Banker to nurse - Would you make the switch

Adele_Michal7, ASN, RN · Jun 16, 2015

If you're genuinely interested in nursing, I say why not. I wouldn't switch careers based on a potential 3 day schedule, as I don't know many new grads who have snagged a job like that. Good luck!

xinah · Jun 16, 2015

Thanks for the reply! Could you give me more insight into the real life of nurse schedules ... I'm assuming L &D or OB Surgery would be 12 hours shifts... Three 12's is considered full time ... how many hours do you TRULY end up working? How often do you end up pulling a "double shift?"

Adele_Michal7, ASN, RN · Jun 17, 2015

Well, I work in a sub acute rehab facility. I'm an LVN. Everywhere I've worked has done 8 hour shifts, and then I usually end up picking up a 6th day to get 48 hours. I do know some nurses who work 12's in hospitals. They're all RN's. Hopefully someone can chime in on that. However, I also know lots of RN's who work in LTC's, Sub acute rehabs, and the like, who do the 8 hour shift model. :)

Adele_Michal7, ASN, RN · Jun 17, 2015

Btw you're welcome. Also my 8 hour shifts are usually closer to 10, but that's just where I work. By the time I finish charting, transcribing any new orders, and wrapping up day shift or pm shift monkey business, it's usually 4:30. Or 12:30 if I worked pms:)

smallnurse10 · Jun 17, 2015

I work in L&D and really enjoy my job. I would suggest shadowing a nurse in mother/baby & L&D to see if it is for you. Many potential RNs in women's health realize it isn't really want they thought it would be after working in the field a bit. I am a travel nurse now but when I was staff I would have never been able to go part time. The unit was chronically short staffed and the manager forbid it. We lost several staff nurses due to this rule. Also, a good L&D unit will keep its staff so that means many, many years on the night shift. I know units where L&D nurses work nights for ten years or more before they land that coveted day shift position. However, this is highly dependent on where you live and choose to work. L&D and surgery positions usually take call in a big hospital and often you get called in. Call pay is minimal depending on the hospital but 1.5 times pay when called in. Personally, I hate call and like to avoid it at all costs. It can easily add another day or two per month to your working life. OB surgery is done by L&D nurses in a large hospital and by surgical nurses in small hospitals. Those surgical nurses do not only circulate on OB cases, but also must know every surgical specialty as they circulate all surgical cases.

klone, MSN, RN · Jun 17, 2015

I wouldn't switch careers based on a potential 3 day schedule, as I don't know many new grads who have snagged a job like that.

Thanks for the reply! Could you give me more insight into the real life of nurse schedules ... I'm assuming L &D or OB Surgery would be 12 hours shifts... Three 12's is considered full time ... how many hours do you TRULY end up working? How often do you end up pulling a "double shift?"

I was confused by the previous poster's reply as well. If you work a 12-hour shift in a hospital, you will work 3 shifts/week, plus possibly a shift of being on-call, depending upon the facility's call system. More than 3 shifts/week would put you into OT, and hospitals do NOT like paying people OT if they can avoid it!

ETA: unlike the previous poster, every hospital I've ever worked at has only had 12-hour shifts.

obrn2 · Jun 17, 2015

Best advice ever - go shadow an RN! Before you make any changes, make sure you can handle it. There are volunteer programs that would give you exposure to what nurses do - take advantage of them.

And while Women's Health is your area of interest, realize that you may need to work in a different department before switching to L&D or MBU depending on your need to work. I do not subscribe to the thought that you need to work MedSurg before moving into Women's Health, however sometimes it's the only area open to new grads (depending on your geo area). You may have to decide whether getting a job is more important than the specific field. Only you'll know that answer when the time comes.

As a second career nurse, this was the best advice I ever got. Don't get me wrong, I love my job...but nursing is HARD.

StarletRN1 · Jun 17, 2015

I agree with the shadowing suggestion. Before going to nursing school, I wanted to be a L&D nurse, but after doing the Maternity/Newborn clinical I changed my mind. Now I work in geriatrics and can't think of doing anything else. Who knew?

xinah · Jun 17, 2015

How are you able to shadow a nurse? I figured HIPPA would prevent doing anything like that.

Also, what are the things that cause people to "change their mind" about L&D / OB? I know there will be lots of blood, poop and pee ... what else is a negative?

xinah · Jun 17, 2015

What career did you switch from? And, what are the unexpected things of nursing that you didn't think of prior to switching careers? I don't mind working hard, in fact, if I'm working I want to be busy ... but I don't want to be a stressed out, tired mess on my days off with my family!

thenightnurse456 · Jun 17, 2015

L&D is a very popular specialty and often quite competitive to work in, especially as a new graduate. Some employers even want a year experience before working in the specialty.

Suppose you do the pre reqs (2 years) then your BSN (4 years) and you don't get the L&D job, would you want to work somewhere else to get that magic year of experience?