Is nursing a flexible job?

[Anonymous]

I have a sahm friend who is interested in nursing. She thinks that nursing would be more flexible than a typical office job.

Can you pick your own shifts when you are a nurse?

[Anonymous]

A nurse at a hospital? No. You're the lowest guy on the totem pole. Do you really think you'd not be working the 2nd or 3 rd shift? Holidays off?

Is your friend a nurse already? An RN or a PA, LVN, NP? There are differences. And if she is one of these already then she shoukd know the answer to her question.

Maybe the "nurse" at the nearby elementary school, but even then it's not really "flexible ".

[Anonymous]

I don’t consider any direct care work flexible.

[Anonymous]

As PP said, you don't get your pick of shifts if you're a hospital nurse, generally.

I do know part-time hospital nurses who do only one weekend a month. It's called a "per diem" contract. They do not have employer benefits, fwiw. But they're only obligated to do one set of shifts (say, 2 12-hour shifts on a weekend) a month. They are basically SAHMs and this works for them.

Some of my happiest nurse friends in terms of work/family balance are those who work in doctors' offices/clinics, but that's a 9-5 schedule, so not a good fit if she's trying to avoid typical office schedule.

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to add that nursing is perceived as an easy career option for some women, but it is very much not. I'm pretty good at handling stress but I could not handle nursing, especially during COVID and with staff shortages everywhere. It's the "bad customer" stress of retail or waitressing but with the backdrop of life or death decisions weighing on you.

Plus, depending on the field, nurses see truly traumatizing situations. My mom (hospital NP who has worked in peds and OB wards) talks about seeing stillbirths, child abuse cases, kids dying, not to mention all the awful family drama she sees. And that's not even including all the gore and guts you have to deal with... And the brutal workplace norms - my mom still complains of not getting to sit down to eat a meal and feeling (even during the pandemic) that she cannot ever call in sick.

Plus who wants to wear a thick N95 mask all day? That's the norm in a lot of hospitals. My mom comes home with bruises on her nose from wearing it for 8-12 hours straight.

-family member of many nurses

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who is a nurse and works in a hospital. Her schedule is very flexible. Her husband works a 24 hour shift as a firefighter so she works the days he is off, so rotates. The length of the shift isn’t flexible ( 12 hours) but the days she works are. It may be a case of having to work your way up to that point but it’s doable.

[Anonymous]

It can be flexible. You generally have assigned holidays and weekends and have to start on nightshift, but moving to day shift after a few years is possible depending on turnover. Since you only work 2-3 days a week, you are allowed a certain amount of X in the schedule to request to not work a specific day without taking time off (say you have a graduation to go to or whatever) but it's not guaranteed if everyone wants the same random day off. Outside of that it can be easy to switch which days you work with a coworker if something comes up after the schedule is made.

[Anonymous]

Yes I think so. My mom is a nurse.
-You can work full time (3 12 hour shifts) or part time (2 12 hour shifts). That's something most jobs don't allow. Moms have been desperate for part time at my work and it's not an option
-You can schedule your shifts and trade with people, although you normally schedule months in advance.
-You will likely work every other holiday, but you also get holiday pay

Yes it is a stressful job, but there's a lot of camaraderie with other nurses. And you really do make a difference in people's lives. My mom loved the shift work because she was able to be home for us kids and we didn't have to go to aftercare. She worked night shift and would leave after dinner, come home and sleep and then was up by 3:30 to pick us up.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who works as a travel nurse. She picks which assignments she wants to take. Goes wherever she wants.

[Anonymous]

Flexible in the sense that you can work 3 12 hr shifts a week ... for example M, T, TH... and then be scheduled for the next week on TH, SAT, SUN and therefore have 6 day long weekend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Flexible in the sense that you can work 3 12 hr shifts a week ... for example M, T, TH... and then be scheduled for the next week on TH, SAT, SUN and therefore have 6 day long weekend.

To add... once the schedule is set, you negotiate with coworkers to trade days. Typically people take turns working holidays. Sick time is rarely used and if you accrue more than 2 weeks vacation time, you can only use 2 weeks at one time. Vacations need to be scheduled long in advance.

[Anonymous]

My mom was a nurse. If you mean flexible, yes, she could work 7p-7a three days a week. My dad took care of us those nights. She didn’t sleep much.

[Anonymous]

My mom also did it for the scheduling. She was low person on the totem pole but took a lot of night shifts which worked because she’s be home for us before and after school which is what she wanted—the night shifts were generally less sought after. In particular it worked because my retired grandmother was available to step in whenever her shift didn’t line up well with my dads schedule. You’d need flexible coverage for when you don’t get the shifts you want. My mom used to try to get the coma patients—again less desirable for many nurses but no doctors yelling at you. She hated OR and ER work the most.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the type of nursing and where you work. A floor nurse in a hospital has to work nights and weekends and call. You can work your way up in seniority so you get first pick, but you still have to do it. But, there are other nursing jobs. As an in-home nurse, or in a non-emergency specialty like PT, you have more flexibility. I know experienced nurses with two and three part time jobs that they string together for maximum flexibility.

Nursing is hard work, physically and emotionally. You deal with a lot of crappy people. It requires a license that needs to be renewed by exam, and these days most nurses have grad degrees. I'd recommend it to my daughter, but not sure I'd recommend it as a new career to someone with kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who is a nurse and works in a hospital. Her schedule is very flexible. Her husband works a 24 hour shift as a firefighter so she works the days he is off, so rotates. The length of the shift isn’t flexible ( 12 hours) but the days she works are. It may be a case of having to work your way up to that point but it’s doable.

So she barely sees her husband. Great!