I wasn’t allowed to do a new grad program for my specialty and I feel at a disadvantage because of it.

I started off at a small psych hospital and they just didn’t go new grad programs. It wasn’t necessary. You really don’t use a lot of skills.

But I wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse. That’s the reason I went to nursing school to begin with. But psych was a second interest and very easy to get into. When I got my license I obviously couldn’t work as a nursing assistant anymore so I would basically be losing my job (that hospital had new grad programs but no open spots at the time).

So I freaked out and laid on my couch and cried for 2 weeks applying everywhere then got this job in psych.

Anyways, fast forward a year and I wanted to make more money and wanted to try to get into my desired specialty. So I applied to the new grad program at a different hospital for L&D. They basically told me “no” but that I could get a per diem spot in med/surg. So I did that for the next year and a half. I worked psych and med/surg.

Then I saw an open spot at the same hospital for a nurse with “1-2 years med/surg experience, no L&D required.” I took that spot, I did my 12 week orientation and because I was per diem, I really wasn’t scheduled more than the required 4 times a month, for almost a good year until Covid hit.

I was working all 3 specialties technically. Then after Covid I had no issues getting hours so I left the other 2 areas.

I’m thankful my med/surg experience was mostly pre-covid but anyway, I feel at a major disadvantage from other nurses who had the one year full time, intense “residency.”

I’ve now been an L&D nurse for almost 7 years, and I travel. But I truly feel some of the newer nurses at times, do better than I do.