Hello Buckeye,
It's common for a patient to be in the hospital for weeks, before tuberculosis or something equally evil is detected. Once it is, all the people who have been exposed are tracked down (hopefully)
In that respect, you treat everyone as if they have someone and take common sense precautions.
In this economy, I'd work as much as close to 40/week as possible. For two reasons.
1. Once you graduate, you start forgetting very quickly the basics you learned in school, unless you are practicing and solidifying that knowledge with new experiences.
2. The longer you wait to start working, the less attractive you'll be to employers. (the continuing education really doesn't enter into the equation as you don't need to practice to get ceus).
Hope that is helpful.
Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly.com, A National Nursing & Consumer Health Directory