Peace Corps right out of school

[paradise8768]

Hello everyone! I have one year left of nursing school -- I will be graduating with a BSN -- and Peace Corp has always been a dream of mine. I would love to be able to volunteer with them upon graduating and passing the NCLEX. Does anyone know of anyone doing this or have any information on nurses participating in the Peace Corp and their experiences. I am hesitant because I understand that the experience itself is more Public Health centered than Nursing focused and I do not want to lose everything I learned in Nursing school. Does anyone if residencies would accept someone three years out of school, but with no nursing experience? That is something I would consider doing after volunteering. Thank you for any insight/advice on the topic!

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Truthfully, you don't have any nursing experience to offer the Peace Corps or any other organization at this point. And I don't know of any residencies that would consider you a 'new grad' three years down the road - no matter what you had been doing in the interim.

May I suggest an alternative? Short-term mission trips with either a faith-based group such as a local church, or another mission-type organization. They could be fit into those first couple years as a nurse, and you could still be developing job-type skills. If the Peace Corps is your goal, you'd be a much better candidate as an experienced RN than as a new grad without anything except a license.