Nurse who never sets foot in a hospital? Possible??

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2007

From what I have gleaned from a long time of reading this board - new grads need at least one year of hospital experience before going on to other jobs outside of the hospital. It gives that real world experience and knowledge of medical problems and treatment. That said, I suppose there are people who have graduated and bypassed hospital work all together. I think it would be much more difficult to find a job, though.

On thing I noticed about the jobs you listed as being interested in. In many geographic areas those jobs (school nurse, public health, etc) require a BSN and don't hire ADN RNs. It seems that often-times it is the jobs outside of a hospital that require a BSN while most hospital nurses have ADNs. I find this ironic because it's the hospital nurses who have the most responsibility in my book - holding lives in their hands.

I'd think long and hard about this. From what I have seen, many people like the idea of nursing but then freak out at the reality of it. I'm not saying you are necessarily this way - it just came to mind.

Good luck with what you decide!

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 13, 2007

I agree with multicollinarity. Are you sure that nursing is really the field for you? It sounds as if you may be better-suited for a related field, such as health education. You might also be interested in something nutrition or genetic couseling. Such jobs are health-related, but involve talking with patients and teaching them rather than meeting their physical needs.

The year or two of hospital experience that many nursing jobs require is not just a matter of "paying dues." It is experience that gives the new grad the opportunity to develop more advanced judgment than is possible to develop in a school setting. In most of the more "community-based" jobs, the RN is working much more independently that an RN in a hospital. There are not other RN's working only a few feet feet away who can be called upon for assistance and advice as needed. The nurse in the community setting (and/or in an educational role) is more "on her own." That is a big part of the reason why employers prefer to hire experienced nurses for such position. They need someone who can function independently, make decisions, and not need a lot of orientation and handholding. Most new grads are not ready for that much independence yet and need the support that the hospital can provide.

That indepedence of practice is also why a lot of those positions require BSN's.

Also, new grads simply need to "see more cases" in order to develop the more advanced judgment skills. That's part of what experience gives you -- it gives you lots of examples to learn from and to have in your memory bank to compare to later when you are out there by yourself in the community having to make an important judgment.

Of course, there are always a few people who are exceptions to the rule -- and some may post here telling you that they found a non-hospital job right after graduation and are quite happy in their current position. But they are exceptions to the rule. The majority of new grads work in hospitals or LTC's for a while. I wouldn't invest the time and money in a nursing education if you are not willing to have a career path that is typical for nursing.

jjjoy, LPN · Aug 13, 2007

You're doing the right thing to ask questions.

There ARE non-hospital jobs out there for nurses. And there is often competition for those job because most people want such jobs (regular hours, etc) even if the pay is sometimes lower than for hospital work (often the case). Thus, to get a nursing education and PLAN to never work in a hospital may not be the most realistic plan.

Is it possible? Absolutely! Is it likely or simple or easy to get the kind of non-hospital job you'd be interested in? No. There just isn't as much demand for the type of position you speak of compared the the need for bedside nurses.

But you needn't give up on nursing completely yet. Continue to do research on types of non-hospital nursing jobs in your geographic area. Be sure to look into public health nursing. Check out what type of positions are available, if you might like that type of work, what kind of demand there is, what the turnover is and what kind of experience they generally require for such work.

Also, it can be hard to keep one's eye on non-hospital jobs when there is such a big demand for hospital jobs and you keep seeing "2-5 years experience in XXX" in non-hospital job descriptions. The competition for non-hospital jobs can mean it's more difficult to change jobs once you do land a job as well. Meanwhile, in job interviews and casual conversations, people are giving you funny looks for having an RN license and avoiding hospital work.

Finally, the bulk of RN education IS hospital based. So there's no way to avoid the hospital COMPLETELY. Some programs will include a public health rotation (most BSN programs for example) or some outpatient experiences, but you will practice hands-on patient care in the hospital (eg on an oncology unit, a geriatric unit, an orthopedic unit, etc) for most of your clinical hours in school.

*Blessed2BaNRS* · Aug 13, 2007

Hi Sherrilynn,

Welcome to allnurses!! This is a great place for help, support and answers to all types of questions!

As far as being a nurse without working in a hospital, like Multicollinarity posted above, it all depends on where you are located at. I know that the school nurse at my youngest kids school is an RN, with an Associates, not a BS. And a lot of nurses (again, in my area) go straight to work at doctor's offices or in home health. So there are TONS of different places to work as a nurse. Thing is, in the dr. offices here, they really only hire LVN's. There are few offices with RN's, since they are limited on paying someone (or don't want to shell out the money for RN's!!)

I think that with so many opportunities out there, you could find the job that fits you pretty easily. Just a word of caution though, school nurse positions are pretty hard to come by since they offer the "perfect" job for a mom who wants her children's schedule!!! But, again, it can be done!

Good luck in whatever route you choose, and don't let your doubts about hospital work keep you from doing something that you are interested in~

JBGC4 · Aug 13, 2007

"Experience Required" is what you will see on the job postings of these jobs. A physician is most likely to hire a nurse who has worked "hands-on" in a hos. rather than a nurse that did 600 and some odd hours of clinicals. Hospitals do not worry about the experience w/ the exception of certain fields, b/c 1. they are short staffed as it is 2. when you get a job at a hospital, you spend 3 months training w/ another nurse to learn your job before you are let go on your own so, they offer one-on-one training thus creating "some" experience.

I could be completely wrong on this-I have no idea but this is how I would see it. There is no doubt about it that w/ a nursing degree you can do just about anything but you need to get your foot through the door first and that means getting your hands dirty.

Good Luck.

Joe NightingMale, MSN, RN · Aug 13, 2007

Once again I'd like to recommend 101 Careers in Nursing by Jeanne Novotny. It will give you a good idea about the scope of the profession of nursing.

Also, checking out nursing-related careers is a good idea too. The Occupational Outlook Handbook, which can be found online at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a good resource for this.

coolpeach · Aug 14, 2007

The school nurses in our area can have a Associates, but only if they have a year experience in ped department of the hospital.

It's just not possible to do without ANY hospital. In ALL of the programs in my area you must do clinical rotations at the hospitals every week for the full two years to graduate.