FutureRNsarah

Thanks matadobraK! Are you worried you will find it difficult to secure a job later? It's such a hard decision for me because on one hand I don't want to waste 4 years of study but on the other hand I don't want to keep putting children off when I'm now turning 30 in December and also have the added risk of infertility due to my past exposure to carcinogens:(

Hi nurse Beth, It is such a personal decision so I'm sure some people must think it's strange that I'm asking for advice from complete strangers on this. I guess it's just that I've thought about what to do for so long and I just can't find an answer that makes me happy in both the career and children department. After much thought last night I think I will stick with my grad program as there is much more support and i want to leave a good impression at this hospital so they will consider me for future employement after I have my children. It's a sacrifice I feel I have to make for the sake of my career and in the end for my children as well. Thank you everyone for your kind words I appreciate it more than you might think.

Thank you everyone, So since deciding to wait I've felt pretty depressed. I'm realising more and more how important having a family is to me. The hospital that I will be starting my program at in April has just put up an advertisement for RN's. I emailed the nursing director and he said that although they prefer you to start in April when the program starts I can apply for the job and see what happens. This would start in January and if I continued with it would include maternity pay I'm assuming. This way I could start trying for kids around April 2016 instead of September 2016-(to finish the Grad). My question is does anyone know if I was successful in getting the job could I ask to continue on that contract and not commence the Grad program?

Hi Marie, I accepted the program yesterday and woke up this morning sad because reality hit that I may have to hold off on children again (I've now been putting it off for 4years due to uni) then I woke up to your reply and I guess I was already upset so the hurtful words didn't help. Anyway i accept your apology and again I appreciate your advice. I completely agree with your above statement.. And I honestly thought of all the poor people who weren't as lucky as me in getting a grad program and I did feel selfish... Here I was crying while there were all these students at home sad because they didn't get the opportunity. This also helped me make the decision. I guess unless you are in someone's shoes it is hard to understand but it has honestly been one of the hardest decisions I've made.

Thanks OrganizedChaos! I was offered the graduate program yesterday and accepted. I've been a vet nurse for 10years now and am so excited about finally working as an RN. The decision to wait another year was a very hard one..., many tears have been shed on this subject for quite some months now. However I believe this opportunity to work at the hospital I've been dreaming of working for for 4+years now is just too good to pass up. I'm just really hoping that when we do start trying for a family that we don't have any issues conceiving. But I guess that's just one of those things that no one can plan. I hope I have made the right decision :) thanks again!

As I'm sure you have now probably read my below comment I hope you understand a little more about why I'm considering this. I understand your point and I honestly had not even thought about the fact that the hospital will be putting a lot of $ into my training, and I guess the reason why is because I always intended in going back there as soon as I could. The hospital that I have my grad program at is the place I want to work for after my program as well. So I'm thankful for you for pointing this out to me (that's the whole reason I wrote the post- to get advice) I actually appreciate it. However I do not appreciate being described as selfish and having you say I should be ashamed. This has been one of the hardest decisions of my life which I have not taken lightly. I have actually decided to do the grad program and start trying for children once I'm around half way through. That way I can complete the program and have at least a years experience. I hope in future you take a little more time in thinking about how you respond to people's questions and perhaps shaming people is not the way to earn respect.

Thank you nurse Beth for those wise words. I'm surprised to have read the above comment, I find it a quite aggressive. I don't think I need to be ashamed for asking for advice on two things I want badly. No one knows my circumstances and I did not feel like disclosing this but now I feel I have to. I have been overly exposed to carcinogenic drugs in my work as a vet nurse (a long with around 6 others). I have to be tested every 6months and no one can say if I'll be able to have children or not. It is all going through court at the moment because my boss knowingly let this happen. So I'm sorry if you think my decisions are "selfish" but I do not think so. I may already have trouble conceiving so I like many others that I work with who have been exposed do not want to wait too long as to add age against us also. I'm saddened to see that people on social media are happy to say nasty things when they do not even know 1/8th of that persons story. Nurse Beth I appreciate your advice and will definitely think about my choices. Regards, sarah.

Thanks for the reply! ill be finished school soon so it's not the issue of children or school :). My issue is having a baby just after I graduate and not getting that time to consolidate my skills. And I'm scared it will make getting a job in the future harder. Just not sure if I should hold off so I can get my first year of working as a RN done or just go for it and work it out as I go. The hard thing is I really want to start my family but I also don't want to jeopardise my career.

Hi fellow nurses. im in Australia and am graduating at the end of this year. I'm also turning 30 around the same time. I held off having children throughout my degree and now that I'm nearly done I'm back to the drawing board. I'm wondering when is a better time to get pregnant? I'm worried that if I start now and I get preg fast (unlikely I know but you never know) then I would be due around April. This wouldn't give me much time to work as an rn - also the grad program I've applied for doesn't commence until April so I wouldn't even be able to start it. I'm also worried that I won't have time to consolidate what I have learnt and this might make it hard to get a job after the baby is old enough. I also wouldn't be entitled to maternity pay. I was thinking of waiting even 3 months so that I could do atleast 3 months of my grad program... Thoughts?