Nurses who work the day shift

April, RN, BSN, RN · Mar 29, 2009

The reality is, as a new nurse it will probably be very difficult to find a job that is straight day shift with no "dirty work".

Nursing is a 24/7 job. Nurses work weekends, holidays, and undesirable shifts. They deal with bodily fluids and are exposed to diseases. They take care of patients and families at their worst. It's not always a glamourous job. If you truly want to be a nurse though, it's a very rewarding career.

RNperdiem, RN · Mar 29, 2009

Hmm.... Dayshift only, no dirty work, and maybe a job outside the hospital.

Sure such jobs exist.

If such a job is for real, be prepared to compete with many nurses, most with years of experience.

If you read this board for any period of time, there are many posters looking for these kinds of jobs.

Unfortunately, there aren't enough dream jobs to go around.

I am not trying to discourage you; nursing is very rewarding, but most new grads start with limited options.

allnurses Guide · Mar 29, 2009

Where is the best place to work if cleaning bodily fluids make you really queasy and uncomfortable?
Or is this something that any nurse must be able to handle?

Free standing surgery centers. Community clinics or Public Health - immunizations, etc.

Our doc's offices have MA's and LVN's . . . .RN's are too expensive.

School nursing - well, you probably get to see vomit there!

steph

d!gger · Mar 29, 2009

Where is the best place to work if cleaning bodily fluids make you really queasy and uncomfortable?
Or is this something that any nurse must be able to handle?

If bodily fluids make you uncomfortable, you really might want to re-evaluate your choice of profession.

But like any learned behavior/reaction, it can be unlearned. The more exposure you can give yourself to cleaning bodily fluids (and the BSI precautions), the easier it gets... to the point where you don't even notice it eventually. It's natural. It's what our bodies do.

I've worked with a few nurses and aides who won't go anywhere near a code brown (for example) but the sudden redistribution of responsibilities necessary to accomodate their aversion is annoying at best, and many times not possible with everything else in our workload. Plus, they lose out on valuable assessment data.

You said you didn't want to work graves. But where I work, there's less bodily fluid's happening on graveyard shift cuz most patients are asleep. And I find that holds true until everyone gets up an hour before day shift arrives. Then it's incontinence charting time before day shift arrives. Anyone else had similar experiences?

dig

noahsmama · Mar 29, 2009

I am a relatively new grad (May 2008) and was also hoping to find a day shift job, preferably outside the hospital (to avoid working weekends or holidays), as my first job post nursing school. Perhaps it varies from one part of the country to the next, but here in the SF Bay Area I quickly found that no such jobs exist for new grads -- at least that I could find.

It's rare that there's an opening on day shift for which new grads would even be considered, and when there is, experienced nurses often also apply for these same positions. I applied for the small handful of such jobs that I saw posted, only to be told that they had gone to internal candidates (i.e. nurses already working at that hospital).

There are nursing jobs with "regular" hours, i.e. M-F days, no weekends or holidays -- but these pretty much all require at least a year of experience, sometimes more like 3-5 years. As someone else mentioned, home health requires a minimum of 1 year. Most outpatient clinic jobs require more like 2-3 years of inpatient experience. Most public health nurse jobs require 1 year or more, and in many states (including CA) you must have a BSN to work as a PHN. I did interview for one PHN job that was willing to consider a new grad, but they preferred candidates with experience, and I was not offered the job (but plan to reapply once I have more experience). School nurses in CA must also have a BSN, and again experience is preferred -- though I've heard that sometimes they do hire new grads to be school nurses here, mostly because the salaries are so abysmally low (half or less of what you'll make in a hospital) that they have a hard time hiring people. I would love a job as a school nurse, but have hesitated because I don't think I can afford to live on half of what I'm making now.

So I quickly went from only applying for day shift jobs, to applying for days or evenings, to applying for all shifts. I finally got an evening shift job (3pm-11:30pm) and feel incredibly lucky to at least not be working nights -- but I do still have to work every other weekend, plus holidays (at least I get time and a half for working federal holidays).

Once I have that one year of experience that everyone's looking for, I plan to reapply for PHN jobs or maybe home health. Meanwhile, I plan to apply for any day shift positions that open up at my hospital -- I know other nurses who've managed to get onto day shift within a year, sometimes sooner, so I hope to do the same.

As for bodily fluids, I agree with everyone else that you'll get used to them -- I have, and I used to be squeamish too.

Good luck!

