If you’re part way through your maternity leave, or you’ve been raising a small child and are considering what to do when you go back to work, then you’re probably feeling a little bit overwhelmed as the time approaches. There’s a lot to think about, but the key is to stay relaxed and focused on what’s best for you and your family.

If you’re in the position where you’re thinking of a new career, you may well be unsure what route to take. Well, you’ve been using your skills in care over the last few months or years, so why not put them to good use and become a nurse?

There are many reasons that pursuing a new career in nursing could be perfect – here are just a few:

• Working out childcare can be a real pain, but some jobs certainly lend themselves to being better at flexibility around children than others. Nursing is generally quite good because in most places you’ll be working shifts. This can often mean that you can be working during times that a partner or members of your family may be available to care for the child.
• The skills you learn when training to become a nurse are extremely valuable in bringing up a child. General health knowledge can make you feel a lot more confident when your child inevitably has an illness or gets a typical playground injury.
• There are many different career options and progression paths once you have got your registration, which means that later on you do have options rather than being pigeonholed into one role. Many, many senior management positions in the NHS require some time spent on the ground as a nurse.
• There is a very good chance that you won’t need to travel far – take a look at jobs in your location to see how close your nearest hospitals and other healthcare facilities are.

So, how do you actually become a nurse? Well, depending on where you are there will be different criteria that you must meet, and potentially many different routes of study or work to get to where you want to be.

If you’re in the UK, then this NHS guide will tell you all that you need to know about training to become a nurse. If you’ve already got some relevant experience or qualifications, then you could get into the field quite quickly, even if not as a fully qualified nurse. Healthcare assistant roles often offer many of the same benefits to new mothers that we’ve already mentioned. There are also many nursing recruitment agencies like Day Webster who can make it very easy to find a nursing position.

If you are interested in comparing nursing in the UK with other countries, the infographic below from Asumed might be a good place to start.

Have you thought about a change of career when you return to work?