#5 -  How should I choose WHERE to work AFTER Nursing school

In a time of nursing shortage, students typically have multiple job offers. Students that know what to look for in an employer can make this decision easily. Let me tell you a story about Amanda...

My niece Amanda recently finished nursing school and while in school she worked part-time as a nurse tech at the local hospital. In her last semester of school, she applied to work as an RN in the hospital she was already working for as well as submitting applications at some competing hospitals. One competing hospital offered her a higher salary than her current employer and another also offered her a higher salary and included the option of working in a specialty unit that she found really interesting.

Although she interviewed with each of the agencies and received multiple offers, in the end, she made a choice that has given her confidence as a new nurse and great job satisfaction.

 How did Amanda make her choice?

 Amanda considered 4 main questions,

1) What was the work environment at each agency?

2) What administrative support was available?

3) What were the specific job duties of the RN in each agency?

4) What was the patient population?

 When considering work environment, Amanda had to think about the location and type of unit. Was this unit close or far from her home? What was the ambiance of the unit? She was going to be spending a lot of time there. In addition to the physical characteristics of the agency or unit, what was the agency’s mission, vision and values? How about staff morale? What’s the consensus among those that work for this agency? Is this a positive work environment or is there extreme conflict and turnover? Amanda had to ask herself if this agency was a good personal fit.

 When considering administrative support, Amanda asked about the support available for new nurses. What type of orientation program would be available, how long would it last? Would there be a mentor or coach she would have beyond orientation? What kind of support was available from the unit manager? Was the manager responsive to unit and staff needs? How did the agency handle call outs and staffing ratios? Would she have help from unlicensed assistive personnel? What kind of help? Did the agency provide tuition assistance if she wanted to pursue more education or continuing education? What is the pay and benefits with the position?

 When considering job duties, she considered the specific job duties of RNs on the unit. This is what she would be doing everyday at work. She asked about the shifts available and the expectations for working weekends and holidays. She also asked about floating- how often nurses are floated to other areas and what orientation would be provided so that she could float to other areas and practice safely.

 And finally, in regards to patient population, she considered the type of patients she would be working with. What was the level of patient acuity? Is this a specialty unit? Would these be primarily well or ill patients? What would the risk of compassion fatigue and burnout be with this population of patients? Is this a population she was passionate about and could work with 40 hours a week, for years to come?

In the end it was her home hospital that she chose to work for. Why?

She had experience working in this agency, was deeply familiar with the mission, vision and values of the institution and knew this was a good personal fit. She also enjoyed her coworkers, the patient population and felt supported by her manager and other administrators. The unit morale was positive and she knew she would enjoy working in the unit full time. She worked closely with the nurses and knew what her job responsibilities would be as an RN on the unit. Also, she is planning to begin an FNP program soon and she knew she could get some tuition assistance. When her agency realized she had offers from multiple other agencies, they bumped up her salary and offered her a sign-on bonus to boot.

She is now working as an RN and really enjoying her new role on the unit. Her confidence as a nurse has grown and continues to be nurtured by an employer that is supportive of her needs.

Whether you are just beginning a nursing program or near the end, it is not too late to begin thinking about where you want to work after graduation.

Take a minute now and ask yourself,

1. What type of work environment is important to me?

2. What kind of specific administrative support am I looking for?

3. What specific job duties am I interested in (what type of work do I want to do as a nurse?)

4. What patient population am I interested in working with (who could I take care of every day and have less risk of burn-out or compassion fatigue?)

 Maybe you have a friend that is also wondering how he or she will decide where to work after graduation, please pass this on!