dearohdear

Hi Weary1, I was very much in the same boat as you are about a year ago, so I thought I'd share my story. I was working in adult acute general med for 2 years before I realized that I wanted to work in preventative care, and started to pursue my dream of working in public health. I got much of the same advice from everyone that I needed to have peds/maternal experience, which was a problem for me. It is true, most managers look for acute maternal/peds experience, especially if you are applying for positions that include roles with postpartum, well child, school health or generalist responsibilities (keep in mind that public health includes a range of roles just like all of nursing, like the previous comment pointed out). That being said, it isn't impossible to break into the field without that clinical experience. For me, I knew that was a weak spot in my resume, so after making cold calls to several public health offices, one kindly manager took the time to sit down with me and talk about how I could get the experience I needed. She gave me info for several online courses, workshops and seminars that would help get me the background knowledge that I needed (ex. things like one-day pediatric information workshops, and immunization competency modules). I also took advantage of several volunteer opportunities in my current work at the hospital that gave me public health related experience - I volunteered to organize a flu shot campaign for my fellow coworkers on my unit. In my interviews, I always was sure to include experiences that were outside of nursing as well, things like working with children during my summer jobs through university, and travel experiences. These little things started add up to build up what I needed in my resume, and it worked. A couple months later I was offered a casual position at a local community health centre, and I am now working full time in a permanent position in our Well Child Clinic. Point of the story being, focus on what skills you DO bring to the table and never underestimate the power of those small experiences. You don't necessarily need to have a previous 2 years working in acute peds, NICU, or L&D in order to work with families in the community. It would inform your practice, but it's not a deal-breaker.

Hello all! It's my first time posting on a forum like this, so I'm hoping someone out there might have some nuggets of wisdom for me. :) I'm thinking about applying for nursing jobs up in remote northern Canada for a year, but I'm feeling torn whether it is a good option. I've worked the past 2 years on an acute medical floor and have felt I've "put in my dues" in that field. I got some amazing experiences out of it, but acute care nursing is just not for me. I'm not a night shift person, and am not a fast-paced personality, so I'm not a huge fan of the constant stress of acute/critical/emergency care. I recently gave up my permanent position to get into community health nursing, and love it so much more! I love the teaching aspect and health promotion side of community health nursing, and that "big picture" way of thinking about population based health. In the long term, I have very clear career aspirations: I know that in the near future, I want to go back to school for my graduate degree, either in epidemiology or public health. I'm really interested in communicable disease prevention and surveillance, and love to travel - so my dream job would be to integrate the two! I've even already made a pro/con list: Pros: - Adventure! – I have a travel/adventure itch that I've been dying to scratch for the past 2 years. Seeing the Canadian north would be amazing. - Good pay which will probably be able to fund grad school after a year. - Student loan forgiveness. BIG help! - Community/public health nursing experience. - Regular hours for a year (which is more than I can say right now for my casual job – I gave up my line in acute care to get into community health but am having trouble picking up enough shifts – it was hard enough to get into public health, but even harder to get a regular line). - I really enjoy working with different cultures and populations. Cons: - Isolated away from friends and family, I know the remoteness can really get lonely. - Lack of sunlight – I wasn't happy working nights for 2 years. - Fast-paced work environment – With there being minimal health professionals up north, I know there might be a lot of acute/emergency care overlap, which I know is not my strongest suit. I'd love to hear your advice or personal experiences with Northern nursing. Thanks!:)