exactlywatt

Hello, I graduated with my BSN in December of 2009, passed the NCLEX in February of 2010 and had a baby in March. For the past 17 months I've been lucky enough to make the choice to stay at home with my kids. I am planning on starting my nursing career after the new year. Although I am a mature woman with good grades, skills and a previous science career with relevant management and education experience, I am well aware of the challenges facing me in finding a job. I returned to school with the goal of becoming a CNM and plan on applying to the combined CNM/FNP MSN program at Frontier School of Nusing after getting a few years of clinical experience under my belt. Although maternal child is my passion, and the specialty I worked for my preceptorship, I would like to start my career as a med surge nurse based on the advice of many nurses I respect. I understand though pregnancy is a normal part of a woman's life, today's childbearing population enters pregnancy with a larger number of existing health problems and to be a skilled nurse practioner I want to know how to recognize and treat the non-normal.A few years in med surge will give me the chance to perfect these skills before moving into L&D. While working med surge I plan on maintaining membership with AWOHNN and pursing my Lactation Educator cert. I was a good student academically and clinically. I consider myself a very hands-on, passionate, science-loving nurse. I earned my degree and licensure and know I would do well in the hospital, but am very humble to the fact that I need clinical experience. I will be greatful for the chance to learn. In the next three months I would like to enhance my skills as much as possible; outside of direct clinical experience; and refresh what I already know. I speak decent Spanish and am working on increasing my medical Spanish fluency. I am brushing up on my pharmacology, labs and clinical skills by repeating the Evolve coursework online. Do you seasoned nurses, managers and recruiters have advice on CNEs or desirable skills you value in a new nurse? How would you recommend getting a foot in the door? If getting an acute care position proves impossible, what route would you suggest for getting there: LTC, nursing home, home health? Thank you for your time. It is appreciated more than you know. Warmly, Kim

Thanks for the advice. I'm so excited that UCSD's program is online now. I think I may just have to sign up for the class starting in July. Having kids in school totally sucks. When I switched careers and went back for my BSN I had the older two and suprise pregnancy popped up during my third semester of clinicals. So I got my BSN in December '09, RN in February of '10 and had baby in March. Since then we've moved from Las Vegas to rural northern Minnesota and are getting ready to move to Louisville, KY next month (because winter was that insane). Husband promises to love his new job and come this fall I will hopeully start working. OB or post partum is where I want to be so I'm getting my NRP, ACLS and EFM certs this summer. Then a few years of L&D and onward to my CNM, which was the whole point of this career change. This, of course, is banking on the fact that my sanity holds out. Thanks again!

Hi, I am an RN and interested in getting a Lactation Consultant or Educator cert. I am looking at several online "classes" and am curious if anyone has any experience with them or recommendations. Personally, I am pretty pro-breastfeeding and have BF all 3 of my kids for about 2 years each (baby just turned 1). I recognize however, what works for me is not for every woman and want to steer clear of classes heavy on ideology. I'll be going back to work this fall, hopefully OB or post partum, and would like to eventually sit for the ILBLC exam at some point down the road. Thanks!

Hi, My husband got a job in Lousiville and we will be relocating in June. I received my BSN in December 2009, my RN in February of 2010 and then had a baby in March. Consequently, the only nursing I've been doing is with my baby. I will start looking for a job when we move, ideally to begin a position in the fall when the older kids head back to school. Which hospitals do you folks recommend? I understand the difficulty in getting a job for new grads. I went to school in Las Vegas and have been living in northern Minnesota the past year. It is difficult everywhere. I am a 2nd degree student and have some good skills to bring with me (education, grant writing, program development, Spanish) so I'm hopeful I'll find something at some point. Ideally I want to work in L&D or some sort of women's health unit. I returned to school to get my CNM so the BSN was step one, so to speak. I precepted in L&D as well and plan on getting my ACLS, Neonate Resuc. and FHM certs this summer to get them under my belt. I can't wait to get a job to have extra money to spend on more education. On a side note, I worked all of my clinicals in the county hospital and really liked that environment. I saw lots of interesting cases and the pateints we served needed a bit of extra TLC, which I enjoyed giving. Thanks for your thoughts and comments! Kim

I recently moved to Grand Rapids, MN for my husband's new job. I received my BSN in December of 2009 but have not begun work as became unexpectedly pregnant during school and had a baby in March. :) I am a second degree student and have almost a decade of experience in not-for-profit management, grant writing, education and outreach, graphic design and technical writing. I returned to school to pursue my CNM. I plan on returning to work full time in the fall of 2011, but would like to volunteer right now in a meaningful fashion that utilizes my nursing skills. I understand that the opportunity to work directly with patients will be limited, but am wondering if nurse managers would be interested in a person such as myself for other options. I certainly understand I won't be inserting IVs and foleys (haha) but I want to do something proffessional that will help soften the almost 2 year break between graduation and my entry into practice. How should I approach finding a volunteer position? Should I contact the nurse manager at our local hospital L&D? Based on my background, would the public health department be a better fit? I want to help meet their needs, while at the same time exercise my skills. Thanks!

I am a second degree/career student who garduated with her BSN in December. I returned to school specifically and soley to pursue a career as a CNM/FNP. I feel a strong calling and passion for midwifery and primary/well care. I know I need at least one year of experience before I can even apply to grad school (and realistically need to work and pay off some student loans) but am nervous about working in the L&D hospital setting. My 12 week L&D preceptorship was hard for me, as the hospital I worked in was not mother-baby centered and my coworkers did not have an innate trust in women's bodies. Unfortunately, I live in Las Vegas and that is the norm and my family is stuck here for the next few years. Having said that, I understand that my views are my own and talking to a woman in labor about natural/gentler options is not the right time. I have no problem finding ways to support a laboring mama being induced, epidural, etc. I do find it personally heartbreaking to see some of these mamas ending up with traumatic c-sections when providers fail to listen to the natural rhythms of labor and push too hard. Do you think this attitude and the knowledge that it won't be forever will be enough to get me through a few years as an L&D nurse? Are there other options for gaining experience that I am overlooking that will allow me to pay some bills? Luckily, I had a baby in March so still have several months to think about things before returning to work in the fall. I'm just so worried about burning out before I even make it to grad school. Thanks so much, Kim

Where would these programs be? I graduated in Dec. after changing careers to become a CNM. I precepted in L&D and don't know I could work in the very unfriendly natural birth environment that is Las Vegas. Luckily I had a baby in March so have had some time off to think about what my next step will be.