[newmograd]

Hello all. I need some advice. I will be graduating in December with my ASN and plan to continue into a BSN completion program. My ultimate goal is to be a travel ICU nurse, at least for a few years. I'm not exactly sure what the best way to get there is though. I know there's some controversy on new grad nurses taking positions in the ICU, but while I want to get good experience I really don't want to put in a year in med/surge if at all possible, which is what has been recommended to me time after time. I live in St. Louis, MO. I've done my clinical rotations at Barnes Hospital and will probably look for a job there for a number of reasons after graduation. They have a couple of fellowship programs that I'm looking into, but leaning towards the Surgical specialties program as they have several ICU's available that are of interest to me. The only snag is a two year commitment. I think this program will give me a lot of valuable experience (though I'm still waiting for more info from the recruiter for specifics) and if I'm going to need a solid two years of experience and learning before traveling as an ICU nurse anyway, perhaps it would be in my best interest. Basically, I'm looking to get into traveling as soon as possible, but want to be prepared and knowledgeable enough to do the best job possible. To those of you out there with some experience or advice, I'd greatly appreciate any insight. Thanks in advance!