Should I stay prn at a hospital? WIC Nurse

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Hi everybody! Wanted to get your opinion...

I have an opportunity to become a WIC nurse. I love community nursing and am very excited! What I don't know is if I should stay prn at the hospital I'm currently working at. I think I am partially afraid to lose the skills and knowledge I have gained by working as a surgical/ortho nurse... Also thinking about job security and what if WIC decided to do away with my position at some point?. I am planning on going back to school for my NP but I never want to work in a hospital as one. What do you think??

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

If you have not done this type of nursing before, then I would keep your foot in the door at the hospital, at least for 6 months or so. This type of nursing is something either you absolutely love, or you absolutely do not.

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Keeping your foot in the door as a prn is a great idea. For one as a new NP, they love acute care experience. You can always transition to more hours if this community nursing won't work. Btw, any usage of your skills as a hospital nurse counts in my book. Compare that to being completely out and doing the community nursing. Become who you ultimately want to be, just be smart about. This is a good question.

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I agree with Klone, love working in community nursing, it is my passion! But I do regret leaving my clinical position all together. I miss it, my brain misses it! And now trying to return to school at 41 for my BSN I feel I'm out of loop. So yes stay with clinical keep your skills sharp! Hope this helps:)

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Specializes in med/surg, psych, public health.

Ditto to ALL the advice above! :yes:

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I recently transitioned from home health to public health. Quite the transition but I have to say I love it. I love WIC. I love what I do and I think that's mostly because I love to educate. I do sometimes miss performing skills as I did daily in home health. It's a trade off though. Public Health is a completely different skill set. I think keeping your foot in the door until you know for sure is a good idea.

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Specializes in Medical.

I agree with klone. WIC is sedentary work that can become redundant. You do have to really like it. Stay PRN at the hospital for a few months. See which job feels right for you.

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