A "radical" review of an ANA article.

In the official journal of the American Nurses Association (ANA) American Nurse Today, the March 2007 article titled, Why Must I Make a Service Commitment?, missed an opportunity to inspire new grads and seasoned nurses.

The article responds to a new grad's question regarding why she would "have to 'pay back' the time the hospital invested in training [her]." The responses were given by two highly credentialed nurse experts: a nurse recruiter and a nurse administrator. Each provided valuable technical information and terminology, but focused primarily on protecting the institutions they serve.

The nurse recruiter states that facilities must recover the cost to train new grads by obligating them to fulfill long-term commitments. She states, "Most new grads need 9 to 12 months before they start feeling comfortable in their positions." While highly informative, this presentation offered limited information for new grads. I was hopeful that the "second opinion" would be more optimistic. But it merely echoed the first. She states, "Keep in mind that hiring and orienting a new nurse is expensive. Many organizations spend the equivalent of 1-year's salary in the process." That explains the facilities' needs. But how does that information benefit a new nurse? Why should a new nurse stick it out that first year or two? Should the nurse fear for his or her professional reputation if he or she is unable or unwilling to keep their commitment?

In my view, the primary reason a new nurse should persist that first year or two out of nursing school is: to be marketable. As difficult as nursing school was, the education did not end when we received our degrees. It takes at least one or two more years to really "get it."

What area did you like in nursing school? I took a mother-baby job out of nursing school and felt forced to make a two-year service commitment. The patient population was relatively healthy so it only took a few months to master the work. I amazed myself at how challenging and rewarding I found bedside nursing to be.

Then 9-11 hit. I knew the world was changing quickly. That's when I decided to move on and fulfill my life-long dream to travel. So I broke my contract, returned some money, and left. I felt grateful for the education and opportunity and being the best mother-baby nurse I could be at that time.

I began my journey as a traveling nurse across the country and agreed to float to other units in those hospitals. As a traveler I learned to care for patients in just about every setting: ER, psych, hospice, med-surg, rehab, ICU, NICU, peds, and much more. As long as there was a seasoned nurse on the floor, I agreed to the assignment and learned from these expert nurses.

Of course, learning quickly and on your feet can be scary and has limitations. But as nurses we have nothing to fear; our options will be virtually limitless--once the first one or two years of experience are achieved. If you found your niche right out of nursing school, congratulate yourself; you are the exception. Do your best to stick with it. Learn and then find your dream job.

While bedside nursing is an obvious choice, nurses are needed everywhere: in schools, parishes, and cruise ships. Nurses are highly sought by law firms, pharmaceutical sales and research companies. Nurses are in the military domestically and abroad. And there is work for nurses in a myriad of specialty clinic settings.

There is a perfect job for every nurse. Be patient while you learn the basics. Allow yourself to float to other areas to learn new skills. And always keep your eyes open for your golden opportunity.

Find your first job, focus, and learn. And then decide if that job is something you would like to do forever or not. If so, good for you--your facility did a great job retaining you. If not, do not despair. The perfect opportunity awaits you. And it may be just around the corner.

The author is a Nevada resident and an agency nurse who works for several facilities and clinics in the Southwest. Her email address is: NurseLily@AnAmericanRN.com

by Lillian Gonzalez, BSN, RN