I disagree with the implication that leaving a first job is a bad thing ("On Our Shoulders," Editorial, September). When I graduated from my first nursing program, I had limited knowledge of job options and even less awareness of the best fit for me. I not only thought hospital nursing was expected, I naively believed that the institution's nursing department would assign me to the unit that was best for me. Since then, events and circumstances have placed me in a dozen different and fascinating jobs, each one providing me with something new to learn and enjoy.

My advice to new nurses: take a job, get all you can from it, and then try something new and more challenging. The perfect nursing job is out there. And it may not be perfect for you forever, so keep learning and moving.

Nancy Strub, BSN, RN Eagle Grove, IA