Which job do I take?

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I am currently a tech on a very busy medical stepdown floor. I've been working there part time for almost 2 years while I've been in school. I will be graduating in May and thought for the longest time that I would stay there and continue to work there as a nurse. Everyone I work with is great and I absolutely love the teamwork among the entire staff. The only problem is - to put it bluntly, I do not get much satisfaction out of caring for the patients that we often have on our floor. I've enjoyed the kind of patient care throughout my clinical experiences far better. My NM would like for me to stay, and has offered me a position. I like the process of how things are done in the hospital and the familiarity of the hospital system. The pay is great and there is a monetary incentive for staying there as a nurse once I graduate. I would be able to live with my parents for a couple of years, save money, feel comfortable buying a car, etc. Even if I decided to move out on my own, the cost of rent would be about 700-800 per month, which really wouldn't be that bad when taking everything into consideration.

But... something struck me about two months ago that made me want to look for a job in NICU. Very few of the area hospitals around here offer new grad positions in the NICU. I broadened my search to about a 2 hour radius.

Last week I interviewed for a position in a 5 month critical care internship in a NICU. The next day I received the job offer. The hospital is 1.5 hours away, meaning I would be living on my own. Rent in a comfortable apartment is around 700-800 a month for that area. The pay is not as great - about 15K per year less, and I feel that I would be struggling - trying to pay for rent, make car payments, etc. The hospital is well known and is always on the forefront of advancement and technology. They are putting upwards of 80 million dollars into expanding with a cancer center and a pediatric hospital. It scares me to enter an entirely new environment, and to work in an environment with unfamiliar personalities and an unfamiliar way of doing things. On the other side of things, it is so exciting to me to be offered such a great opportunity. In my heart, I've always wanted to work in a NICU, and this could turn that into a reality.

I know money is not everything, but I can't even imagine being a nurse and having to struggle to make ends meet. After all, isn't there supposed to be a nursing shortage? Then again, I don't want to hate every minute of being at work, caring for patients that just don't interest me, feeling physically burned out from the heavy patient loads. (Heavy as in high nursing ratios and physically heavy patients who do not or choose not to even lift a finger). I don't want to burn out so soon into my nursing career, and I feel like that may be what happens. It's discouraging to me that several nurses have been injured on our floor from caring for these patients.

I have never felt so conflicted about anything in my life before. I don't even know if anyone would have any advice to offer - I know this is something that I need to decide for myself. I guess I just needed somewhere to vent.

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Specializes in med-surg, BICU.

i personally, would probably would have to forfeit the NICU job because its far away , you would be paying more the gas but getting a lower pay, and you would have an overall financial stress as you mentioned. working at the other job would be more in line with my choice because if you are not happy with the unit you were hired for then after time (about a fast year) you can apply for a transfer into another unit (such as NICU or PICU :specs:).

just my 2 cents.

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Specializes in med-surg, BICU.

ps---good luck

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honestly, that's a tough choice.

you either go into an unfamiliar environment w/less support, less pay but doing something you love:

or, stay in familiar environment w/much support, better $$, doing something you're not crazy about.

if it were me, i'd stay at the hospital you're working at.

i'd want to get acclimated to nsg and tuck away some money.

after a year, you could re-eval your situation...

and it wouldn't seem as scary.

wishing you the best of everything! :balloons:

leslie

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having worked on a floor that you described i would say go for the NICU job. why start out becoming familiar with adults if your heart is in NICU?two totally different worlds. besides you are young. the money will come. and in a large well known hospital it will surely come eventually. the easiest road is not always the best road to take.

if you already know you are not interested in that patient population i would gather it would be more difficult to keep up with current trends in treatment for that patient type, also the burn out factor. if you already don't like it, you may burn out faster.

just my opinion, but i say take a chance and take that NICU job. i am certain you could always go back to your hospital if you so choose shouold the NICU job not work out. but i personally know of plenty of new nurses that wanted NICU and couldnt get it.

go for what holds your interest. this may be a test to see if you truly want NICU. besides, after a year of working a heavy adult floor you will learn a heck of alot about adults but at the end of the same year you could become really proficient in neonates and have a solid foundation as opposed to learning about adults then after ayear finding a NICU position and having to now begin learning about tiny babies.

in the end the choice is yours but i say go where your heart tells you and the money will follow no doubt.

