1 year genmed experience, is it enough to find another job?

[RNleena]

Hello my fellow nurses. I graduated from university last year in November and got a job through the Netp programme at a general medical ward.

Unfortunately I'm not enjoying my experience working at the ward and I'm coming up to one year working there. I have applied to other areas of nursing as I'm quite unhappy in my current job. However most areas seek a minimum of two years experience.

I wanted to ask what opportunities (if any) could be out there for me with only a year's worth of experience?

I'm in between wanting to leave nursing as a career or find another nursing role..

I know I sound like a quitter but the emotional, mental and physical demand of working in a busy gen med ward is taking a toll on me. I know it'll be busy and very demanding elsewhere but I need to try another environment before giving up on nursing.

Would love to hear any advise or experiences.

Best wishes you you all. Thanks for reading.

[gen88]

I did my new grad in surg wards before changing to theatres- and haven't looked back. Apply to the roles anyway. Follow up via phone. Try to stand out. Write a really great cover letter and resume and you'll land something eventually. See if you can do some informal visits too- it's a good way of getting a feel of the workplace culture of a unit. There is nothing wrong with wanting a change- you can't go on forever working in that environment if it's causing you so much turmoil! Good luck.

[PaellaMagi]

Another thing you can do is contact nurse managers in your hospital. Is there an area you'd like to try? If Gen med isn't for you, what about rehabilitation? A medical specialty? A really specialised area like dialysis? Have a think about what you might like to try and contact the relevant people directly - they might be able to give you advice, and at the very least they will know your name when you apply for open jobs.