New nurse sent to Italy. How can I keep up with my field?

[Janet Grise]

Having wanted to be a nurse since grade school, you can imagine my excitment at recieving my LPN license in 1999 at age 37. I worked for 4 months on a busy surgical floor before my husband recieved orders with the military to move to Italy. What now?

The clinic here is very small with no LPN openings. I can volunteer through the Red Cross, which I do when I can, but with 2 children, I need to work elsewhere for the income. What will my resume look like when I leave here to return to the states? I want to get a nursing job, but will anyone hire me after a three year absence (basically) from the profession? I would continue my education but the opportunities here are very limited. What can I do to best prepare me to return to nursing in a couple of years? What can I do to keep my skills current? Any advice from anyone out there will be greatly appreciated!

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Janet

[NurseNikki2001]

What part of Italy are you going to? You can get a job as a goverment employer. You would have to work in another position until a nursing position came up. At least you would have a secure job with the goverment.

Also I don't know much about Regents school but you can study at home and get your RN.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Janet, I'm an RN with a husband who did 23 yrs in the air force, (retired 1995). You have preferential hiring in all military clinics/hospitals. Try for that, maybe at a nearby base. Also, while in Italy, contact Weisbaden hospital in Germany for continuing education. Make some contacts there. Also, try to set up an exchange for Italian nurses. It is so interesting to see the different roles nurses play overseas. I was an LPN first, then did my RN. You can do a lot of your RN prerequisites via computer or correspondence. They are accepted (usually at any college). Also, I worked as a medical transcriptionist while in Korea, because it required a native English speaker with specialized background. It was very interesting too. Best of luck. (Ps - I spent time in Japan, Spain, Alaska and Korea, not to mention a couple of stateside bases.)