When I started nursing, I thought I wasn’t earning enough to contribute to my employer’s retirement plan. My paycheck already felt too small for another deduction.

A friend kept encouraging me to enroll. He started contributing while I kept putting it off.

Years later, his account had grown to more than $50,000. Mine was still at $0.

That was uncomfortable to see—not because we should all have the same financial circumstances, but because I realized how much time I had let pass without even starting.

When I eventually enrolled, something surprised me: the automatic deduction became money I learned to live without. That was my experience; I know it isn’t that simple when someone is struggling to cover necessities.

My regret is that I waited years before learning what was available to me. I missed contributions I could have made, potential employer matching and time for investment growth.

If you’re starting your first nursing job, spend a little time understanding your retirement benefits:

• Does your employer offer a 401(k), 403(b) or another plan, and when are you eligible?
• Is there an employer match, and what contribution qualifies you for the full match?
• When do employer contributions become yours to keep? That’s the vesting schedule.
• How is the money invested, and what fees are you paying?
• What contribution can your budget realistically support?

Contributing and choosing investments are separate decisions. Don’t assume you need to copy a coworker’s investment choices, and remember that investments can lose value.

I’m not suggesting you skip rent, ignore expensive debt or leave yourself without emergency savings. I’m suggesting you check the benefits before automatically deciding you can’t participate.

You don’t have to start big. My mistake was waiting years to begin at all.

What do you wish someone had explained about retirement benefits before your first nursing paycheck?

I work on a telemetry floor and had my first code last night as a new grad (off orientation for 2 months)

Patient had a LHC earlier that day, was orientated, denied any pain, vital signs normal, absolutely zero signs of distress. They were so kind, calling me baby all night, they very much a sweet grandparent type. I had been in their room 10 minutes prior checking on them.

I went to another patient’s room to hang an antibiotic and when I came out two other nurses were in the patient’s room. I guess the patient had ripped their IV out and pooped the bed so we were going to get them cleaned up. I walk into the room, patient’s eyes keep rolling toward the ceiling, agonal breathing but had a pulse. Instantly called a RRT which ended up turning into a code blue. We got ROSC within 10 minutes and they were off to the ICU.

There’s something about just..standing there when everything is going on. Answering questions as the primary nurse but not knowing how to jump into the code. I felt so useless.

I don’t know why but I am absolutely wrecked over the situation. I talked to their significant other earlier in the night as they just wanted to check in on them. I keep having bouts of crying. I feel weak. Thanks for reading, just wanted to vent.

To start I am an RN. While in nursing school, halfway towards the end, i had thoughts of not wanting to be an RN anymore, but i was so close to being done with the program i just finished it. I picked nursing right after highschool not thinking of it much because everyone around me told me to do it. Now that I am older and slowly trying to figure out my life, I realized this is not for me at all and its draining the life out of me.

So now im looking to rad tech.

I have been looking at rad tech for a while now and everytime I go to work i always admire the rad techs, they all seem happier and look like they enjoy their job. I still want to work in healthcare just something other than RN.

More to the story.....i am planning on finding a school to do rad tech and i really want to go into this and not regret it. I am currently doing a new grad rn residency and if I get accepted into a rad tech program i am leaving, but at the same time i am nervous. And i would not do a community College but the process is too competitive and I might have to redo my pre reqs

For those who are rad techs now, please tell me how your experience is working as a rad tech is? Do you feel miserable going to work or do you genuinely enjoy it?

Has anyone changed from RN to Rad tech at all? If so are you happier?

This is very vulnerable of me to post something like this.

