Advice needed

[KarenN]

Hi everyone. This is my first post. I found this site searching out info on travel nursing. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. My story is: I graduated from nursing school in May, 2002. I got married Sept. 2002. I didn't take boards until Feb, 2003, and got my first job April, 2003. I worked on an oncology/med-surg floor, mainly 7p to 7a only until December, 2003. I started teaching a course, Health 103, for my old nursing instructors in January 2004. I've been doing that every semester since then, except for Fall 2005. My daughter Anna was born in October 2005, and I am just now feeling like I can go back into nursing. I didn't particularly want to go back to the floor, but the idea is not out completely. I LOVE psych nursing (my brother is one of the best psych nurses around, but the only local hospital that has a psych unit mainly has in-house hires. I feel like I am at a crossroads. I don't know if I should go back to a med-surg floor; go to the ER or ICU; go into home health; start travel nursing; or WHAT. Another thing to consider is: with only 9 months of experience, what would I be eligible for outside of a hospital? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[nursinghumor]

Hello Karen,

Most travel nursing companies require 1-2 years of acute care hospital experience within the past three years. the reason is that when you take a travel assignment, you're expected to "hit the ground running" and be able to function with minimal orientation or supervision.

You'll probably need to go back to work for a bit before you can think about traveling.

ICU, CCU, ER and other specialty nurses are in higher demand than med/surg. If you have to make a choice, I'd go into critical care vs a generalist type of nursing.

You can find some interesting articles on traveling here, http://www.nursefriendly.com/traveler

Wish you well:

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.nursinga2z.com

[KarenN]

CCU sounds nice. I had thought about going there when I was on the floor. I also forgot to say that when I quit the med-surg floor, I was having a thyroid problem, which I was unaware of. I was absolutely so ill and run down from the 12-hour shifts as well as the thyroid deficiency, I thought I was just burned out. I am not proud of this, but I was off 4 days in a row, and when came time to go back to work, I just couldn't do it...physically, emotionally, etc. exhausted and sick and I didn't work out a 2-week notice. Now I am better; I got the thyroid problem diagnosed and am taking meds. I have much more energy and had I been in my normal frame of mind, I would have NEVER quit without working out a notice. Does anyone have any advice on how I can explain this to new possible employers when they ask why my last job ended and why did I quit after only 9 months. I feel terrible about the situation, and I know 100% it will never happen again. I was a dependable employee; always early, never late, usually worked when called in or stayed over when needed, etc. Input please?