> Recent Entries
> Archive
> Friends
> User Info

December 21st, 2009

ithryn

09:23 am - ithryn, RN....well, at least N. I am officially a license-pending* nurse. This last semester was a crazy ride, but somehow I (and my family) survived it intact. What now? I sit for boards in February—if I had my way, I'd take them right now, even blindfolded and chained upside-down in a barrel of water. Then it's deciding between two tentative job offers. My main employer, a community hospital I've worked full-time for 5+ years, has initially offered me a spot in the ICU stepdown unit on night shift. Not shabby, especially in today's market! But I also work flex-time at a big teaching hospital, the busiest trauma center and heart center in the state, and they've unofficially said there should be spots open in the trauma/neuro ICU by February. If not, there's (at my last count) six adult ICUs and three pediatric ICUs I could apply to. And this place is big on continuing education and certification, and that means paying for it and hosting the classes on the hospital campus. My preceptor over the summer had just finished his TNS (trauma nurse specialist) certification there. They give CCRNs (RNs with the official critical care certification) an 8% raise. They have armies (well, almost) of advanced practice nurses running around for the physicians: neuro nurses, cardiac nurses, anesthetists, etc. I've been told they offer really good benefits (unlike my current main employer) and all the nurses seem mostly happy with administration (also, unfortunately, unlike my current employer). I really like the smaller community hospital I work at, especially the people I work with, but I think it's pretty obvious I need to go to the bigger place. That is, if they offer me something. That's why I'm not discounting or complaining about offer at the smaller hospital. Heck, most of my fellow students don't know where they're going to work, so I feel blessed to be in the weird position of being choosy. Anyway, wish me luck. In the meantime, I'll be working a lot more in the ICUs at the two hospitals. I was going over my schedule with the scheduler/coordinator, and a light shone down from heaven and the angels sang when it dawned on her that I'm out of school and can fill in any shift of the week now. *New grads like me used to be able to work as nurses, license pending (signing RNLP), but that's no longer the case.

(4 comments | Leave a comment)