Our Preceptor Place columnist, Sarah Jane, has covered a wide variety of topics during the past few months. As a young nurse (in the Buckeye state!) who is quickly becoming a veteran, her advice and insight have been a welcome addition to our pages. She’s given us a first-hand glimpse at her relationship with a new nurse and provided some fantastic general advice for new graduates. Last time, she gave us an inside look at the roles of preceptors and mentors. Today, she tackles one of the toughest choices a new grad will face: Which hospital is the right fit? Large or small? Urban or rural? Close to home or far away? Let’s see what she has to say:

When choosing a hospital to work at, the possibilities are endless. There are so many questions to ask yourself when picking a hospital, including:

• What is the facility’s reputation?
• How large or small is it?
• Do I like the location? Will I have a long commute?
• Is there room for career advancement?
• Is it a teaching facility?

I knew from clinical experiences I had in nursing school that I wanted to work in a larger facility. The size and the resources they had available to the staff and patients appealed to me.

Depending on whether or not you like interacting with physicians will help you to decide if you want to work in a teaching facility. I know that I love working at a teaching facility because there are residents around 24-7 available for me to reach at any time, day or night.

Think you like a facility, but you’re not certain about it? You can ask to shadow a nurse for a day to see if you like the hospital or a particular unit.

In the end, it all really depends on what you are looking for. Do you want to see lots of trauma? Then you may want to work in a larger, inner-city hospital. If you want to work at a hospital where you see the regular day-to-day events, where they often send the really sick patients out, then you may want to look at a smaller facility. Remember, the hospital you choose really depends on what part of nursing you want to get more involved in. The possibilities are truly endless.

Finally, when looking at hospitals, you want to feel comfortable and feel like you are part of a family. Like you are meant to be at that facility and work with those people. You’ll know you are in the right place when you walk out the door and you can’t stop thinking about showing up for your first day of work and what kind of patients you will be taking care of.

Editor’s note: Send questions or share your experiences with Sarah Jane, the columnist behind The Preceptor Place, at janesarah18@hotmail.com.