New Grad Nurse Skipped the Hospital

By Keith Carlson, BSN, RN, NC-BC     

When I finished nursing school, I told my classmates and professors that I wasn’t going to look for a hospital or med/surg job. You would’ve thought I’d told them I was planning to shoot myself. Their questions, warnings, and doubts painted a picture of unemployment and eating ramen for the rest of my life: 

“That’s professional suicide!”

“How will you ever get hired for a good job?”

“You won’t have any skills!” 

“You won’t ever be a real nurse!”

 
I’ve always done things a little differently, so I had no problem doing something out of the box. 

I did very well in my hospital clinicals; in fact, I won an award for clinical excellence at graduation. The thing was, I just didn’t like the hospital, and I wanted to do what felt right. So I chose community health and home health as my goal, and I made it happen. 

Nursing Skills Are Relative

Yes, some of my acute care nursing skills got a little rusty. But in my work in community health, hospice, and home health, I practiced nursing that felt true for me. Serving vulnerable populations in a poor urban community brought me joy and satisfaction

In home health, I provided infusion care; post-surgical wound care; and central, mid, and peripheral line maintenance. Home health has become high-tech, so I had plenty of chances to do complex clinical care, just not in the hospital with multiple patients at the same time. 

In hospice, I cared for the dying, managed their symptoms, counseled their families, and attended their deaths. I even signed a few death certificates along the way. 

If I was thrown onto a med/surg unit today, I’d honestly need some precepting. I also know that my experience and knowledge would kick in and I’d be fine after a while. I don’t worry about my lack of particular skills; I celebrate the skills and expertise that I have. 

New Grads and Open Minds

We’re currently seeing that it’s difficult for every new grad to find a hospital job. Nursing salaries are high in many cities and regions of the United States, but competition is tough. 

When a new grad can’t find a hospital position, it’s not the time to panic. While a med/surg job might be preferred, the stark reality is that it just may not be possible. With a hospital job out of reach, the new grad needs to network and reach beyond the hospital. Some potential career paths include: 

• Dialysis
• Ambulatory surgery
• Home health
• Public health
• Corporate health
• Correctional nursing
• Hospice
• Private physician practices
• Community health centers 
• Rural clinics
• School nursing
• Women’s health
• Outpatient cancer care
• Indian Health Service facilities
• Infusion nursing
• Case management
• Insurance nursing
• Psychiatric nursing
• Nurse entrepreneurship

When The Hospital Doesn't Call

Keep an open mind about what you’ll do when you graduate. You may feel shut out from hospital , or you may feel like the hospital isn’t for you. 

The world is your nursing oyster, so you can approach the journey with curiosity, professionalism, trust, an open mind, and a sense of adventure. 

Nurses, if the hospital doesn’t call your name, another type of nursing practice will. You can count on it.

. 

Next Up:  The Highest Paying States For Registered Nurses 

Keith Carlson, BSN, RN, NC-BC is a Board-Certified Nurse Coach, award-winning blogger, nurse podcaster, speaker, and author. Based in Sante Fe, New Mexico, Nurse Keith’s work has appeared in a variety of online and print publications.