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Discussion

Taking a break from work for a few years

Hi guys! I was wondering if you could take a break from working as a nurse(RN) for 3 years after having a baby and then get a RN job without any problems. My husband and I are thinking of taking a break from work and spending some quality time with the family for a few years. I am worried that nobody will want to hire me after taking such a long break.. Or that my hourly wage will go down(of which I'm not too worried about). During that time off, I will be staying abroad with my family, so there won't be an option of working part time to keep my hands on nursing. Is there a minimum hours of work required to keep your license active(Ontario)? If any of you have similar experience, your comments will be greatly appreciated!

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    • Featured Replies

    My aunt took several years off to raise her kids and she got a job working inpatient afterwards. It may not seem too promising now with the job market the way it is but you never know how it will be in the future!

    Also, family is WAY more important than work. Actually family is the most important.

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    • Experts

    There is a minimum amount of hours that you have to work every year to keep your license active but I'm not sure what it is.I thnik that you can change your license to "inactive".Contact the college of nurses in your province and they can tell you.

    Why would you expect our hourly wage to go down?

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    For some reason three years comes to mind. A coworker took four years off and had to do a refresher course before returning to practice.

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    • Experts

    Fiona59 is correct - Ontario requires proof of that the applicant seeking reinstatement with CNO has practiced nursing IN THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO within the preceding 3 years. No minimum number of hours is required but the applicant has to make a statutory declaration, which is a legal document. The OP is correct to worry that taking a 3 year break from nursing and leaving the country will make her less attractive to employers upon her intended return to the work force. Taking such a complete break from nursing will also impact her placement on the pay scale; even though credit is given for experience, it's usually prorated by hours worked/annual FTE hours. So if the OP works full time as a nurse for 2 years then takes 3 years off, upon returning she would only be placed at the 2 year level... IF the employer provides portability in this way. There are so many non-unionized employers in Ontario that this may not be the case at all and the OP would be put at the bottom of the pay scale, as seniority dictates. We won't even talk about the possibility of roll-backs. To say that the OP could have a baby then take 3 years off, leave the country to spend time with family and then comeback and find a job right away - especially in Ontario - would be wishful thinking, in my opinion, although a lot can change in the meantime.

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    I can answer this, as I was initially educated and registered in ON but I've never worked there. Once I hit the third year mark, I had to register in the non practising class. That was last year.

    Now, should I wish to re-instate my license, I need to complete all the paperwork, including requesting that my employer and CARNA complete verification forms. This takes about 5 weeks. I will also be required to write the jurisprudence exam for ON, since I've never practised there.

    After considering this, unless I have a firm job offer pending, I'm not going to bother re-instating for ON. Based on everything I've read with various College of Nurses websites, this is now standard procedure after three years.

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