Did you start off at a nursing home? Hospital (ER, ICU, etc)?
People judge me for wanting to start off in a nursing home. They say it's not challenging enough.
I want to start there because I don't want to start off in a hospital yet, I'm afraid of messing up and getting in such huge trouble. Lives depend on you and the thought of messing up the first day or so, is a living nightmare for me right now
I start nursing school this spring 2016. But just thinking ahead makes me so nervous and having small anxiety attacks
How was it the first month or so where you worked? Have you ever messed up? Tell me some stories and advice :)
I worked in a med-surg department in a hospital. They were hiring at a time when getting any nursing job was difficult.
The first month wasn't bad. When you have a preceptor right there, it is like having a safety net. The work really starts when you have to be off orientation and making your own decisions.
I went right into home health/hospice. I'm in Canada so probably it's a bit different here, although the majority of our nurses did come from significant acute care experience. I continue to be thrilled to go to work every day. It's a great job.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I was an LVN for a little more than four years before obtaining my RN license. I had worked in nursing homes during my four years as an LVN, and continued working in one on the date I received my RN licensure.
However, I eventually burned out of the nursing home setting and ended up in a specialty post-acute rehab hospital, where I've been employed for the past 5+ years.
Hi! I think this is awesome that you are so proactive in starting with your nursing career. I can understand your fears about nursing school and working in the hospital afterwards and ideally choosing to work in a nursing home. However I think this a premature time for you to really judge your level of anxiety towards working in the hospital after finishing nursing school. Nursing school will teach you SOOOO much about yourself, about what you can handle and what you can not handle. So before having any anxiety about it, go in with an open mind that you can tackle anything and that you will learn and decide as you go. I personally started with Medical Surgical nursing but there isn't one particular floor that you absolutely have to start on, just depends on who you are and your situation.
I started on an inpatient oncology floor, but we also took med surg patients if we had room. I did sub school nursing prn while doing that and I have been full time school nursing for three years now. I am thankful for my hospital experience, it has helped me tremendously as a nurse.
Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.
I started in a LTC rehab (sub-acute rehab as some call it). I was oriented to the whole facility so I worked so I worked LTC side too. It was not what I had envisioned, but it was the BEST experience. You really learn time management, be able to assess quickly as you learn a baseline having the same pts over time. I did that 10 months when I got my dream job on an ortho unit. I had learned all the precautions and pain medications and moving pts. It was really great I do think I would have gotten bored, but I value that experience. I worked with great people and a great company. I hated to leave, but I was offered a job I could not pass up.
I'll be happy to get a job at all after I graduate in 2 more weeks.
Anyways, I always originally thought I would be the weekend RN position at my old job (in a nursing home -- I never really wanted a hospital job), seeing as how they couldn't keep anyone around in it. Now that I am facing the end of school, it seems booked up so... I'm trying to find something that jumps out at me. I thought about L&D but a local hospital has needs on a really interesting Med Surge floor so I am thinking of applying there and at the ER, if only for some experience. I feel like in clinicals I got to do nothing but po meds and some IV meds. Hardly any of the other skills. So I think I need to gain the experiences I feel I missed out on first. There's also a residency program I still need to get info from that might help me decide.
RNperdiem, RN
4,592 Posts
I worked in a med-surg department in a hospital. They were hiring at a time when getting any nursing job was difficult.
The first month wasn't bad. When you have a preceptor right there, it is like having a safety net. The work really starts when you have to be off orientation and making your own decisions.