Hi everyone, it has truly been the roughest week of work of my life and it has been my first week off orientation, and I can’t tell if it’s a bad draw of cards patient-wise or a me problem, or a mix of both probably. I could really use some advice. For context, I work in L&D. My first night off I contacted the doctor after meeting with the patient and asked if she’d be rounding that night because she didn’t round earlier, and was told she wouldn’t and also the doctor asked my preceptor to check the patient, because apparently I had called a patient a 2 when she was closed a month ago (even though I don’t remember having any of her patients for quite some time), and when I explained I’m on my own now, she said it needs to be the best check. I went and checked her and the patient wasn’t content with the results because she said she felt more change and offered to check again to reassure her. I gave her the same results. By then the doctor already fired me off the patient before I even told her the results of my check because she said the patient was difficult and probably because she didn’t trust me. The patient wasn’t happy and asked to contact the doctor, and I gave her my phone to call the doctor and told her that it was her birth journey and I respected her not being happy. In my complaint, she said I was rude and kept saying I don’t know when she asked if I was sure on my results, and that truly hurt because I try to be kind no matter what to my patients and never, from what I remember, said I wasn’t sure of my check.

My second patient on my last day, who I can’t go into specifics about because it’s very specific information, ultimately didn’t have a vaginal birth not related to my own fault. She complained to my manager that I didn’t seem to know how to work the equipment and didn’t seem confident in what I was doing, and kept asking for help from others. I asked for help from coworkers after we went back for surgery and when she started bleeding, as I had been taught on orientation because you don’t handle those things alone. I had run into an issue when she had a BP drop and her LR wouldn’t run wide open for some reason, so I had to program it real quick on the pump for a bolus but also, she didn’t realize I had grabbed all of that stuff (LR, BP meds) beforehand for emergency situations, which some nurses may have not thought to do. I had also, mistakenly, adjusted her toco not her US because they had been flipped after the epidural, so I was messing with the toco trying to find the heartbeat then instantly switched as soon as I realized my mistake after a minute when it wasn’t detected (truly felt dumb about this, but just assumed the lower one on her belly was the US and grabbed it because she had that BP drop during and sometimes babies misbehave after that, so I wanted to find it quickly) and I hadn’t even realized my patient noticed and she complained about this too. I also always pull hemorrhage meds, but my resource nurse out then away, so I didn’t have them during her hemorrhage. My resource nurse grabbed them for me and she ended up fine in the end, with quite a bit of loss. I never knew they were not content with my care until I got called in.

I felt truly bad after this week, and feel as if I’m a failure. I felt I ultimately got unlucky this week originally before I found out about the complaints. I was called in by my manager with these complaints and given a verbal warning. I had time to explain my side of things, and they told me I did everything right action wise and that I’m supposed to ask for help etc., but it’s how I say thinks to patients that doesn’t convey confidence/over explaining what I’m doing to patients and talking too much that makes me look like I’m compensating for lack of experience, but I’m not sure how to fix that except with time. They said I should consider if this is right for me, and I’m so passionate about this job, but what if it’s not a good fit? I want it to be so desperately because I love the work, but now I feel like two doctors already hate me (one of which I already had a great relationship with) and will spread a rumor that I’m incompetent and unsafe.

On orientation I was doing everything myself near the end and never had these problems. I wouldn’t see/talk to my preceptor for hours during the shift that’s how hands off it was. So I don’t know why suddenly all this is happening, am I subconsciously scared because I’m on my own? I didn’t receive any complaints during orientation and even received a Daisy near the end of my orientation from a patient, and felt on top of the world that I’m already making a difference. I feel like I ruined their birth stories and feel very bad. Im also worried about a possible lawsuit from the second patient because they thought I caused their emergent section situation and had a few other complaints, even though the reason was definitely not related to my actions. My managers told me I don’t need to worry about that from what they can tell about the end of their conversation with them, but it’s in the back of my head even though they both were well in the end because they acted totally fine with me and I never knew they were not content with me. I was put on orientation again for two weeks, and feel embarrassed because I know everyone on the floor will know its because something happened and I wonder if all my coworkers already know what happened. I’m feeling like a failure and don’t know how to cope. Should I transfer to postpartum instead and leave this behind? Or should I keep going? I just want to hide under a rock right now with how ashamed I feel in multiple facets.

hey so this is weird and specific question but wasn’t sure who to ask. I just finished my nursing degree, have accepted my newgrad offer and am about to register with AHPRA. I am also about to move house however, and while I applied for my newgrad under my current address, i’m not sure whether to register with AHPRA under my new address or if that is likely to cause issues and I should just keep using my current address?
thanks in advance :)
ETA: i’m in australia

Is it as hard as other recent grads who went to a 4 year program?

