Waiting to start Nursing Career

[Shevalove]

Hi ,

I was wondering if anyone waited to start their nursing career after the graduated? I have spoken to a nurse who waited two years after graduating to start nursing. I was just thinking that it would be hard to find a job with no nursing experience and it being so long after she graduated. Any one out there that has done this??

[oramar]

I don't know anything about the subject but I must say that the shortage is getting more serious and the old rules do not seem to apply anymore. Once I would have said that there would be a lot of problems getting a job if you waited two years but I bet these days it is not so difficult.

[grouchy]

I waited about 5 months and I've never regretted it. I worked 24 hours a week while attending nursing school full-time, and also had to deal with a major family health crisis during school. By the time I was finished, I was fried. I think if I had started a new job then I would have projected a bad attitude. I kept my part-time psych tech job, took it easy over the summer (and studied for and passed the boards), and didn't even start looking until late September. I found a job easily, and I was now psyched to start as an RN.

I can't imagine waiting longer than about 6 months - I think it would probably impact your performance and also raise questions about how motivated you are to be an RN. A good compromise might be starting part-time.