Part-Time Nursing

actioncat · Jan 8, 2005

Sorry to rain on yur parade, but this does not seem like a workable plan.

Two 12 hour shifts in addition to a full time teaching job? You do understand a twelve hour shift is more like 13 hours, right?

Also, your teaching job will not end when you go home for the evening. There is always work to do at home.

You will end up shortchanging your students, your patients, or yourself. Most likely, you will shortchange all three.

Dixielee, BSN, RN · Jan 8, 2005

Unless you don't need sleep, and are super nurse, I don't see how you can handle that schedule longterm. I have done worse stretches for the short term, to save money for a house, or a great vacation when my kids were with their dad for the summer, but never prolonged. As far as travel nursing, most require a 13 week committment. If you have that long off in summer, it should be doable. You may have to decide what your priority is, teaching, or nursing....you can always combine the 2, you know!

GingerSue · Jan 8, 2005

Do they all have a 13-week commitment?

You could do agency work - that's often on a daily basis, sometimes it can involve ongoing work with the same patient or facility.

CAguy22 · Jan 8, 2005

You're right, I guess I wasn't thinking too clearly . I would really like to do both, but my students/patients deserve better than that. I was just thinking I could work as a nurse on the weekends, while teaching during the week, but that would be too much. Thanks for your advice and help. I guess I will just stick to teaching, and later on down the road, if I decide teaching just isn't for me, I could always go back to school to be a nurse. I'm only 23, so I hopefully have a lot of years ahead of me to switch carreers. I need to put all my effort into either teaching or nursing.

Plus, I probably can't get a nursing job just working weekends anyways

RS0302 · Jan 8, 2005

I think you should probably wait until after your first year of teaching to decide what to do. Your first year is going to be very hard, and I doubt you will have the time or enery on weekends to be working 12-13 hour shifts. Also, you will have a better feel of whether you are enjoying teaching and what your schedule is, and how much work you will need to take home from school. You dont want to put time and money into a nursing degree, and never be able to use it. I wish you good luck on whatever you decide though.

SarasotaRN2b · Jan 9, 2005

Actually, you could just work weekends...but mixing the two, I wouldn't suggest it. I think that you would be heading for a major burnout since both positions require a lot more than just "being there." If you teach elementary school, that alone is going to be stressful...add working as an RN during the weekend...well, I think that you will age very fast and while you are only 23, you'll probably feel 53 in a very short time. If you want to work in the school system and work as a nurse, become a school nurses. There you can teach in a different way.

Kris

CAguy22 · Jan 11, 2005

I think you should probably wait until after your first year of teaching to decide what to do. Your first year is going to be very hard, and I doubt you will have the time or enery on weekends to be working 12-13 hour shifts. Also, you will have a better feel of whether you are enjoying teaching and what your schedule is, and how much work you will need to take home from school. You dont want to put time and money into a nursing degree, and never be able to use it. I wish you good luck on whatever you decide though.

Since I almost have my BA, I will probably end up sub teaching for a while to get a feel of teaching and decide what grade I really want to teach. Right now because of my financial situation, it only costs me a buck to go to school each semester at my comminity college, so now is the best time to get as much school in as I can. I figure the days that I don't have class/clinicals and such, I will sub teach. If later on down the line, I decide not to be a nurse anymore, I will not have wasted that much money, plus, I always feel you can never get enough education, so I gained something no matter what, plus, I have something to fall back on incase something happens with either job.

GingerSue · Jan 11, 2005

Sounds like you have some good ideas about getting education and the possibilities to use your time and abilities. And with your motivation to learn, I think you could do these career directions. Good luck in your studies!

mona b RN, BSN, RN · Jan 11, 2005

Since I almost have my BA, I will probably end up sub teaching for a while to get a feel of teaching and decide what grade I really want to teach. Right now because of my financial situation, it only costs me a buck to go to school each semester at my comminity college, so now is the best time to get as much school in as I can. I figure the days that I don't have class/clinicals and such, I will sub teach. If later on down the line, I decide not to be a nurse anymore, I will not have wasted that much money, plus, I always feel you can never get enough education, so I gained something no matter what, plus, I have something to fall back on incase something happens with either job.

Go for it. You have nothing to lose. If it doesn't work out, you will have options, right?

Good Luck

mamajapko · Jan 11, 2005

You could after some experience become a nursing instructor in high school. Our school district has a program where you can become a LVN when you graduate. I wish I had done that, but that was a hundred years ago. Just my 2 cents. Good luck, you sound like you have a good head on your shoulders. Keep it up.