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I am currently a tech on a very busy medical stepdown floor. I've been working there part time for almost 2 years while I've been in school. I will be graduating in May and thought for the longest time that I would stay there and continue to work there as a nurse. Everyone I work with is great and I absolutely love the teamwork among the entire staff. The only problem is - to put it bluntly, I do not get much satisfaction out of caring for the patients that we often have on our floor. I've enjoyed the kind of patient care throughout my clinical experiences far better. My NM would like for me to stay, and has offered me a position. I like the process of how things are done in the hospital and the familiarity of the hospital system. The pay is great and there is a monetary incentive for staying there as a nurse once I graduate. I would be able to live with my parents for a couple of years, save money, feel comfortable buying a car, etc. Even if I decided to move out on my own, the cost of rent would be about 700-800 per month, which really wouldn't be that bad when taking everything into consideration.

But... something struck me about two months ago that made me want to look for a job in NICU. Very few of the area hospitals around here offer new grad positions in the NICU. I broadened my search to about a 2 hour radius.

Last week I interviewed for a position in a 5 month critical care internship in a NICU. The next day I received the job offer. The hospital is 1.5 hours away, meaning I would be living on my own. Rent in a comfortable apartment is around 700-800 a month for that area. The pay is not as great - about 15K per year less, and I feel that I would be struggling - trying to pay for rent, make car payments, etc. The hospital is well known and is always on the forefront of advancement and technology. They are putting upwards of 80 million dollars into expanding with a cancer center and a pediatric hospital. It scares me to enter an entirely new environment, and to work in an environment with unfamiliar personalities and an unfamiliar way of doing things. On the other side of things, it is so exciting to me to be offered such a great opportunity. In my heart, I've always wanted to work in a NICU, and this could turn that into a reality.

I know money is not everything, but I can't even imagine being a nurse and having to struggle to make ends meet. After all, isn't there supposed to be a nursing shortage? Then again, I don't want to hate every minute of being at work, caring for patients that just don't interest me, feeling physically burned out from the heavy patient loads. (Heavy as in high nursing ratios and physically heavy patients who do not or choose not to even lift a finger). I don't want to burn out so soon into my nursing career, and I feel like that may be what happens. It's discouraging to me that several nurses have been injured on our floor from caring for these patients.

I have never felt so conflicted about anything in my life before. I don't even know if anyone would have any advice to offer - I know this is something that I need to decide for myself. I guess I just needed somewhere to vent.

in a way you are in a good position; you have a job where you can learn how to be a nurse in a supportive environment which will certainly suit you well in the future; and in a way this familiar environment you can use as a bargaining chip--I mean don't necessarily tell the NICU hospital to meet the salary for the other hospital, but at least you know that if they don't work with you, you aren't high and dry without a job; also, if, and I'm not saying this will occur, but if NICU isn't what you had hoped it would be, then you pretty much have to go back to learning how to care for adults; anywho, so why not get that experience while it's fresh; NICUs aren't going anywhere and you can build your skills in NICU off your adult experience; I'm not so sure the inverse could be said

I have 2 suggestions:

1. don't accept the NICU's 1st offer--they are a very very high acuit specialty and to be paying far less than your current unit is quite unfortunate

2. ask to shadow a nurse on the NICU unit for a shift or 2; you may find that the environment is not at all supportive and you'll be in a situation where you have made this move away from home for less money and are absolutely miserable and stuck in an apt. lease

good luck to you

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I agree with shadowing a nurse for a few days at the NICU. It may help you to make your decision easier. It would also give you a chance to talk with other nurses on the unit to see what their challanges are etc.

My opinion it sounds like you have a great support team where you are at and it will be alot easier to learn nursing and fine tune your skills without also having the stress of being in a new enviornment.

You should check out some of the posts that new grads are writing about their first exeperiences on the floor.

Good Luck to you in whatever you decide.

:an!:

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