becoming a nurse

[mom21.]

I am interested in becoming a nurse. I would like to work in the newborn nursery (or just with children in general) My only problem with this is that I am a wife and mother. I want to be at home with my family in the evenings. Any suggestions as to where I could begin my carreer where I wouldn't have to work night shifts? Thanks!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Welcome to allnurses. I see this is your first post. If you "hang around" here for awhile and explore some of the threads, I am sure you find a lot of useful information -- and links to more useful information.

1. The first thing you need to do is something you have aleady done. Begin to explore your options so that you can develop realistic expectations.

I am afraid you are going to find that nursing in hospital setting (e.g. newborn nursery, pediatrics, etc.) usually requires that you work your share of the night, holiday, and weekend shifts. While you may think you cannot do that and be a mother at the same time, you will find that millions of women have successfully combined the two. There are some Nursing Jobs that are Monday-Friday day shifts only, but most of those jobs require hospital experiece first.

2. Explore your educational options. Given your family status, I assume that you are not willing to relocate to go to school. So, contact your local nursing schools and find out their requirements, admissions processes, etc. A good place to start is with their websites to get some general information. Then, you will have to actually pick up the phone and call them and/or arrange for an on-campus appointment and/or go to a public information session.

As you explore, you will find that there are many different "levels" of educational programs that prepare nurses for different types of roles within the profession. You'll need to do a lot of exploring.

3. You might want to see how well you like doing nursing work before investing in a nursing education. You can do that by becoming a nursing assistant (CNA) or by volunteering in a hospital setting. Such experience would help you get a better idea as to whether or not nursing work is something that you would actually be good at and want to do. Also, it would help you meet local nurses who could give you some information about local schools, the local job market, etc.

4. As you do your exploring, you should keep an open mind about the possibilities. Sometimes, what "fits" you best is what you least expect. For example, you might decide that you really want to work as a nurse in a hospital -- and that may mean changing your expectations about working only day shifts. Or you might decide that there are other professions that work with children that might better-suit your desire to only work weekdays (teacher, child life specialist, physical therapist, etc.)

Good luck to you.