Transitioning

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I will be graduating in December 2015 and do not know exactly what direction I would like to take my career as a new RN. Where should I start out as a new nurse? What department would be best for me start at as a new nurse? Any advice for me regarding transitioning from a student to working as a nurse?

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Specializes in Critical Care (ICU/CVICU).

Was there any clinicals in nursing school that you liked most? Maybe you could start there!

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I liked PACU, ER, and NICU. Like I said I'm all over the place. I just want to get a good grasp on nursing and maybe work somewhere where I can get all the experience and use all my skills for a year or two, then specialize in something I really enjoy.

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Specializes in Critical Care (ICU/CVICU).

How about adult ICU? They usually have an easier time going into the PACU and NICU. ER is great too. I'm an ICU nurse (started off as a new grad) but i have floated to the med surg, neuro, IMCU, etc. I personally, didnt have a hard time floating to various units, but plenty of ICU nurses hate Med surg. I haven't found a floor i despise yet. If i were you, i would apply everywhere. But for the best "well rounded" nurses, i find that Med surg, ER, and ICU is best.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Depending on your location, you may not have a choice. Nursing jobs are pretty scarce in most areas of the country. Very few new grads have the luxury of choice. Most folks just start out where they can and plan on working their way around to the area of nursing that appeals to them.

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Specializes in Public Health, Med/Surg.

Hi and (early) congratulations to you on graduating! I too had no clue what direction I wanted to go in after graduating. I still don't know.. lol. I applied for a position in a local health department and was hired much to my surprise, as I expected they would require that one year of med surg/other hospital experience.

Another bit of advice for you. I am an August graduate and I waited until I had passed NCLEX to begin applying for jobs. I was also moving to another state which was a job in and of itself, but having a good 3 weeks of full time studying is what I credit to passing NCLEX in 75 questions. I studied before this of course, and do not recommend just cramming, but really buckling down and dedicating myself to a full-time Monday through Saturday cramming of content review and practice questions was very helpful for me personally. So was hurst review.

So my advice is take a month and study for NCLEX and maybe use that time to apply for jobs also. I had friends who started graduate nurse positions a week after graduating and before taking NCLEX. They were super stressed trying to adjust to working and also studying for NCLEX at the same time. Best of luck to you!

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