Off of work

[mystical_angel8]

I graduated with a BSN in 2006. took and passed boards that summer. worked for like 2 months (found out i was pregnant) and was on bedrest for most of my pregnancy so didnt really work. I had my daughter may of 2007 and am taking her first year off work. Now that she's almost a year old i'm looking to go back but feel lost. What are employers going to think of me graduating in 06 and not really working as a nurse yet? Is it going to be hard for me to find a job? I feel like no one is going to want to hire me.

[wearingmanyhats, RN]

I would explain what you just did..... shouldn't be a problem.... Good Luck!

[ScaredNewNurse]

I graduated in the spring, passed boards, and finally went back to work the following year once my newborn was a few months old. I never had experience and most employers I interviewed with found it refreshing that I waited. That way, I wouldn't be stressing out with a new job and being increasingly uncomfortable as I become larger. I put it like this in an interview, "I didn't think it was fair to myself or my employer...blah,blah,blah........" --- they ate it up!

[Miami NightNurse]

You shouldn't have a problem. They need nurses out there. After 6-8 weeks of orientation you'll get the hang of things again. Atleast that is how long they orient new grads where I work

[maryloufu]

We had a new nurse that graduated with me and she did not start working until the following year. (and I oriented her- it was weird)

If they need nurses I don't think it will be a problem.

[RN1989]

I've precepted nurses such as yourself. They found it very difficult to make that transition back into nursing.

I would recommend that you take a refresher course first, to get the knowledge back into the forefront of your mind. This also looks better if you try to get a job in an area that isn't hurting for nurses and isn't desperate to hire you no matter what.

When you apply for jobs, you really should look at GN type positions. These theoretically should afford you a better orientation. The hospitals don't want to give you the orientation because they will say that you aren't a new nurse but don't let them shortchange you. They will try to give you the least amount of orientation possible because they think that a body is a body and do not understand that you have been out of the field for quite a while. If you had more experience under your belt (as in 5-10 yrs) before you took the time off it would be easier. But you were still in the learning phase of being a new nurse and thus have more learning needs.

Remember CYA - both you and your patients will depend on it.