Not sure which job to take

Nurses General Nursing

Published

  • Specializes in Plastic Surgery, ER.

I recently accepted a FT position in the ED~3 12's on nights. I am due to start July 14. Since then, I have been offered a clnical coordinator position at my current job~M-F, no nights/weekends, and I have been there almost 13 years~and just found out that we are pregnant. I am the "acting" coordinator right now and I do like it so far.

The reason for the initial job change was that I was/am working M-F and in the ED PRN 1-3 nights per week (primarily for clinical skills for school). Add grad school to that and it has been very hard juggling it all. Plus I'll need a lot of time off for 4 semesters to do clinicals next year. I thought a 3 day work week making more $$ than working 2 jobs in 6-7 days was the right answer.

As a counter offer~my current employer who wants me to take the coordinator job has offered a sign on bonus plus 'says' they will try to find a way to use a nurse practitioner (what grad school is for) when I graduate if I take the coordinator position now. Historically, they have never employed an NP and I am not sure how it can be justified ( I work for a group of plastic surgeons). I don't even know enough to be able to know what to negotiate at this point.

The "kinks" in the plan~if I take the new ED job, I have my husbands job to work around once we have the baby (he is a firefighter and works 24 hours shifts) and the custody schedule with my ex for my older child. I want to be home when my son is here as much as I can AND I don't want to go days without seeing my husband either. Being that I have never worked a night shift position, I don't even have a clue if it will work. The nurse manager says most people get the shifts they want outside of their weekend schedule.

If I take the coordinator job, I am in the same boat I am now, but potentially longer days and bringing work home, AND trying to take classes and keep up in the ED.

If the ED schedule works, I think that would make for more family time and that is the direction I am leaning. It's just that type of schedule is an 'unknown' for me. Can I work nights but adjust on my days off to everyone elses day schedule, including a baby???

Does anyone have any suggestions? Either on job choice or adjusting to nights?

Thanks.:confused:

Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

If you take the coordinator job, how will that work with your clinicals? Are they willing to work with you on that?

If your current employer is very interested in keeping you, and willing to work with you, I'd be inclined to stay there. If the extra ER shifts are primarily for clinical skills, then I'd give that up. You can pick up skills during your graduate school clinicals. Be proactive about it.

I'd put the possibility of the NP position with them aside for the moment. I think that could work- you could, for example, do pre-op H&P's, do patient education, some hospital rounds, and/or even minor office procedures, depending on the types of surgeries they do- but that's beside the point right now.

The reasons I'd stay: you've never worked nights. You may do well with that shift, and then again you may not. Some people have a very hard time adjusting to night shifts; some can't adjust at all. Don't count on being able to switch shifts, that doesn't always happen.

Since your husband works 24 hour shifts, getting child care while you work nights and try to get some sleep during the day is going to be very difficult, unless you have a family member nearby who can do that for you. "Daycare" between 6PM and 6AM is nonexistent in many places. The difficulty you've had in juggling things so far might look like child's play compared to trying to juggle things for a night shift position.

Early pregnancy might not be the best time to start an ER job, and night shift at that. You are probably much more likely to be able to take regular breaks and get regular meals in your office/clinic position than in ER. Even if you had a very easy pregnancy before, every one is different, and you don't know how this one will go.

Of course, it's still your decision. Talk to your husband, see what he thinks, too. If I were in your place, I'd be inclined to stay put, if my employer were willing to work with me.

ann945n, RN

548 Posts

Specializes in Nursing Ed, Ob/GYN, AD, LTC, Rehab.

I would stay where I was. If this current employer really wants you to stay and will work with you that sounds like the situation you will want to be in with a new baby and a busy school schedule. A new job on nights for me would just be adding un-needed stress. Good luck and congrats on the new baby!

2bmalenurse007

133 Posts

I would stay at the current job. Switching from days to nights is hard enough by itself. Then adding a new baby would be more trouble. I would stay at the day shift job. Hope everything works out.

Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

I wanted to add that I would not usually suggest backing out of a commitment, but this is an unusual circumstance.

If you decide to stay where you are, notify the ER ASAP and explain that you just found out that you are pregnant and that you don't think this is a good time to make this change.

whodatnurse

444 Posts

Specializes in Psych.

You do realize that if you stay, you can't just add new baby into the mix, IN ADDITION to everything else you currently have going on. You'll have to scale back somewhere or you'll lose your sanity.

Everything is negotiable. Decide what's most important to you and pursue it. This clinical coordinator gig...it sounds like an increase to your current job responsibilities. And they're offering you a 'signing bonus'? Mmmm hmmm. Explain to them nicely that consideration of their offer would require an X% promotional pay raise (with X being a number that would bring your salary to the high end of the range for comparable positions whose pay scales you've researched). See what they counteroffer.

As for the bit about 'trying' to use a nurse practitioner. If it isn't in writing it doesn't mean anything. So if you would be staying with that long term hope in mind, that subject definitely requires further discussion.

amberfnp

199 Posts

Specializes in Plastic Surgery, ER.

Thanks for all the opinions so far...I think I have come to realize that if I stay at the current job, it will be more or less for everyone else and not for me. It just bothers me to turn them down when they are offering to make accommodations to keep me that they have never done for anyone else.

I do not know if this new night schedule will work-I think it will either be fantastic or a flop! But I think I will regret it if I don't try it. The unit is nearly full staffed AND they were willing to work with me on my custody schedule as best they can. No one else (in the ED setting) has been able to say that. And I do have another place I can fall back on if I need something different. It may not be exactly what I want, but it's only temporary right???

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