New mom AND new grad

inland18mempire · Feb 5, 2009

That's a tough one! I presume it will be difficult for you to land a job being pregnant (since the 1st thing that'll come into the manager's mind is you'll be taking maternity leave right away). To compound this, the economy is in the crapper right now and it's hard for the perfect candidate to get hired. As far as what you negogiate... you negogiate nothing. Nursing is a blue-collar type job and you take what they give you, unfortunately. P.S. I took off 7 months after I finished nursing school (I did nothing related to nursing at ALL during that time).

Nursing Mommy of 2 · Feb 5, 2009

I have been out of school since August of '07 and am just about to take my NCLEX this month... on the 16th, to be exact. At first I had some family issues that made it difficult to take the test. (my mom was sick... we had to move from the house we owned because some bad weather destroyed it...etc.) Then in January of '08, right as I was about to send in my paperwork to take the test, I found out that I was pregnant with our second child. I knew that there was no way that I would be able to take the test. I was horrible sick, couldn't concentrate, and was tired all of the time. With all of that, I put off the test until after our son was born. He was born in September of '08 and I wanted to take some time with him. When he was about three months old, I felt that I could take the time from him and devote it to studying. I am finishing my practice exams scoring 90% or better on almost every one I take. I'm not saying that everyone could do....but it is possible. Take as much time as you feel comfortable with.

inland18mempire · Feb 5, 2009

I would recommend that you take your NCLEX as SOON as possible. The longer you wait, the more like you'll end upf forgetting things which will lead to faliure. You can pass the NCLEX right away but not actually have to work until you decide to apply to different places. Good luck to you.

alexis79 · Feb 5, 2009

I graduated last March and had a baby in may. I decided to take my NCLEX as soon as possible. It took and passed the boards in late July. That gave me enough time with the baby and enough time to study. I started a job last month and I tell you I am having a very hard time being away from my baby. I wish you luck. We do not get to negotiate much. You can choose to interview for different positions though such as days or nights or part time or a speciality.