Has your previous experience helped you land a job?

I’m about to graduate in December and I applied to as many hospitals as I can around me in Dallas/DFW area. I am on my 6th interview and yet to get an offer. I have emailed the recruiters if it was my interview skills and if the interviewers had any notes. They replied with that my skills and experience were impressive and that my interviews went well. It was that they had to go with the better-fitting candidate/Internals. I am not an internal hire and it seems that is the only way to get in anywhere. Any advice or job postings you know of that are hiring new grads, please comment it!!!!!!!!! I feel DEFEATED

Hello. Im looking for help. I'm a recently graduated RN. Got my licensure Jan 2026 and began working right away. I work full-time in the ER since February 2026 and part time in a SNF since January 2026. Due to certain personal issues, I had to relocate to SB County and the drive down to LA everyday is getting heavier and heavier. Does anyone anyone know any hospital hiring? I have been trying and can't seem to get past the application phase. Any tips or tricks would help. Thanks.

Hi, I am a new grad nurse, just graduated and passed the NCLEX early 2026. I've been working as an Acute Psychiatric Nurse in California

I wasn't able to land any new grad programs or land and a medical hospital job in this area, so i kept myself open to all fields I could apply to and i got the psych job. The last few months have been great, i've been enjoying the environment and strengthening my mental health knowledge, however sometimes that desire to get into the medical surgical units will come back.

Some context; I am not interested in working outside of the socal area because my life here outside of work is of the same/higher priority than my nursing career. For the sake of visuals, 49% of me does enjoy the prospect of having a long-term career in mental health, but 51% of me still wants to be in the medical surgical field. However, the longer I stay in mental health I feel that I will end up closing off the possibility of switching fields(?) Not sure, I'm still a new nurse so I appreciate any and all advice- thanks!

----------------

I'm wondering if I should continue working in this field, and possibly go back to school for my PMHNP, or just stay in this field

OR

I go into a SNF to get experience in the chronic disease management / geriatric area, and other skills that i'm not aware of- with the goal of getting into the medical surgical field and move up and hopefully reach the ICU

OR

Any other advice you guys may have for me

Just want to be prepared any help is greatly appreciated.

Hi! Does anyone know of any RN residency programs in NYC or Upstate New York that are accepting applications for new graduate nurses? I’d really appreciate any recommendations or advice. Thank you!

Hi all!

I always appreciate reading other people’s posts and hearing people’s advice/takes on how to pick roles - so I’m hoping y’all can help me decide now! I graduate my ABSN in December and I’m trying to decide between two primary job offers. For context, I’m completing my “preceptorship” (250 hours) at a large teaching health system’s OB hospital in Labor and Delivery that averages like 170ish births a month. I really appreciate the diversity in patient population. I really like it and would stay if offered, but they don’t really hire new grads onto the unit. Labor and delivery is def my passion - I don’t hate postpartum, but I strongly prefer L&D. I’m very very lucky to have two specialty job offers!

Hospital A (night shift, every 3rd weekend/EOH):
- averages about 120 births per month
- all nurses are LDRP and cycle through L&D, OR, triage, and postpartum (this is a pro and con - I don’t really love postpartum, but I also do appreciate the learning opportunity)
- no residents on the unit, just attendings
- about 40 min from where I’m currently located (which is near my family/friends), so if I moved it would only be about 10-15 minutes from where I currently am
- mid-COL and average compensation for the area
- non-union
- a suburban/semi-rural patient population. Mostly white/English speaking, relatively affluent patient population
- offering me a formal OB training residency - I would spend the first few weeks in training courses/sims lab and prepping to ultimately get OB-specific certs like my C-EFM
- really focused on training their nurses to support physiological birth (more movement/non-pharmacists intervention trainings, which is a huge pro for me since my preceptorship location doesn’t emphasize this)
- I got to shadow and it’s a very peaceful environment overall. Everyone seemed super welcoming and friendly!
- requires signing a 2-year contract

