Being a Nurse and Mom

Gompers, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2006

There was a big thread recently on nursing and having kids, with nurses discussing their schedules and child-care options...

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/kids-being-nurse-168175.html?highlight=parent

My sister-in-law is a teacher, and while it's great for moms whose kids are in school all day long, it kind of sucks for them when the kids are little. My SIL only sees her baby for a few minutes in the morning and a few hours in the evening during the week when school is in session. Yes, she has all weekend with him, and all summer long, but that's a whole lotta hours she misses during the school year.

Most of my coworkers who have kids see them a whole lot more in the long run, even if it means working a holiday here or there. Remember, with holidays, you aren't gone the whole day. If you work, say, evening shift on Christmas, you can still be there to open presents and have a nice Christmas brunch and your kids will be thrilled.

mama_flora · Jul 27, 2006

Thanks Gompers. I will check out that thread. I see you are in NICU--I would like to do NICU. We got familiar with NICU when our son was there for 2 weeks. By the way--do you have a BSN?

Gompers, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2006

Thanks Gompers. I will check out that thread. I see you are in NICU--I would like to do NICU. We got familiar with NICU when our son was there for 2 weeks. By the way--do you have a BSN?

Yes, I do. I don't think that it's required to work in the NICU, though. However, every nurse that starts out as a new grad in our unit seems to have a BSN already.

LA,T-BONE · Jul 27, 2006

It depends if you work 8 or 12 hour shifts and if you work in an area that is open 7 days a week like a hospital setting are maybe in an office closed holidays and weekends. most nurses find a way. Whether reliable spouses, childcare or relatives to help. some hospitals have daycare services. I know it is hard to trust your littles ones to someone elses care but I think mine have done ok. I have worked for a hospital that had childcare when they were younger and now my husband and I work opposite schedules to care for them. Best of luck to you.

mama_flora · Jul 27, 2006

Thanks LA & Gompers. I am thinking about going for ADN because the school is closer to us and more affordable. It seems though BSN gives you a lot more options for work. I'll have to see what will work for us. Ill keep you posted on my decision.

:specs:

Sleepy_Princess · Jul 28, 2006

Mama Flora,

I posted in the other thread, but I just wanted to chime in again about the teaching part. I have been a teacher for the past five years, and I have to admit that it hasn't been what I expected. We really don't get summers off, and I usually drag home a bag full of work every day. With all of the prep time, grading, dealing with parents, and after school activites, I generally work a 9-10 hour day. That doesn't even count the time I spend planning and grading at home. It eats up a lot of my time.

I decided to go back to get a second degree in nursing when I had my first child. It just seemed like a better fit for me for a few reasons. First, I can't drag the patients or the charting home with me, so nursing definitely won't cut into my personal time as much as teaching. I also sink about $500 a year (or more) into supplies for my classroom, decorations, and treats for my kids. I won't be passing out pencils or stickers to my patients for their good behavior, so that's more money in my pocket! Also, if you are a teacher your opportunites for growth are limited. Sure, you might get to be a team leader or a department chair, but you're still just a teacher. The only way to do something else (counseling or administration) is to go to grad school. However, nurses have so many more opportunites. You can go into management, patient education, and you have so many different specialties to choose from. Finally, teaching gets boring after a while. As a middle school teacher, I teach the same lesson 7 times in one day!!! Also, my curriculum requires that I teach the same lessons year after year. YUCK!

I'm getting off of my soapbox now! :chuckle I hope I have helped you with your decision. Keep in mind that I have one more year of teaching and one more year of nursing school ahead of me, so I can't say for sure which one I like better. However, I think nursing is a great choice for our family. If you have the desire to do both, you could always go into school nursing! Anyway, I wish you good luck no matter which path you choose!

