Are non-parent nurses discriminated against?

[GraceM]

I am not a nurse, but thinking of becoming one. It is unlikely (but possible) that I will have children someday.

I have heard that nursing offers great flexibility for people with children, and I think that's great. I think people should be able to work around their kids' schedule, leave early when needed to care for children, etc.

BUT, I expect the same flexibility to be offered to the child-free person. Just as someone might need to leave to pick up a sick child or attend a school play, I might have to run errands or take my dog to the vet.

In nursing, is it common for people to automatically assume that the child-free should work weekends and holidays more frequently, or take other hours that parents don't want? I know that weekends and holidays come with the territory; I just want an equitable distribution of them.

Do any non-parent nurses feel discriminated against in this regard? Conversely, do any parents who are nurses feel discriminated against because they DO have children?

[GraceM]

My scenarios about the errands and the vet were just made-up examples. I would never leave ANY job early in order to do these things, unless they were emergencies! And I would let my dog die before I would abandon a patient. My examples were only meant to emphasize the fact that people without children have things they need to do too.

My question was more about: if two nurses need the same day off, and one has children and the other doesn't, and only one can have the day, would the adminstration favor the person with kids? Ditto for holidays and such.

[shay]

The main difference I notice is that I get called a lot more to come in and cover for sick folks or when we're slammed. HOWEVER, I do it willingly for the simple fact that I DON'T have children and I KNOW it's a lot easier for me to do it...plus, the $$ is good and I always get a boost on my evaluation for being a 'team player' and being flexible.

I think it works both ways. Yeah, the nurses w/kids get to leave when a crisis arises, but come on....IT'S A REAL CRISIS if it involves a kid and quite frankly, I would hope no one would begrudge them for leaving. I may not get to leave because kitty has a hairball, but believe me, my co-workers appreciate me and LET ME KNOW IT. Plus when my time comes and I actually DO have kids (many, many years from now...but we won't go there), I hope I'll get the same 'flexibility' if my baby is sick.

Grace, to answer your questions re: holidays, at the hospitals where I worked it was never a factor if you had kids, it was rotation based. Vacation was first-come, first-serve basis. You sign up for it first, you get it. Or if you had something like non-refundable cruise tickets, you'd generally get it. Not having kids has never come into play. Hope this answers your question.

[ageless]

In my experience, the day off would go to the one who requested it first.