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Discussion

Dilemma

Hi fellow nurses, so I am facing a bit of a dilemma and wanted to see if anyone had some advice. 

For most of my short nursing career (I'm a second career nurse, became licensed in 2022), I have mainly worked full time in urgent care and per diem in pediatric home care (PDN). I have a passion for home care (I also worked as a home health aide in nursing school), and I really love to help children (and adults) with medical needs and their families. As you know, there is such a huge need in this field, and so many families go without help (interfering with their ability to work and sleep). It's often overlooked too since it's not as prestigious as working in critical care. But I was hesitant to go full time since the pay is not the greatest, the benefits are terrible, there is a lot of instability, and it can be isolating since you don't have coworkers. 

But then a smaller home health agency close to me was hiring for their medical daycare, and I thought this would be the perfect fit for me. (I had worked in a medical daycare prior, but this one was closer to home, offered better pay, and was managed better). I was offered the position back in November, but they shared they had another candidate they wanted to hire as well, and they asked if we would be OK with splitting our hours between the daycare and home care. Both myself and the other nurse were fine with this. I honestly thought it would be a good mix, plus they offered me overtime, which I desperately need. So, I accepted the position and went per diem at my urgent care job. 

About two months after starting, I am told the census is too low in the daycare, and once the full time nurse comes back from maternity leave, they will have to move me over to home care full time. It was never expressed to me in the beginning that the position in the daycare was only temporary. I knew one of their full time nurses was going out on maternity leave, but they made it seem like they needed more nurses in general. I honestly feel duped, like they just needed temporary help, so they pulled us in by offering the daycare position, and now they got more home care nurses. If I had known this from the beginning, I never would have accepted the position. I can't even go back to my urgent care position full time because our volume is down there as well, so they basically eliminated my position when I left and never replaced me. 

To make matters worse, I had a freak accident in early February, slipped on ice and broke my ankle (at home so it's not WC), which put me out of work for a couple of weeks. Fortunately, they have been very accommodating, and I ended up taking on a trach/vent case for an infant recently discharged from the hospital since there wouldn't be any heavy lifting with my injury (I'm wearing a walking boot). I'm also doing overnights now, which is not preferred, but they are hiring a full time overnight nurse, and I will only end up doing 2 nights a week and will then return to my regular dayshift clients. So, now I will be doing days and nights in the same week, which is not ideal, but at least it will be more money (they are paying me a higher rate for overnights). 

I do love my clients, but I am just frustrated by the whole situation. I don't want to job hop though, so I feel like I should stick it out for a while. But I just am not sure if I want to do private duty full time indefinitely. I have been considering applying to a pediatric LTC facility where I could do similar work but have coworkers and more job stability. What do you guys think? Should I stay, or should I go? 

Thank you for any advice you have to offer!

Featured Replies

I don't know where you live and how hard it is to get jobs in your areaa. However, if you are unhappy, thee is nothing to stop you from looking around. Day and night shifts in the same week is not good. I have worked HH PVT duty shift care for 20 years and picked up shifts in clinical, correcgtions, etc. Best of luck to you.

  • Author
Megan26204 said:

I don't know where you live and how hard it is to get jobs in your areaa. However, if you are unhappy, thee is nothing to stop you from looking around. Day and night shifts in the same week is not good. I have worked HH PVT duty shift care for 20 years and picked up shifts in clinical, correcgtions, etc. Best of luck to you.

Thank you so much for your input, and I'm sorry I missed seeing it! I actually ended up applying to three very different positions, one in dialysis, one at a pediatric long term care/transitional care facility, and one in a rehab hospital. I interviewed at all three (the pediatric facility was a phone interview, but they did want to schedule an in person interview), and I ended up accepting an offer with an outpatient dialysis clinic!

I started there in late May and am training now. It's a long training program since I have no dialysis experience. It is going really well so far - my clinic manager is so nice, and it seems like there is good teamwork at my clinic! We get the same patients on a regular basis, so you do get to know them (which is something I prefer). I think this will be a great fit for my personality! The hours can be super early, but I much prefer that over night shift! I am staying on PRN in urgent care and home care for now, but I'm hoping once I'm done training and can pick up OT hours, I can go down to working only one job (that is my ultimate goal). Pay and benefits are so much better, so I am really happy I decided to make the change!

Thank you again!

  • Admin

Congratulations on the new role! It sounds like a much better fit for your lifestyle and goals.

Getting away from those rotating day/night shifts is a huge win for your health. The consistency of dialysis and having a supportive manager makes all the difference in a transition like this.

Good luck with the rest of your training!

  • Author
allnurses said:

Congratulations on the new role! It sounds like a much better fit for your lifestyle and goals.

Getting away from those rotating day/night shifts is a huge win for your health. The consistency of dialysis and having a supportive manager makes all the difference in a transition like this.

Good luck with the rest of your training!

Thank you so much! Hoping I found my niche in nursing!

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