Gompers, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2006

Hey Sleepy_Princess, thanks for the heads-up on the real life of a teacher. I agree - my sister-in-law doesn't seem to have much time during the school year and she teaches second grade. She only really has 2 months off during the summer because of meetings and preparation before and after the school year ends. The good thing is that it's a "normal" schedule and she has all the holidays and weekends off one could ever want. My brother is always bragging that being a teacher is the best career in the world for a mom, and I do agree with him sometimes. But like I said before, that's only once the kids are all in first grade and up. Before that time, a lot of hours are lost. I once figured out that my mom, who babysits 3 days a week, sees my nephew the same amount of awake hours as my sister-in-law does.

Meanwhile, once I have a baby, it's going to be a little better for me. Oh, I'll be more tired than she is, that's for sure. But I won't miss out on nearly as much time with my kids. For one thing, even working full-time (3 12-hour shifts a week) I'll have four whole days off a week with the kids. I work nights now and will continue to do so. My plan is to work my three days in a row whenever possible so that I can spend my group of days off hanging out with the kids, not needing to sleep before or after work. On the days when I do work, at least one of the days will be a Saturday or Sunday, so my husband will hang out with the kids during the day and let me sleep. On the other two days, one of our mothers will babysit for about 5-6 hours so I can get some sleep. That's only how much I sleep between night shifts now, so I might even find a local daycare to take the kids to for those hours. So what it looks like now is that my kids will need an average of 12 hours of childcare a week, whether it's by grandmas or professionals. NOT BAD AT ALL!

Sorry so long-winded. Partly, I'm just trying to make MYSELF feel better, LOL! I have a bit of a surprise pregnancy going on here at the moment and am still trying to get a handle on things.

I still vote for nursing over teaching for moms. MUCH more flexible.

Gompers, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2006

Thanks LA & Gompers. I am thinking about going for ADN because the school is closer to us and more affordable. It seems though BSN gives you a lot more options for work. I'll have to see what will work for us. Ill keep you posted on my decision.

I'd go for the ADN if I were you, too. It makes more sense to be close to home and saving money, really. You can always have your job pay for you to get a BSN later on, if you even decide it's something you want. All you need to get started is your RN, so just focus on that for now. So definitely go for an ADN and don't get into an LPN program. You will have many, many, many more options open to you if you are an RN (whether you have an ADN or BSN) than you will if you have an LPN. It may be a bit quicker, but you won't regret going for the RN straight off the bat. Just my opinion.

jk82 · Jun 6, 2011

I know this is an old post, but maybe someone will reply....I'm an RN and I'm currently teaching High School and working contingent in the float pool at the hospital. I want to start a family and I'm wodering if I should continue teaching or go back to working at the hospital. If I go back to the hospital I'll continue to work full time hours in the float pool, because of the flexibility but would have no benefits...which concerns me if I get pregnant and have to go on bed rest, take my maternity leave etc.,

Working at the hospital will be great when my kids are young, but what about when they're older and in school? My husband is also a teacher, so in the future we would have lots of family time together...on the other hand, if I'm working at the hospital he is still on a school schedule to be with kids...which is good.

I really am stuck on this one...any advice??

Yazmine1 · Jul 23, 2011

jk82 Im not a nurse or a teacher, but I'm an undecided college student. I feel the same way about everything you said. I want to become a nurse but I dont know which way to go...nursing or teaching! My boyfriend and I had our first baby a few months ago. I worry about nursing school and being a nurse taking away from her and taking away my chance to have a second baby within the next 4 years. Id have to go with the BN which I want anyways bc that particular college (southeastern louisiana university) offers childcare...my original plan was to go to a community college and get my ADN go to work and then get my BN while in the workforce but there isn't any childcare offered and we can't afford it at the time . So I've been thinking about teaching because I thought it'd be best for my daughter. i'd like to be a teacher but not nearly as much as I'd like to be a nurse! I was thinking about teaching elementary....why are you leaving teaching? Another reason I'm afraid of getting a teaching degree is bc of all the cut backs!!