Switching positions

[RNyellow]

I need some advice. I graduated in Dec 2010 with my BSN and am an RN since January. I accepted a job on a Medical/Telemetry floor on nights in June. I love it here but the hospital is a far drive from my house (1.5h). I am learning alot though and I only have to do the drive 3 days a week. I was just browsing on the hospitals job search page seeing what is available. I saw that at their sister facility (which is closer to my house by 30 min) has an opening full time for a labor and delivery position which is my dream job. There is no gurantee that I will even get the job but it doesn't hurt to try. So I am asking for advice or your opinion on if I should even apply? I have only been in my current in 6 months and I feel bad just leaving them because of all they did for me. They are even letting me switch to days after Christmas. The managers have expressed that they know this position is a starter job for most people until they get to where they want to be. I appreciate your comments!!

[klone, MSN, RN]

I recently switched areas of nursing. I had been an OB nurse with 5+ years of experience, and last April I started looking for something different. I'm not going to lie to you - I thought that with over 5 years of nursing experience, I would be able to find a job quickly. But I did not get a job offer until September, and it was in a related field (so my OB experience was actually beneficial). I had been looking in home health, hospice, clinics, IV therapy, and they all pretty much said that since I had no experience in that area, they weren't interested. It was certainly an interesting, eye-opening experience that even experienced nurses are having a hard time finding jobs in this market.

So if you want to try a different area of nursing, I say go for it. But be prepared to spend many months filling out applications before something comes along.