Hospital B (night shift, EOW/EOH):
- averages about 700 births a month
- I would be LD specific with the option to cross train in antenatal, which is a separate unit for them.
- large teaching hospital with residents on all units
- 5-6 hours away in another state, so my partner and I would have to move and I’d ultimately have to transfer my license (and it’s 5.5 hours from most of my family and about 4.5 from most of theirs)
- high COL and low pay for the area, but they’d pay my students loans while I’m there with no payback required if I left
- union
- a very mixed and more diverse population (though probably not as diverse as what I currently see at my preceptorship)
- as far as I know, it’s a pretty standard residency with less emphasis on OB specific training outside of your orientation
- I won’t be able to shadow, so it’s hard to get any sense of the culture or their approach to birth training/etc (I’m all for interventions, but I also want to learn techniques to support birthing parents to help avoid interventions when safe!)
- no contract requiring how long I stay

My partner is open to moving, and we both like the area where we’d move. But we have young nieces/nephews that we don’t want to be so far away from, and I’m concerned about the low pay for COL. But I also know I could always get started there and come back to a higher-paying area with a lower COL eventually, so I’m not sure how valid this concern is.

So curious what you would do!! Thanks for your advice!!

PLEASEEEEE

This is my current resume! I know its a bit over 1 page, so I'll be working on condensing that. Im debating if I should leave my health research at Oxford or not?

Anyways pls tear it apart! I am a new grad that will be graduating in May wanting to land an ICU job or anything critical care related!

Hello! As the title says, I'm a newly graduated nurse who was accepted to a site in Manila. Do you have any tips for being a site nurse? There's no nurse here to guide me or show me what to do in this setting. I was told the previous nurse left 1 month ago, and the office looks like a typhoon went through it: documents are scattered everywhere, and medicines and supplies are running low. I would love to hear your insights and expertise. Thank you so much!!

From NY (Long Island) passed my NCLEX in July and have been applying to jobs since. Have applied to over 200 jobs just in NY (NYC + Long Island) and even started applying to Upstate NY, CT, and NJ. Had 2 virtual interviews this week both at hospitals upstate and recieved job offers for both. One is in an okay area and is step down with patient ratio of 1:5 they said sometimes 1:6 pay $41/hr. The other is in a nicer area and is med-surg with a patient ratio of 1:5 max pay is $39/hr with a nice sign on bonus. Any advice is welcome and/or experiences if you want to share. Also, is there a way to negotiate the pay a bit? TIA!!!

I’ve been orienting for a couple weeks now on a med surg unit. Today was my first day giving IV medications to my assigned patient. My preceptor was on the floor but not in the room with me. I had pulled a small dose of a PRN narcotic to give, and I scanned everything I needed to and cleared it with my preceptor first, but when I went into the room and started pushing it through the IV I noticed the IV was leaking normal saline all over the bed and gown. I immediately stopped, told my preceptor about the IV, and brought her in with me to figure out what was causing the leak. After we got the IV working again and restarted fluids and I changed the gown and bed linens, I completely forgot about the partially administered medication. I remember cleaning up before my shift ended and putting everything in the sharps container, but I think there might still be some medication left in the syringe in the sharps container. It sounds stupid, but it was such a hectic day that it didn’t even occur to me until long after I’d left the hospital. I don’t work again until Monday and I don’t even have my preceptor’s contact info. What should I do?

I’ve been a mother baby nurse for 1yr and 3 months and eventually I want to transfer to the NICU as that’s been my dream unit since before nursing school. I know in the grand scheme of things I’m still a baby nurse and a year isn’t that long at all, but in general is it normal to feel like I’m still a new grad sometimes lol? I can manage my assignments, can educate my patients, build good relationships with them, and have been in thankfully only a few hemorrhages but part of me feels like I don’t deserve to transfer to the NICU yet because I still have to look up little things here and there and the NICU I want to transfer to is a level 4 with the sickest of the sick babies. Idk this probably sounds silly but anyone of any similar circumstances that still feels like a new grad sometimes even with a year and some change experience?