hormones and whatnot! So my thinking is, I will do what I need to do, but I'm just wondering if this is common, and if anyone has experience in working in an area they don't want to be working in!
Thanks for any advice/opinions/stories!

A few years back I was looking to change jobs and was certain I wanted L&D. Thought I had a chance, but the L&D job openings filled up quickly, and all that was left was postpartum. I was bummed, but figured I could get a foot in the door at the facility and snap up an L&D position as soon as one became available.

Found out I liked postpartum. A lot. It's so much more than hormones and fundal massages.

In your case, it should help immensely to understand the workings of normal newborns before you expand your care to those with problems. Learning to connect with moms and teaching them about their babies is an essential and rewarding part of this kind of nursing. That's certainly a skill that carries forward. And assisting with feeds--whether breast or bottle or gavage--is certainly a big part of life in the NICU. You can acquire much of your education in this area in postpartum since pp units are taking babies that are younger and smaller than ever.

I am concerned that your scope is soooo narrow. The NICUs that I am aware of rotate delivery attendance duties among their more experienced nurses or they send NPs or neonatologists to known high-risk deliveries. I don't know of any hospital where an entire job consists of just going to deliveries.

It concerns me that you don't even seem all that interested in NICU. Maybe I'm misreading your post, but it sounds like you're looking at NICU mostly as a stepping stone to being a delivery nurse. Can you tell us what is it about attending to babies at delivery that makes it seem like your dream job?

krenee · Mar 5, 2009

Hi, I am the OP, and thank you all for your many responses! I really didn't mean to sound so narrow-minded or that I'm not open to learning other things. It's just been an interesting process . . . you go to nursing school and experience different things in clinical, and part of the goal IMO was to see what you like and don't. I loved working with the babies, and when I realized at the hospital I was at that there was such a job, I just thought it was an awesome job. I can't really be more specific than that. I love the babies, but there's also such an excitement about a brand new baby coming into the world, and to be the one to take care of that baby and make sure everything is OK is a huge privilege and responsibility.

I just thought it was interesting how I was told, well, to do this you have to do NICU, but to do NICU you have to do mother-baby . . . that's just the way it played out. And to make it clear, I don't have a job anywhere at this time . . . if there is one job available in the hospital and it's med-surg, that's where I'll go . . . I won't necessarily be thrilled but I will try to use that as a learning experience, be grateful to have a job in this difficult economy, and see what might open up in the future.

I don't think there's anything wrong with having a desire to do a particular job or particular area over another . . . don't we all? I am starting my preceptorship in the NICU next week and may find that I hate it. If so, I will re-think my plans for the future. No harm, no foul. Am I wrong?

My intention on writing the post was to see if other people would say, yes, I started out in an area I wasn't interested in and loved or, or hated it, or moved on and did what I originally wanted to, or what. I'm just interested in others' experiences.