Diane

mustlovepoodles, RN · Mar 29, 2009

:chuckle I had to laugh about the bodily fluids. I worked in a big L&D straight out of nursing school .While I loved deliveries, I hated laboring patients. This was back in the bad ol' days when everybody got Demerol & Scoplamine--they were swinging from the chandeliers.No monitoring other than my hand on their belly and in their private parts. :banghead: We routinely shaved all the pubic hair and gave big soapy enemas. Vomit was an hourly event--sedated patient + transition= :barf01:

Unfortunately, I had a very strong, very quick gag reflex. I used to say I needed a small pan for the patient and a big pan for me. Believe me, I saw (and cleaned up) a LOT of bodily fluids including my own :clown: But nothing prepared me for body fluids like having my own baby.Talk about a wake-up call--can you say colic & reflux?

I don't know of any hands-on nursing job that doesn't occasionally included a Code Barf. I'm a school nurse, middle school yet, and so far this year I have cleaned up urine, diarrhea, vomit, blood, snot, sweat, and tears. I think you have to be really comfortable caring for people in a variety of intimate ways. If you truly cannot deal with bodily fluids, then you night need to pursue a different career.

HildegardBingen · Mar 30, 2009

I don't know of any hands-on nursing job that doesn't occasionally included a Code Barf. I'm a school nurse, middle school yet, and so far this year I have cleaned up urine, diarrhea, vomit, blood, snot, sweat, and tears. I think you have to be really comfortable caring for people in a variety of intimate ways. If you truly cannot deal with bodily fluids, then you night need to pursue a different career.

LOL! I taught elementary for a bit and they didn't tell me about the bodily fluids...might as well be in a clinical environment if I am going to be dealing with the pee, vomit, blood, tears, and snot!

I am doing pre-reqs this summer and fall to get into an accelerated BSN (then hopefully to DNP) and have had my moments worrying about that, especially since the last 11 years as an LMT have been "easy street" compared to some of the stories I have read on here... nurses are amazing:bow:

Ideally I would want to work 3 12 hour shifts; any feedback about that? For me, it seems more appealing than 5 8 hour days...

Luzia

April, RN, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2009

Ideally I would want to work 3 12 hour shifts; any feedback about that? For me, it seems more appealing than 5 8 hour days...

Some people like 12 hour shifts because it gives you more time in the work day to get your tasks done. It also gives you 4 days off. This is why I work 12s, 7am-7:30pm. When I work 7-3, I feel liked I'm rushing to get so much done in those 8 hours. One downfall is that when I get home at 8:15pm, I'm done for the night. I'm usually too tired to do anything after work.

Some people like 8 hr shifts because they still have time to do things before or after work like run errands, spend time with kids after school, etc. You can work a mix of 8s and 12s. For example, three 8s and one 12 is a 4 day/36 hour work week. Two 12s and two 8s is a 4 day/40 hr work week. You still get 3 days off. If you can afford to work 32 hours, you can do 4 8s.

Flexibility in scheduling is one of the perks of nursing. :wink2:

hellerd2003, RN · Mar 30, 2009

I was wondering if there were any nurses who strictly work the day shift?
Are all Nurses required to work the graveyard shift?
I would like to pursue a career in the nursing field, but I cannot handle the graveyard shift (Ive already tried in my previous job)
Is there hope for me in the nursing field?
Also, what types of nurses are there?
Is is possible to work OUTSIDE of the hospital with just a 2yr degree?
Thanks for any info.

Yes, you can get a job outside of a hospital with just a 2 yr. degree. If you're in a hospital, generally you'll have to work night shift to get a chance to day shift in my area (SW). Other areas of the country, hospitals aren't even hiring. If you're just entering school, you have a year or two for the economy to pick up. Do not think, even for one second, that the economy does not effect RN's and their ability to "choose" their "perfect" job.

hellerd2003, RN · Mar 30, 2009

Where is the best place to work if cleaning bodily fluids make you really queasy and uncomfortable?
Or is this something that any nurse must be able to handle?

Nursing isn't for you unless you can get over this.

Today, I carried away a bag (yes, a bag) of feces, helped clean another patient who soiled the bed x2, emptied 2 foley catheters of urine (multiple trips for each), suctioned my patients' mouths every two hours, did deep suction via ET tube every HOUR for one pt (dark yellow sputum), and every two hours for another (clear sputum).

On the pt with the clear sputum, I bathed him, changed his gown and bedding (since his skin is weeping so badly that it is felt through the glove and he gets multiple baths throughout the day), and did a dressing change including a wound that was weeping serosanguinous fluid.

My worst nursing day was taking care of a person with lower extremity wounds/ ulcers that had a wound so bad that I had to double-mask, gown and glove to treat. I spent over an hour on my knees in front of the pt (she wouldn't go to bed due to pain), and I could literally, on one leg, insert my hand between her calf and achilles tendon.

Nursing isn't pretty, and it isn't about money, and it isn't about "I think I can do it". Nursing is a career and a lifestyle all its own. It's either for you or not. Only you can decide.