So I'm currently working in a surgical onco floor as a new grad nurse and my shift begins tomorrow. I just finished a month of didactics and now we will be sent to our units.
So my didactics went from 8a-5pm and I had weekends off. That meant I had all the time to attend Church every sunday and have some free time. So I was called as a member of the young women presidency in our ward and also was assigned a teaching assignment for the youth. So I accepted these callings because I have always wanted to do these before.
What I am very sad about it is that we start working with shifting schedule this week (just as all us nurses usually do) and ofc, I may not always have the time to go to church and attend to my calling (or teach) every weekend consistently and this makes me sad. I spoke with my bishop about this and he knows I am on a shifting schedule. He said I didnt need to be there all the time.
Im just worried I might get schedules that will require me not to attend church for a loooong period and it makes me honestly sad. How did you deal with shifting schedules and Church callings and responsibilities?
What I am very sad about it is that we start working with shifting schedule this week (just as all us nurses usually do) and ofc, I may not always have the time to go to church and attend to my calling (or teach) every weekend consistently and this makes me sad.
I haven't read the comments yet, so I apologize if mine is repetitive.
Perhaps you could find a Seventh Day Adventist or Jewish nurse who would like to "partner" with you? You could cover Saturday shifts for them and they would cover your Sundays. I don't know if your management would be amenable to that arrangement, but it might be worth a try.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Hi allnurses :)
So I'm currently working in a surgical onco floor as a new grad nurse and my shift begins tomorrow. I just finished a month of didactics and now we will be sent to our units.
So my didactics went from 8a-5pm and I had weekends off. That meant I had all the time to attend Church every sunday and have some free time. So I was called as a member of the young women presidency in our ward and also was assigned a teaching assignment for the youth. So I accepted these callings because I have always wanted to do these before.
What I am very sad about it is that we start working with shifting schedule this week (just as all us nurses usually do) and ofc, I may not always have the time to go to church and attend to my calling (or teach) every weekend consistently and this makes me sad. I spoke with my bishop about this and he knows I am on a shifting schedule. He said I didnt need to be there all the time.
Im just worried I might get schedules that will require me not to attend church for a loooong period and it makes me honestly sad. How did you deal with shifting schedules and Church callings and responsibilities?
Thank you so much!
The first year of working is rough, and one of the roughest things for some is the necessity of working nights, weekends and holidays. If you want to work in a hospital, that's the reality. As a brand new nurse, you should probably suck it up and work the weekends. Later, when you've gotten to know your colleagues and they've gotten to know you, you might be able to find someone who will happily work your Sundays in return for you working their Saturdays. Or you may find someone who will work your Sundays for the weekend differential. Or you may find that working every Saturday and Sunday night gives plenty of time to get to church on Sunday morning. Or perhaps you and your bishop will agree that caring for the sick is a ministry and that excuses you from your church obligation. Or you'll take a Monday through Friday job if church is that important to you.
If you signed up to work every other weekend, or every third weekend, or whatever you signed up for, you should work it. Trying to get out of it now isn't going to look good to your colleagues, your manager or HR.
By the way -- if you're an RN now, you may wish to change your user name.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I've never known anyone to request special treatment on an ongoing basis so it really was a general philosophical question for me, directed to the general religious membership, posted early on in the thread prior to a perceived pile on. My only experience is with nurses who state their weekend availability upfront and were hired full disclosure.
I've known plenty of people who requested special treatment on an ongoing basis, and many of them were newbies. That creates a lot of bad feelings toward the newbie, and often they then complain that "nobody likes me." (Which may be true because no one likes the person who is just hired and immediately demands special treatment.) Many have then failed to fit into the team and have been fired or asked to resign. Best not to request special treatment until you've worked there long enough for folks to have some sympathy for the need for special treatment.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Fully half of the people who posted in this thread seem to responding to a different OP. This OP is asking other Mormon/LDS nurses how they dealt with being sad about missing out on something that has brought them great fulfillment. Yes, it appears she was a little naive and didn't think this through before becoming a hospital RN but she's not even suggesting she doesn't want to work, it just makes her sad.
What's with all of the scolding and judgments?
Perhaps the scolding and judgements are coming from experienced nurses who have had the experience of precepting a brand new nurse who is so surprised at the weekend requirement that she complains constantly about it to anyone who will listen. Or a new nurse who calls in sick every Saturday night or Sunday day shift. Or a new nurse who has her Daddy call and threaten the manager's job if his little darling isn't scheduled "more reasonable hours." The OP may not have been refusing to work the weekends . . . but some of us are all too familiar with people who do.
