Will future employers look positively upon this decision?

[CanCan]

Hi,

I have just graduated nursing (BScN) and I want to do rural nursing/northern nursing (hospital) as my first RN job.

2 Questions:

1) I want to eventually work at a hospital back in a big city but I would like to know if future employers there would look positively upon rural/northern nursing.... (I'm not sure if they would think that i won't be able to keep up at a fast paced since rural hospitals I'm looking at only have 15 beds, or that i haven't seen enough, etc, etc...)

2) Would i be prepared for rural/northern nursing right out of school, or should i start at a local hospital?

Thank you all!

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

It depends where you're working, but more often, you'll learn more in a rural setting because the support staff are non-existent. No physio, pharmacy, OT, rec, respiratory most of the time. You're it.

Can you handle working independently with minimal supervision? Some new grads cannot. These days, jobs are scarce so take whatever you can find and make it work.

[Daisy_08, BSN, RN]

Maybe start in a northern hospital and work your way to a more remote area?

[MPKH, BSN, RN]

My first job right out of school was in a rural hospital in Northern Alberta. While the pace is slightly slower than urban hospital, and the patient's acuity was not as high, I was able to lo learn new skills and consolidate the ones I already knew. Being a nurse in a rural setting, you are working as part of a skeleton crew--there is often very little or none of the auxiliary interdisciplinary team that is present in urban hospitals. You learn to do a bit of everything, as well as being a nurse. As well, being in a remote location, you are often required make critical decisions for patients in emergencies, so your critical thinking (and prioritization) skills will be tested. (I remember one night shift where a patient's condition deteriorated rapidly, and the Charge Nurse made the call to transport the patient out stat, all the while consulting the on call physician over the phone). You will be able to see things that you may not see or experience in the urban setting.

I don't know if employers view rural/northern nursing in any particular light. When I was applying for jobs in the city, the fact that I did rural nursing was never brought up as an issue. In fact, it was hardly brought up, other than when I was asked to give a blurb about my career so far. With my rural experience, I was successful in gaining employment back in a city setting, so I don't really think it's a problem.

Remember, any experience is better than none, and with the job market they way it is....rural nursing will provide you with the experience that will get you a job back in the city. Good luck!

[CanCan]

Thanks for the insight MPKH!