I am a new grad nurse and have been working in hospital setting for couple of months

Question

....i m finding that this is not really what i want to do....I did my clinicals in hospital but i did not realize it then. I thought i would do couple of years in hospital then try something diff but now it has suddenly changed....i am thinking of trying in family practice nursing....just wanted to ask experienced nurses that is it a good choice to go in family practice or community nursing at the start of my career?

thanks in advance

Answer 1

Many instructors will tell nursing students that getting 2 years of med/surg under your belt before specializing is the 'best' thing for you. I have found that not to be true to all cases. I started out on a med/surg oncology floor, stayed my 2 years, then went to another hospital seeking L/D or Mother-Baby. I've met many new RNs that came straight from school into a specialty, hospital and MD ofcs. Hospital jobs aren't easy and I don't think clinicals in school really  show what it's like to be 'the nurse' incharge of 5-6+ patients at one time-seems to me I only ever had 2 pts and care plans seemed more important. Maybe having worked as a tech/etc in a hospital would expose more RNs to what they're up against when they graduate. I myself worked in MD ofcs while in school, so I was not as well prepared as I'd have liked. Weigh the pros/cons. You don't get holidays off like you would if in an MD ofc, you never know how many patients you'll have or how crazy it can be. The downside to MD ofcs may be the pay diff. Hospitals closer to downtown cities pay more, have nightshift diff and some offer weekend opt only. Benefits at most hospitals are good. Working in a hosptial can be extremely stressful, regardless of what specialty you go into. Md ofcs are more controlled in a lot of aspects- you work for a MD who has set hours,usually no holidays or weekends or overnight shifts. You just need to make sure you know what your role is(what is expected of you not only as the RN, but as an employee), what your pay scale/pay raises will be (will you get raises based on performance, years of experience when hired, bonuses/etc), healthcare benefits? 401k? vacation benefits? Also, you need to remember it can be hard to find a job in a MD ofc because many RNs who are, shall we say, in that baby boomer era, are staying active in nursing jobs, but not necessarily in the hospital setting. Hospital nursing is not for everyone. If I could find a job in a MD ofc that paid me as well, provided the same benefits/etc/etc and was an area of interest, I'd do it. Just don't forget no matter where you go, there's always going to be 'something' or 'someone' who gets under your skin. If there's an ofc you're interested in, stop in unannounced one day and try to see what's happening (Mondays and Fridays seem to be hectic days). Some recommend that for hospitals as well, but you can't gain access to all areas/units to hospitals (L/D, post-partum, newborn nursery, icu, ccu/ etc).

Good Luck, I hope I was helpful!

Answer 2

I would suggest you stay for a year or 2 and learn. It's not always easy and while you were a student it was different because you always had someone looking over your shoulder. After graduating you have to make the decisions and most of the time not everyone is so eager to help. When you went through all that in the end you'll be much more prepared for a family practice and appreciate it more. I felt the same way when I graduated and I started in a very busy med/surg unit and was thrown into the deep end and I had to swim or give up. That made me a strong RN who knows how to handle any and everything coming my way. Good luck and stay focused on your long term goals, you won't be disappointed.

Answer 3

sure

Answer 4

I think you should stick it out for at least a year of bedside, med/surg hospital nursing.

Like you said, you've only been doing it a couple of months. The learning curve is very very steep at a hospital, and it can be overwhelming. It takes time (at least a year) to get used to it.

I'm in the same boat - working for the past couple months in a hospital as an RN and feeling like I might have made a big mistake! But every nurse has told me that they didn't really feel like they were comfortable until at least a year in. And every nurse has told me that they wanted to call it quits every day for pretty much that whole first year - and now they are very confident and comfortable with it.

Once you have your year of med-surg, you can go anywhere and feel like you have a good handle on your nursing skills.