Nurses married to Firefighters

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hi everyone!

Firefighters normally work a 24/48 type of schedule. I was wondering how you arranged your work scedule as a nurse, especially if you have young kids at home. I'm about to have a career change and wanted to see how other people managed their time.

Thanks for any input - I appreciate it!!

:balloons:

Specializes in Family.
Hi everyone!

Firefighters normally work a 24/48 type of schedule. I was wondering how you arranged your work scedule as a nurse, especially if you have young kids at home. I'm about to have a career change and wanted to see how other people managed their time.

Thanks for any input - I appreciate it!!

:balloons:

I know several firefighters/EMS workers and the spouses usually pull whatever shifts they want since you can't work set days each week on the 24/48 schedule. If you have the choice of making your own schedule, maybe try to coordinate days off after you have your SO's schedule. Good luck!

Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

OH brother do I know this one...hey try seeing them when you are in nursing school! LOL!

My hubby is a paramedic and was a firefighter EMT as well! Talk about never seeing eachother!

We chose and were fortunate enough by the time I graduated and got my RN license for me to do part-time after two years. It was our goal! My father came to live with us (mother left him for another..grrrrrr) and has been here ever since taking care of my son and helping around the house (rent/food/everything covered by us). But most other nurses I know have other relatives or friends that can help care in times of what I call "boats passing in the night phase".

When we would go nuts by not seeing eachother, I was allowed to go to the post for a few hours to be with him for a while. OR I would drive in my car and go to where he was temp posting (if I was lucky and he didn't get a call while I was getting there) and bring him a meal or treat of some sort (one cold night I got a rice neck pillow and heated it up and brought it to him..he loved that!).

I also made lunches or meals with a love note or trinket to remember me by...and he would leave a little something for me many times on the counter or on the fridge (erase boards come in handy too...I got many a love note there :).

Like I said though...we didn't think I could go part time and make it..but we made that a priority so I could tend to our son, and be a wife as well. We are making it fine....comes close some weeks...but we adapted!

Luckily now he has gained senority and has weekends off, where I have every other weekend off (I got seniority too! LOL). Things have been great ever since, and we still give our little love notes and trinkets for fun!

ALSO plan your time together well....but not like busy time with family or friends...quality down time. Take a bath/hot tub/shower together and enjoy the soothing hot water (oh man that feels so good...just relaxing, and it is always nice to get a nice back cleaning with a lufa from a mate...hard to reach yourself~!), or watch a movie, or make dinner together and eat it by candle light (I find babysitters for an hour or so do well! LOL!). Play a board game with the family even if you are tired (I just played sorry last night and we both were exausted...was SO FUN!).

There are lots of ideas! Just remember...work with no fun makes us all bad jack! LOL!!!!!!! MAKE time!!! :)

(BTW shower/tub/hottub time for us is a 'cleansing' from work time...a time to scrub the troubles away and just enjoy time at home...it is symbolic as well as soothing! "I'm going to wash that job right out of my hair..." LOL!

babynurselsa, RN

1,129 Posts

Specializes in ER, NICU, NSY and some other stuff.

My DH is EMS. He works a set rotation 2 on 2 off and every other Fri, Sat, Sun. We have typically worked opposite schedules since DD was born. We have used some part-time child care over the last 4 years. My last in house position had self scheduling so I just scheduled opposite him. We typically had one day off together every 2 weeks.

I now work agency and am able to set my own schedule for the most part and we continue to schedule around each other to minimize child care.

husky

7 Posts

My husband is a firefighter- or was. He had the same hours 24/ 48 I work night shiftandwould work thesamehe would work. He just got a new job as a funeral director which was his old field. I am probably going to have to find a job during the days and have been considering the OR, but not sure the steps to get there. We do not have any kids, at least not yet. If You have any family or friends to help watch the kids That might be helpful, or you will have to work oppisite schedules so one of you will be there to watch the kids.

+ Add a Comment