Where are the best registered nursing jobs?

I just graduated from a FL nursing program and want to get the best possible positon.

What works for one does not work for the other. I would have to agree with Jill about starting out in a med-surg unit where cases are diverse. Being a new grad, whatever you've learned in school can easily be applied in the setting. Experience is the key. In the med-surg unit, you can hone your skills and organize your time. Once you've got everything in place, then you're ready to move on to a specialty area where you can focus on one thing. The problem with jumping into a more critical area is that, skills are not too developed yet. You might be overwhelmed and in the long run be thought of as "slow," "unorganized," and in the end be booted out after your probationary period. I have seen this situation a million times. Like I said,"What works for one does not mean it'll work for the other." A gradual transition is the better way. I actually started in a sub-acute facility where I worked for about 5 years. I transitioned to a med-surg progressive care unit specializing in urology where I worked for another 5 years. Went to the open heart unit after and loving it. It was easy transition and less stressful. You don't have to work as long as I had before transitioning but, let it just be an example. The good thing about being in ICU/CVICU is that, when you decide to do traveling assignments, you can be more marketable. You can do practically almost everything. Kinda cool huh? Well, whatever you decide, good luck!

As a new grad, the best thing you could do for yourself to form yourself a well-rounded foundation of practice is to work in a hospital in a medical / surgical setting. This will give you the most well variety of experiences, patient diversity, illnesses to manage, treatments, medications, etc. Once you have about 6 months to a year of experience here then you can move on to just about any other specialty.

The "best" jobs in nursing are subjective to who is answering. I love my job as a labor & delivery nurse. I cannot imagine working in any other area. But it definitely isn't for everyone! That's the great thing about nursing - there is so much variety that you will find your niche.

Hopefully you aren't equating "best" job to the highest paying job. Just going after money isn't going to bring you a job you love. Also, nurses pay is not dependent upon what area you work in, for example, OR nurses don't make more money than ER nurses or L&D nurses. Pay in a hospital is usually straight across the board for all new nurses, and salary differences are based on years of experience more than anything else. Also, hospitals usually pay better than clinics or nursing homes.

There is a wide array of specialties to work in in nursing. Given the shortage of nurses, as a new grad you have a lot of latitude in which area you can choose. If you pick an area that you enjoy and find fulfilling, you can specialize in that field and increase your sense of satisfaction (as well as your employability and pay...). For instance if you like working in emergency rooms, you can become certified as an emergency room nurse and some hospitals will pay you more for becoming certified.

The important thing is to do what makes you happy. If you do that, you'll wind up being successful and have a long term career in nursing in the end!!

Depending on your personality, I would consider staying away from med/surg nursing. If you want diversity, the pace is a lot faster than floor nursing, but you would get to see everything from critical care, labor and delivery, psych patients, and general med/surg patients... and patients with illnesses so benign they never wind up getting admitted.