Talk to me about working three 12s as an RN
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Anonymous
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I am a mom of 4 and am finishing up nursing school (mid-30's career change). Part of my reason for going into nursing is because I am truly interested in the field-- found out that I actually love sciences and have a passion for helping others, but by then I was already 30 and pg with #3. I decided it was way too late in the game to go to med school, and I feel fortunate to have found out what a great career nursing can be. I ultimately hope to get my MS and become a nurse practitioner.
But. . . the other part of my reasoning for pursuing nursing is because it is supposedly a "mom-friendly" career. I'm finding, though, that this does not seem to be the case for new grads. It sounds like once you have 1-2 years of hospital experience, you are golden and can work basically any day, any time, anywhere. I'm just not sure that I can survive 1-2 years of working FT right now. So for those who do three 12s: Do you even see your kids on the days you work? (Right now, the days I do clinicals, the answer is basically no-- out of the house by 6 AM, home around 8PM.) Or if you work nights, when do you sleep? Do you feel like you spend your off days running around doing laundry, prepping meals for the days you'll be gone, grocery shopping, etc.? Do you know of anyone who was able to find a PT job right out of nursing school? I'm willing to work in basically any setting, but my top choice would be either two 12s at a hospital or 2-3 shifts at a clinic serving low-income / medically underserved populations. Any ideas? Thanks! |
Anonymous
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We made it work by having me work every weekend and every Wednesday. That solved the childcare problem except for Wednesday's, when my husband took the baby, then the toddler and the new baby, to our child care giver. No way could I have worked three 12s in a row-- exhausting!
It was absolutely not great for our marriage. I would come home from work, sweaty and exhausted and hungry, and would just shower, eat, and briefly see my family before bed. We got through it and it was decent money, good benefits, and great experience. Whatever choice you make, have a mental deadline for when you can change jobs, so you think of it as a countdown during tough times. Good luck! |
Anonymous
The nurse practitioners that I know have doctorates. |
Anonymous
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Twelve hour shifts were hard for me with kids.
that being said, I had coworkers with seemingly endless energy who worked 3 twelve hour shifts with kids with no problem. What seemed to work best for them was 12 hour nights so they could be home in the afternoons when the kids got home from school. They would leave for work as their DH was getting home. You know your own limitations: there is no way the schedule above would have worked for me. I did 12 hour days, had day care providers, and tried to not do two shifts back to back.That made it bearable. |
Anonymous
| 3 12s in a row is really tough. My mom would sometimes work 7p-7a. She's get home around 8, make breakfast and take us to school. Then she'd come home, clean up a bit, and go to bed. She had t pick us up at 3, so she didn't get more than 5.5 hours of sleep. She said that she dozed off many, many times while driving during those years. |
Anonymous
There are plenty of MSN-NPs out there and there are still lots of MSN-NP programs and places that license MSN-NPs. The field is transitioning to a DNP only, but it's a long way from getting there. Now since you barely know a thing about this subject, why don't you toddle back to general parenting and STFU? |
Anonymous
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Hi OP-- I'm a former nurse manager at one of the big hospitals in the area and these are my thoughts.
1. No respectable place will hire you part-time as a new grad. The orientation process is extensive and requires a full time commitment. You could probably work PT right away in an office, but the pay is crap and you don't use your brain as much. 2. My personal feeling is that working nights is easier with kids. Like a PP said you can sleep the first part of the day and see your kids after school. If you do 12 hr days, you will barely see them. 3. Yes, you will spend your off days running around, prepping meals, etc, but you have 4 days off a week. It will take some time, but you'll get into a rhythm. 4. One word of caution-- if nursing school was a struggle logistically, NP school is worse IMHO. I'm in my last semester doing 40 hrs of clinical and taking 9 credits. I never see my DD and have accumulated student loan debt, but hoping it will be worth it!! Good luck-- nursing is challenging, but oh so rewarding! |
Anonymous
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I found it really hard to work 12 hour shifts as an RN because I hate the lifestyle of either "being on or off".
When you're working 12 hours you have to leave the house around 6am to get their a little before 7. (all hospitals have parking garages and elevators which take forever to navigate). Then you don't get home until 8 or 8:30pm. Plus you're trapped on the unit that entire time. It's not like a desk job where you can get up, go down the hall, go run around the block, surf the internet. No, you're stuck on a small hospital floor for 13 hours. I know this isn't helpful but I think it's helpful for the general public to realize that the 12 hour nursing shift isn't all sunshine and roses. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thanks for the replies so far. For those of you who say you used to work 12 hour shifts, what do you do now? Are you still in the nursing field, and if so, in what capacity?
And to the PP who is finishing her NP degree- congratulations! I can imagine it is tough. As you said-- the logistics! Finding flexible, high quality child care has been quite a challenge. Thanks for your feedback. |
Anonymous
| I'm the RN who worked weekends. I now work 8 hour shifts in Psych, part-time. However, I have lost my NG-tube, IV, Kangaroo pump type skills. Still a nurse, but very different work. |
Anonymous
| When I was an RN I always worked 3-12's. I am nwt a CRNA and work more of a 9-5 schedule and I really miss my 3/12 days! I worked Monday, Tuesday, Saturday. It was really hard not seeing my kids on Mondays and Tuesdays but after that hump we had the rest of the week together and Saturday they did fun stuff with Dad. It worked for my family really well to be honest. |
Anonymous
Agree. Most of the ones at my workplace are MSN-NPs. |
Anonymous
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Honestly, I prefer three 12's to the old 5 8's. Work nights, if you're not doing it near me. You sound like a whiny nightmare. You go to work and clock in by 1830. You can be up and functioning til noon-ish on the first day of your stretch, then sleep til 5. Or get the kids off to school, sleep, and get up when they come home. Work three in a row, and just go to sleep when you get home, get up when they get home and make them responsible for more of their lives.
It's fine. |
Anonymous
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My best friend is a RN. She works three 12s. When she works nights, she gets off work in time to take her kids to school, then she goes home and goes to sleep and picks them up from school. She usually has to leave shortly before bed time. When she works days, she is usually the person who does bed time, but that's about the limit of it as she has to go to work before they can go to school.
It's a trade off. When she works nights, she sees her kids a lot, but she and her husband don't have much couple time. When she works days, she sees her husband but not her kids. She tries to go for a decent split of both, in order to balance. She's been doing it for 5 years. Kids are 6.5 and 3.5. |
Anonymous
I still haven't gotten past my wonder and amazement that you have 4 kids and went back to school. Ouch!! (I am not a nurse). I couldn't do that. It would kill me.
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