For new grads, what area to start in?

[Dan-O]

This question has probably been fielded a thousand plus times but, I will ask anyway.

Hypothetically speaking of course, I am a new grad applying for RN jobs at local hospitals and clinics. The jobs offer different time schedules, pay differentials, etc...but, that's really not terribly important to me. I will work when I have to work and negotiate pay like any other job.

Right now, I am an enormous sponge for knowledge. I want to be a proficient, caring nurse and I want the broadest range of experience the nursing field has to offer. Can anyone here recommend a particular field, area of the hospital or specialty of nursing that is capable of offering that sort of grandiose, general experience to me?

[SoldierNurse]

The sacred cow is to work 6-12 months on a Med/Surg Flr fresh out of nursing school.

Myself, worked on a 64-bed Telemetry Unit right out of nursing school. It was excellent training D/T 32 beds were Cardiac Telemetry & 32 beds were Medical Telemetry. The Med Tele patients were very sick and required the entire gambit of nursing care similar to a regular Med/Surg FLr. Many times the Cardiac Tele patients were sick enough to require transfer to ICU. Bottom line, I gained a lot of experience in a short amount of time. Almost 18 months later I went to go work at another hospital in there ICU.

... my 2 cents

[Dan-O]

Originally Posted by SoldierNurse

The sacred cow is to work 6-12 months on a Med/Surg Flr fresh out of nursing school.

Myself, worked on a 64-bed Telemetry Unit right out of nursing school. It was excellent training D/T 32 beds were Cardiac Telemetry & 32 beds were Medical Telemetry. The Med Tele patients were very sick and required the entire gambit of nursing care similar to a regular Med/Surg FLr. Many times the Cardiac Tele patients were sick enough to require transfer to ICU. Bottom line, I gained a lot of experience in a short amount of time. Almost 18 months later I went to go work at another hospital in there ICU.

... my 2 cents

Fantastic Soldier. That's the kind of information I was shooting for. Many thanks.

[x91D]

Hi,
When I graduated RN school, it was the same thing, go to work in
Med-Surg for a year and then move on. At the hospital I work for
we have a program called Versant, which takes new grads and for
about a year mentors them in both the class room setting and clinical setting. They go to the floors, the ICU, ER, OR, and
other specialty units that a few years ago was unthinkable to have a new grad in. We currently have 10 Versant students in the
OR and they are loving it. Last year we "graduated" 5 and they are very well trained, having a great time and loving it. The
Versant students are RNs, and are treated as such, and are always
paired with an experienced RN throughout their rotations. The OR
program itself is 8 months before they are allowed to function on
their own (preceptor RN is in the hall sweating bullets for them). There is no one correct answer, some people thrive on the floor and others hate it. Ask around, talk to people who work in different areas and get their feedback. We also have share days in which we take an RN and let them spend a day in the OR to see if they really are interested. Some can't take
the physical activity, the smells, the sounds, or the fact that you are responsible for your OR on your own.

Hope this helps out some,

x91D:shades_smile:

[SoldierNurse]

Originally Posted by x91D

Hi,
When I graduated RN school, it was the same thing, go to work in
Med-Surg for a year and then move on. At the hospital I work for
we have a program called Versant, which takes new grads and for
about a year mentors them in both the class room setting and clinical setting. They go to the floors, the ICU, ER, OR, and
other specialty units that a few years ago was unthinkable to have a new grad in. We currently have 10 Versant students in the
OR and they are loving it. Last year we "graduated" 5 and they are very well trained, having a great time and loving it. The
Versant students are RNs, and are treated as such, and are always
paired with an experienced RN throughout their rotations. The OR
program itself is 8 months before they are allowed to function on
their own (preceptor RN is in the hall sweating bullets for them). There is no one correct answer, some people thrive on the floor and others hate it. Ask around, talk to people who work in different areas and get their feedback. We also have share days in which we take an RN and let them spend a day in the OR to see if they really are interested. Some can't take
the physical activity, the smells, the sounds, or the fact that you are responsible for your OR on your own.

Hope this helps out some,

x91D:shades_smile:

Sounds like ya'll have a great program set-up for new grads.