Hello! I am trying to decide between two very different jobs/job offers and interested in any input. I received an offer at a level II NICU in a rural hospital which I was really excited about, but while waiting to hear back I took some other interviews, and unexpectedly got an offer at a clinical decision unit/emergency obs in an inner-city hospital. I have a wide array of interests as a new grad, top interests being critical care & peds/nicu as well as emergency.
The pay at the city hospital is significantly better (like $10k/year) and there's a sign-on bonus as well as help paying off student loans (10k over 2 years).
I guess one of my main concerns is how much CDU really is a good place to be, if my main interests are critical care & emergency, if the "stepping stone" idea is kind of a myth. But then again, level 2 nicu also isn't high acuity, so maybe either job would just be a stepping stone.
I think this should be left up to the applicant/new nurse themselves. I started in a high acuity ED as a new grad with multiple other new nurses and we all survived. Other times, there might be 1-2 new nurses who did not make it off orientation but that can be said for many new nurses despite the specialty. If I had started in med-surg I would've given up on nursing 5 years ago. Not everyone is built for med-surg just like not everyone is built for other specialties.
There are obviously exceptions, but I really think that cases like yours are the exception, rather than the rule. ED is a little bit of a unique animal, in a lot of ways, compared to inpatient specialties, as well. I also think that the post-COVID new grad is in a different position than you or I were when we started.
choughlesRN
26 Posts
There are obviously exceptions, but I really think that cases like yours are the exception, rather than the rule. ED is a little bit of a unique animal, in a lot of ways, compared to inpatient specialties, as well. I also think that the post-COVID new grad is in a different position than you or I were when we started.