Thank you for stopping by! 

It has officially been one year since I earned my RN license, and I wanted to take a moment to share a bit about the experience. 

My original plan was to transition directly into the Emergency Room, where I had already been working as a medic. Unfortunately, there was a delay in resources to move me into the position (over a month), and I didn’t want to sit around waiting. Instead, I started exploring other areas in the hospital. 

HR provided a list of departments with open positions, and I suddenly had quite a few options to consider: OR circulator, Med-Surg, ICU, Recovery, and Nursery. They arranged the interviews, and my first one was scheduled for the very next day with Maternal Child / Nursery. 

I’ll admit — I was pretty nervous. I really didn’t know what to expect. My experience with newborns up to that point was limited to what I had seen on the truck, which was usually during a precipitous delivery that I inevitably ended up catching before quickly handing the baby off to the ER team. 

When I arrived for the interview, two people were present: the Director of Maternal Child (which includes Postpartum, Labor & Delivery, and Nursery) and the department Supervisor. 

While I had limited experience with newborns, I did have many examples of managing chaotic scenes and providing care under intense pressure as a medic. 

One thing I want to say to new nurses who come from EMS: 

Don’t discredit your experience as a medic. We were trained to operate as capable providers in extreme situations. That background is an advantage, especially during interviews. 

I was really impressed by the professionalism of my interviewers. They were the kind of providers you immediately look up to and think, “I want to be like that someday.” I knew that if I followed their leadership, I could learn a lot. 

Thankfully, they must have thought I would be a good fit as well, because they offered me a full-time position. 

I was honest about my insecurities regarding working solely in the nursery. After discussing the differences between the departments, we all agreed that Labor & Delivery would be a good fit considering my EMS background and experience with high-acuity situations. 

So I accepted the offer. 

Even now, working in Labor & Delivery, I’m grateful for every shift I spent on the truck. EMS taught me how to stay calm when the room gets loud, a skill that still serves me well today. 

Have you had an RN interview experience or tip you’d like to share? I’d love to hear it. 

With Great Respect,

Mrs. Nurse Medic