Where to start my new journey into nursing...Geriatric or no?

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I am a soon to be graduate RN student in a few weeks. I am at odds with myself as to where I should start my first job as a nurse. This is confusing to me because I have always had a special interest in the geriatric population. I love old people!! However, I have been under the assumption that I should start out at a hospital, if possible, to gain as many different experiences there while I can, and then take all that information with me to my real passion of specializing in geriatrics. Although, the route I would prefer to take is to jump right into a geriatric setting like, for example, a nursing home. Would this be a mistake? Would I be missing out on experiences that I can't get in a nursing home if I start there as oppose to a hospital? Any feedback here would be so helpful. Thanks!

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Nothing wrong with working in a nursing home if that's where your heart is! There are also lots of old people in med surg in the hospital. Go where you can get a job!

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

There is nothing wrong with going straight to LTC. You see a lot of stuff, hone your time management skills and get to work with the population you enjoy. I work in a hospital but I care for mainly the elderly. It's not for everyone but I love old folks.

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I too love geriatrics! I think we are special for wanting to work with that population, considering many people want to work with babies or children. It is perfectly okay to apply to nursing homes or the "rehab" floor of the hospital. I say go for it!!

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A lot of hospitals around me will not accept a nurse unless you have at least 1 year of nursing experience. Geriatrics on the other hand near me accept new grads all the time. I spoke with the nurses I work with and they said they love working in the nursing home. They feel more appreciated they said. Me personally, I love hospitals, and that is where I plan on working once I become a nurse. I even plan on applying for SNAP positions (student nurse apprentice programs) at the hospital once I have that one year student nurse under my belt. Good luck, geriatrics is a great place to work.

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I seriously love this website! Thank you for all your feedback! It is so appreciated! I do need to go wherever I can get a job. I am now applying to LTC facilities and the hospital here. And it sounds like those of you that do one or the other of these, and enjoy the elderly, are quite happy, so that's very promising news for me and eases my mind about finding my first job! Thanks!

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