is this a dumb idea?

caliotter3 · Aug 18, 2009

In today's economy, being willing to work that schedule (or any other schedule for that matter) will help you to get a job. I would look for that kind of schedule and use the extra money to meet expenses like you say. If you find it to be demanding, you can put a time limit on the situation and transfer to a different work schedule after you have met a goal or two. My daughter works that shift and manages to take care of two kids and does ok. She basically sleeps her first day off and is available for family activities on her other days.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 18, 2009

In my non-nursing life, I used to work Fri, Sat and Sun 8p-8a. I loved it! But then again, I was also single and childless at the time, so I could easily adjust my schedule for the rest of the week, so I could pretty much stay in "night" mode. After a few months though, I missed having a social life (all of my friends worked normal hours), and so I shifted to working Sun-Mon-Tue, which was also very nice.

The secret to successfully working 12 hour nights is that you need to actually SLEEP during the day. Don't schedule a full day of activity on Friday then work 12 hours on Friday night because you will be a tired train wreck halfway through work. Also don't work 12 hours Friday night and then do a full day of errands on Saturday, because then you are setting yourself up for trouble on Saturday night. Instead, keep errands and stuff on the light side for those days and actually go to bed instead. If you must do something, do it after you wake up in the afternoon (if possible).

Also, you will definitely need that one day to readjust especially since your family will be living a daytime life :)

I know a lot of people who work overnight and have kids, and they manage to make it work--so it is doable. But I agree with Caliotter: try it out and if it's not working for you and your family, shift the hours around.

rn/writer, RN · Aug 18, 2009

If your child is 4 yo now, he/she will be 5 yo or close to it by the time you graduate. That probably means school will start for the wee one in the fall. Will you want most of your weekend time eaten up by work and sleep if your child is in school on weekdays?

Maybe you could work nights during the week and have your child sleep at a friend, relative or babysitter's house. Or you could pay someone a very reasonable amount to sleep at your house. Might be a good match for a single student who needs to make a few bucks but also needs to study.

A third option is to consider trading childcare with another single mom with a comparable situation.

I wish you the best.

SFDRN · Aug 19, 2009

I currently work nights on a telemetry floor as a newish (6 months experience) grad... I tried to do the 3 nights in a row schedule for a few months, it wore me out and left me exhausted for at least 2 of the 4 days I had off afterwards. Now I'm trying a Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday schedule so that I don't have to do 3 in a row. It really depends on what kind of floor you're on. I'm on a geri/tele/med-surg floor where the patients are total care and can be pretty acute. We transfer to stepdown and ICU floors all the time. Not only that, but the patients and their families are demanding and often entitled, and the residents write for stuff all day and night long. Nights are not easy on my floor, but I've floated to other med/surg floors in my hospital where the pts are walkie-talkie and it's a breeze. Some of the nurses on those floors work 5 nights in a row in order to get a ton of days off! I just don't think I could do that on my floor.

Also bear in mind that you won't sleep well between shifts and that you need to factor in commute time. If you leave at 8am, you may not get home until 9 and then you have to sleep until 5pm. It's hard to do that, especially if you have another person around during the day. After two nights on and two days without good sleep, your third night will make you feel soooo burned out, believe me.

NeoNurseTX, RN · Aug 23, 2009

It seems like most weekenders are parents.. I'm about to start the weekend program myself..w/o kids though.

NC Girl BSN · Aug 23, 2009

Sounds like you have a goal of making more money and paying off your loans. I think working weekends to do that is a great idea. I will warn you, your either gonna love it or hate. I personally cannot work three days in a row but I have coworkers who do and love it. Try it out and see. Its not like you gotta work it forever. Good Luck!