Nursing students who don’t want to be pigeon-holed in one place their whole career often ask if it’s easy to switch jobs once they’ve entered the nursing field. WorkingNurse.com answers quite bluntly: “With nurses being in H-O-T demand…you have the option to pick and choose where and how you want to work.”
That statement seems to be supported in a question-answer series in which a 25-year nursing veteran says she changes jobs every two-to-three years. A poll on AllNurses.com found that nearly four-in-ten nurses feel it’s acceptable to change jobs every one-to-two years, and nearly 87% agree it’s OK to switch within five years.
How To Change Jobs in Nursing
It would appear that job-hopping among nurses not only takes place with regularity…it’s viewed as very acceptable. And, there’s good reason for that. While a nurse’s salary may rise with job changes, most nurses actually make the switch to gain varied experience and more knowledge.
According to Susan Spivock Smith, Ph.D.(c), RN, MSN, CRNP, the director of professional services at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, “The more skills a nurse has, the better he or she is able to handle any medical crisis.”
While it’s becoming easier for experienced nurses to call the shots when seeking a new job, nursezone.com suggests they stay in a specialty area at least two years, and preferably five, before moving on. Why? “It takes an RN two or three years to become competent in a specialty,” says Amy Nichols, RN, EdD, at San Francisco State University School of Nursing.
As a result of the high demand, many RNs today are choosing to be more entrepreneurial in their career choices, following the path of an independent contractor where they can control the number of hours they work, and the types of jobs they perform. In some cases, that means trading in the ER for the LR (emergency room for the living room) – in other words, working from home.
The options open to independent nurses are varied – everything from medical transcription, telehealth nursing and telephonic case management, to house calls, alternative medicine and travel nursing…if they want to get out of the living room!
Get The Career Training You Need to Change Nursing Jobs
For experienced, qualified nurse professionals, nursing can pretty much take them wherever they wish to go. But, the first step is education and training. Fortis Colleges and Institutes happen to be part of one of the largest nursing education provider systems in America. Get started with your nursing career training today.