Perhaps the scolding and judgements are coming from experienced nurses who have had the experience of precepting a brand new nurse who is so surprised at the weekend requirement that she complains constantly about it to anyone who will listen. Or a new nurse who calls in sick every Saturday night or Sunday day shift. Or a new nurse who has her Daddy call and threaten the manager's job if his little darling isn't scheduled "more reasonable hours." The OP may not have been refusing to work the weekends . . . but some of us are all too familiar with people who do.
To OP. Sounds like a Monday-Friday gig would be a good fit for your priorities in life. Get a lot of experience in your area and maybe use that as a bargaining chip to land such an agreement - depending on where you live that might mean a few years, or 20 :-(
As with every other time this topic comes up, I think anyone who feels that having to work instead of attending Church interferes with their ability to serve Christ, and therefore that caring for the sick and suffering isn't serving Christ clearly doesn't understand the teachings of Christ.
More often it seems that people don't disagree that they can serve Christ just as well through nursing as going to Church in which case the importance of Church is that it's a social event that brings joy to someone's life, which is something every hospital nurse misses out on, not just church-goers.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
As with every other time this topic comes up, I think anyone who feels that having to work instead of attending Church interferes with their ability to serve Christ, and therefore that caring for the sick and suffering isn't serving Christ clearly doesn't understand the teachings of Christ.
More often it seems that people don't disagree that they can serve Christ just as well through nursing as going to Church in which case the importance of Church is that it's a social event that brings joy to someone's life, which is something every hospital nurse misses out on, not just church-goers.
OP: weekend committments are a part of acute care bedside nursing. As patients can't always accomodate your religious needs by suddenly getting well enough to discharge on Saturday night, you will have to be resourcesful in trying to make work and your religious committments mesh.
As others have already mentioned, try to negotiate something where you'll work most/every Saturday in exchange for most/every Sunday off. I've seen this deal work out before, and it might for you, especially if you've got a Jewish coworker who is looking for Saturdays off to attend their religous services. Perhaps find such a person and the two of you approach managment together with your proposals. The downside to this is that you will be giving up every single Saturday.
Another option is to see your religious leader and request a dispensation for missing services. Clergy understand that people do have to minister to the care of the sick even on the holy days. You spoke to your bishop and he said pretty much that. A third option, though I'm not LDS so I don't know is this would be possible, is to attend service on another day. I'm Catholic, and in most parishes there is a Saturday evening/night mass for those who are unable to attend on Sunday. Or attend a really early (or late) Sunday service. Perhaps LDS has a similar option. Of course, neither of these opportunities do not address the other church activities that you are going to be involved in, but it does address the having time to worship question.
Someone did mention night shift, and that is also a viable option...but bear in mind that you do need time to sleep at some point. A full night of work followed by a full day of church services and activities means that you'll have precious little time for anything else that day.
Another option is to scale back on the church activities until you get a feel for your work schedule and how things are going. Maybe start off with one extracurricular activity and see how it goes. Or see if these actvities HAVE to be on a Sunday. Again, I'm not LDS so I don't know how it works, but perhaps you can teach on another day/evening of the week.
Your last option is to transfer to a position that is weekdays only. As you are low on the seniority pole, they are not likely to hand you such a plum position while working at the bedside, especially when they have more senior staff waiting for such a position. You would likely have to look outside of acute care for this schedule in places such as outpaient, same day surgery, clinics, etc. But it would leave your weekends free.
As with every other time this topic comes up, I think anyone who feels that having to work instead of attending Church interferes with their ability to serve Christ, and therefore that caring for the sick and suffering isn't serving Christ clearly doesn't understand the teachings of Christ.
More often it seems that people don't disagree that they can serve Christ just as well through nursing as going to Church in which case the importance of Church is that it's a social event that brings joy to someone's life, which is something every hospital nurse misses out on, not just church-goers.
Why would you think that someone who wants to work out a way to both do their work (which happens to be caring for the ill) and their other faith-related responsibilities doesn't believe that caring for the ill is one way they can serve their god?
Why is it that you can make such declarations about what others think?
As to your second paragraph, you've made another wise-sounding leap I would guess is incorrect. The OP has just been given some responsibilities at her "social club," which she feels amount to serving. That doesn't mean she doesn't think caring for the ill is serving, too. Your whole "words of wise observation" thing leaves quite a bit to be desired as far as any neutral thoughts on the matter.
So it's a social club. Where are all the kitty claws when other people come here moaning about relationship woes or having no social life? Or caring for parents or children....or, well, just about anything else that involves integrating another aspect of life with one's nursing career? All of us are missing out on time for other responsibilities while we're at work. But those discussions don't quite as often seem to go the way this one has...
jetsy62
143 Posts
I thought the OP was very clear in who she was directing her question to and I thank the Mormon/LDS nurses that responded.