Hi, new grad RN here! 30F. I have been applying since before graduation this past May to all the nursing positions I would be interested in/consider. Ofc, i heard back from community sites faster. HR horror stories that made me back out of two jobs. And finally, I landed a job at a community site that is about an hour away. (The drive is pretty peaceful, and familiar) This job is similar to a campus nursing position for a vulnerable group of adolescents. The staff has been nothing short of an absolute delight in every interaction. Clear communication & warmth! Pay rate is $41/hr x 40hr/week on a set schedule, 6a-2pm & paid 1hr break. Tuition reimbursement (earning bsn atm)&paid conferences related to my work. TCI and sanctuary training. Full benefits and 4weeks PTO. It’s state funded. There’s very little clinical experience. However, my longterm goals are to end up in advocacy work or Public Health/Community Health. I accepted the position and start in a few days. Prior to accepting this position, I went to a job fair at my local hospital (5 minutes from my house). It is the same hospital i did 3 semesters of clinical hours at on the medsurg unit. I killed it. I have near a decade in waitressing experience & home aide care for an elderly client and ppl w/ developmental disabilities. I have those transferable skills that makes it easier to navigate patient needs and time management. However, I struggled to take breaks even as a student. I know how burnt out i was from working full time at the restaurant. At the job fair I interviewed with the nurse manager who recognized and remembered me. She told me to email her my resume, made a reassuring face, and said, “email me”, again. I thought it went really well! I did not hear back. Then the community site reached out, offering me a full time position later that week. Yesterday, i got a call from the hospital recruiter who told me the manager wanted to offer me the full time position. I emailed her more than a month ago at this point. I wanted to hear the offer. Full time nights x12hr, @ $44.88 (reg) + $5.5 (night differential) I’d be working days for the first 3mo, and transitions to nights. Doing the math tho… day rate ends up being less than the community site per paycheck. Plus i’d pay union dues (which i fully support but it adds up when comparing) And the night differential gives me about $200 more/paycheck. … but i easily make more than $200 in one night at the restaurant job which i’ve decided to stay per diem. And i would make even more in OT at the community site, which i will have plenty of opportunities to do. When i do the math, i don’t think the extra money is worth the misery and burn out from working nights as a true morning person. Plus, the relief i feel from having a set schedule at the community site and the team’s energy… i don’t think it’s worth the extra money, when i can make that money easily if i want to. Obviously, the hospital residency medsurg program is the greatest asset i would be turning down. I know I could be a great medsurg nurse because i felt it while i was there. I just don’t think i’d have the stamina to be happy. I know i could push myself to have this experience and move on into any clinical job after… which is the ROI of it all. But, i could just as easily work at this community site, get a different set of skills and experiences that could lead me to working for the OPWDD(they make good money for a M-F). Also, the community site has said explicitly that they know new grads get the “clinical itch” and they will work with them to accommodate schedule needs if i decide i want to explore other clinical jobs later on. I already accepted the position at the community site, and im ready to go. But the narrative that i must go to the bedside is beating its loud ass drum in my head, to the point of considering ruining my mental and physical health for money i can easily make without doing that. Plus, the unprofessionalism of leaving after Ive accepted and im scheduled. (My good ass friend works here and helped put in a good word. she said she’d still love me if i did choose the hospital, but warned that i’d be burning a bridge with the site/team) Bedside feels like a never ending list of issues with the system you can’t change. My friend works at the community site, and already her suggestions for improvement have been taken seriously and given permission to execute. I need to work where i feel like change for the better possible. I need to work with a good team more than anything. I just don’t think it’s worth the extra ~$7k / year to be wiping ass on nights. Deeper, I feel heartache to get a job outside of my community because i know how desperately my community needs improvement. I want to leave the door open with this hospital/network for the future.   submitted by   /u/EcstaticCod4117 [link]   [comments]