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Discussion

Which job to pick?? Help!

I am currently in Tennessee and my boyfriend of 4 years is in Georgia. We have each been applying to jobs in each others city in hopes of being together now that I have finished nursing school. After a few months of no luck finding a job near him, I took a position in a level II nicu and have just completed my first week of orientation. So far, I really like it. Today I received a call about interviews for few different health department jobs in the area of GA he lives. Should I interview? Any public health nurses out there have any opinions?

Thanks!

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    Congratulations on getting your current job! NICU is a very difficult specialty to find a job in, therefore, you shouldn't give up that job just to interview with other "prospective employers". Find out what the health dept jobs entail, then make an informed decision. Good luck! :smokin:

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    leave nicu for public health? that is such a sought after position and as a new grad to get that is awesome! congrats! for your career critical care experience is the holy grail. if you like it, there is not much to decide.

    long distance relationships are tough, but you want to consider that the new grad market is crazy hard to get a great position at a hospital, but an experienced nurse in a specialty like your current one, will most likely have her pick of jobs in either location, 18 months or so from now.

    public health consists of working usually with the under served population with...

    public health nurses might conduct home visits to determine clients' needs. they complete physical assessments and conduct interviews to determine clients' current and past health problems. tasks might include obtaining blood pressure, temperature, measurements and other data, and developing information on health history, diet history and family health status. they use their nursing skills to develop, implement and evaluate individualized plans of care. these nurses can administer immunizations and medications, educate clients on potential side effects, administer urine pregnancy tests and interpret lab reports. public health nurses also might contact local health providers and community agencies to make referrals.

    read more: job description of a public health nurse | ehow.com job description of a public health nurse | ehow.com

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    If you LOVE nicu, public health department is probably not going to be your thing. It's just a different dynamic of care / people / etc... pregnancy tests, immunizations, and STD clinics vs. babies fighting for their lives and their accompanying families.

    It's also generally ALOT less money.

    Just saying.

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    Since you scored a NICU job and like it so much...I'd stay.

    However, in my experience most government jobs, which Public Health usually is, can take a while to actually get the job.

    So here's what I would do....

    I'd go ahead and schedule the interview.

    In the event you finish your orientation and don't like it, and it may be anything from getting called off frequently or it not being what you thought it would be after completing orientation, you would have a potential "back up."

    Just an idea.

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    This is an economy where no one's job is safe. That being said, it's a lot easier to close the pubic health clinic for a furlough day each week than it is to close the NICU for a day each week. The nature of the beast is that clinicians everywhere are going to be asked to do more with less, but public health is perennially on the chopping block.

    However, you're a nurse! So do what you want! Not a lot of other new grads get that luxury right now.

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