time-off to raise children

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm about to start my first nursing job and I plan to have children in about 3 years. I've always thought I'd like to take off a few years from work when my children are young and then go back when they're in school.

Is this a bad idea? Would I lose my nursing skills or have trouble finding a new job?

(We would likely move to a different town after children, so I'd need to start over at a new hospital anyway)

I though finding work after nursing school would be really easy, but it was definitely much harder than I thought, and I worry that finding work after 5 years of being a stay at home mom might be harder than I thought also.

Did anyone else do it?

Does it depend a lot on the economy and how desperate they are for nurses at the time I want to go back?

I quit completely for 8 years to raise my two boys..I do not regret the decision, but I do wish I had worked enough hours to keep my license active. Reinstating my license has been a lot of waiting and I'm not very marketable right now due to my absence.

check into what your state requires to maintain active status..prn and agency work are both great options for moms. Also any kind of home care or hospice, I've done both in the past and liked that the schedules were pretty much 8 to 5.

With that said I graduated school with two pregnant nurses :)

Specializes in School Nursing.

I worked 1-2 evenings a week when my kids were little. It kept me in the profession and I think in some ways it made my husband a better dad. He was the "funner" parent, always taking them to the park and stuff while I was at work.

First off, let me just say how aboslutely happy I was to read your post. You are already dedicated to your children and they aren't even here yet ;). It seems that most people these days have children and then ship them off to daycare or hire someone else to raise them. Your presence will mean everything to them. If I were you, I'd do per diem work. You work very little but still retain your nursing skills. Most places would be hesitant to hire a nurse that hasn't worked for 3 years. If you work per diem then you will avoid this. Again, congratulations. There's nothing more satisfying than to see your child's face light up when they see their mother pick them up from school. The trade off of a few extra dollars doesn't even compare.

Specializes in L&D.

thanks for all the responses. It's so hard to tell how I'll feel in a few years since I haven't started my job yet and I also haven't had a baby yet.

But I guess I'm leaning towards per diem or something like that after the baby is born.

I'll be working in L&D and I'd love to start teaching childbirth education at some point, which I think would also be a good part-time job for a new mom. Maybe combined with a couples L&D shifts a month.

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