Options in Nursing

[thatpatti]

I am 42 and planning to start nursing school next year after staying home with kids for 15 years. I hear over and over that there are a lot of options in nursing - different jobs in different settings. But a lot of what I read here makes it seem like the only nursing jobs out there require 12 hour shifts in a hospital setting. Am I missing something? Have things changed to the degree that there aren't as many options now, or are the options mostly only available for advance practice nurses?

[Extra Pickles]

It's very true that there are many options, many different kinds of careers within the nursing professions. However, many of those options do require that a minimum amount of time (years) be spent honing the skills and gaining the experience required for the more autonomous, more flexible (read: more desirable) jobs.

This isn't 100% true across all avenues and you will definitely find stories of new graduates who landed their dream job in XX clinic, or a specific specialty. Most of the time though what it takes to get into those positions comes with experience in other settings, most often (but not always) hospitals and nursing homes.

The needs are greatest (when there is a need at all) for hospital nurses so that's what's going to be discussed most often. Plum assignments doing clinic work during daytime hours, no holidays, no weekends, no nights, no on-call, those obviously are pretty easy to fill so not much discussion on them.

Nursing school will prepare you to work in most settings at least at an entry level. And most new grads will need to work wherever they can FIND work for someone with no experience and that usually means nights, weekends, holidays----and hospitals.

If you are interested in nursing you'll have many opportunities to try out many settings. You just might not get to do the jobs you want right off the bat, it may take you months or years to find your niche and you might change jobs and specialties several times before you find the right fit.

Part of how the process works :)

[thatpatti]

Ok yeah, that makes sense and is pretty much what I was assuming. It's a little overwhelming thinking about taking on such an intense job after so many years of relative freedom in terms of my schedule and such, but there's really nothing else I want to do and I guess that goes a long way toward making "paying my dues" worth it. :)

[Extra Pickles]

Some people will say "paying your dues" is not necessary, you can find what you want right away. And some of those people will be right, but many will be wrong. Usually, the more attractive YOU find a job, OTHER people also find the job, and you will be competing with people who not only have more experience but the RIGHT experience. Time is a great teacher :)

Good luck to you!