Stay outpatient OR go inpatient?

Published May 4, 2015

Should I stay outpatient or go inpatient?
- 2
  Stay Inpatient
- 1
  Go Outpatient
- 0
  Start applying to school
- 0
  Other suggestion in comment

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12 Posts

Hi, I'm in a unique situation. I'm an 8 month year old new grad. I currently work "part-time" in a home health wellness setting. Some weeks I can make full time hours, my director really supports me, and I can balance my social life and support my phd-candidate boyfriend with this schedule. My director & higher-ups at the company truly value me and gave me an unexpected early raise. On top of that, I run a clinic with NP and MD, shadowing them. It is a supportive community with a unique plus that I get to see what the NP does because I want to go back to NP school eventually.

However, I'm using less and less clinical skills. I feel like going to a magnet hospital after about my one year mark would be ideal. HOWEVER, I know how much money and effort goes into training a nurse so I would feel awful about working under 2 years with my goal as NP school. I know people do it but I would hate to do that. I care about the companies I work for and if I were to go certain NP routes, acute experience is not always necessary. However, on many applications that I've seen, at least one year acute FT experience is common.

I got a FT infusion nurse offer, which I already turned down because I can't leave my work in its transition state. I do all care management - emergency situations, billing, we're finally going electronic and I'm on the committee and training the wellness department soon. A lot of great management experience BUT getting further from the clinical side.

This is a lot of information but would you recommend staying at my company and being thankful for the pros it does have? They may offer FT eventually, unsure if I would want that. Or seek that clinical experience at a hospital, regardless if I would leave within a few years for school? I don't think I would qualify as "new grad" if I went to the hospital afte a year and would get the important training?

Thank you for ANY advice.