Can't Decide Which Job To Take

[amy k]

Hello -

I have been working really hard to get back to the VA in my area (Chicagoland), and am now being offered two positions in two different locations. I am at a total crossroads and was wondering if anyone had any advice. The first job is 8 hour evening shift med/surg/onc 20 miles away from my house against traffic at Jesse Brown VA. I am worried that when it snows I will be driving for 3 hours one way (that's what my neighboors tell me who work in the city and have to drive). The other job is 8 hour night shift at LTC/hospice unit 8 miles away at Hines VA. I have been sick for 3 months and am finally getting better after trandferring to a super busy med surg unit working 12 hour nights. I'm wondering if I should skip the acute care due to high stress and go with the LTC job alternately. Still night shift, but less driving, traffic, and perhaps less activity on the unit. My main intention is to be well. Any advice would be awesome. I love the VA and want to succeed there. Thanks in advance

[westieluv]

I have done both afternoons on a busy Med/Surg floor and nights on an inpatient hospice unit. If, and thats' only IF, you can sleep well during the day, then it seems that the night job with less stress and closer to home would be better for your health. Afternoons on Med/Surg can be killer, especially if you have a lot of surgery patients on your floor, because afternoons becomes a merry-go-round of admissions and discharges, and a lot of the admissions are fresh post-ops which require extra monitoring. Also, the extra mileage in Chicagoland weather could be brutal and take away many extra hours of your home time in the winter. I live in SE Michigan, so I can relate to driving in snow and ice, and for me, the closer to home the better. I can't really speak for working midnights in LTC, but when I worked midnights in inpatient hospice, it was a piece of cake, because the pain meds made most of the patients sleep at night, and they were on very few scheduled meds, due to their end of life status. However, as I mentioned before, it is imperative that you can sleep well during the day if you are going to do full-time nights, or it can end up being detrimental to your health. For me, I would definitely pick the midnight job closer to home.

[amy k]

Thanks for the quick advice! I think you are correct and really appreciate your feedback. Thanks again!