Entering Nursing school but I'm having doubts & a lot of questions...

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I started out my college career with the hopes of finishing grad school & getting my LPC, so that I could be a Counselor.

The job outlook as well as the pay in the location I'm in is really pretty terrible. So as someone who already has high student loan debt- I decided to not continue to grad school to a career that looks bleak.

My 2nd career direction was Nursing. I would get my fulfillment of helping people, as well as my love for science all in one (I love Micro, A&P, Chemistry--the human body in general is incredible & I love studying it & thrive academically in this area). I also think that the pay & job security seem really alluring.

However, after reading & researching....and questioning my poor nurse friends to death-- I am beginning to doubt I would be really happy.

It seems incredibly harsh to work many holidays & weekends, not just in the beginning, (& as a new nurse I absolutely would have to) but even throughout my career as a nurse, I would be constantly the one saying, "I've gotta work this holiday, sorry family can't come."

So the holidays & weekends are really making me question if I should go forward.

----->As well as the 12 hour shifts.

I'm in my mid twenties & married & do want to have kids in a year or 2. As much as I've read you can "make it work" it seems like I would miss a lot more of my newborn than I'd want to---and wouldn't even be able to get pregnant until after 2 yrs of nursing school.

So--just asking for feedback--maybe stories of similar situations/decisions.

Also--as a new grad do you have the ability of working as a part time nurse? To my understanding you cannot go PRN until you've worked 2 yrs at a hospital. But if not PRN --what about just part time nursing w/out the extra benefits that PRN offers?

Sry so long. Thanks for any input.

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Where I work holidays are split up fairly, so one year you may work Christmas Eve and Christmas, but you'll definitely have Thanksgiving and New Years Eve and day off. Last year I worked night shifts on Xmas and it worked out great! I was there with the family at the tree in the morning, got a few hours rest and was able to have Xmas dinner before heading off to work again. It's really not that bad. My family has substitute holidays for me if needed. I work every other weekend, but sometime I just work Sunday and have Friday and Saturday off which is enough weekend for me.

For family think about it this way: you'll have 3 or 4 days off every week to spend with your baby. In my opinion that's better than M-F 8 hour shifts and being exhausted when you get home. Plus you could always work nights. A lot of parents find that easier.

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Specializes in CMSRN.

I have no desire to outright discourage someone but it sounds like you have a lot of doubts about nursing and only a few pros, those being job security and the pay.

Let me address the job security issue first. There is NOT a nursing shortage and it is NOT always easy for nurses to find employment, especially new grads. I graduated in May with excellent scores and recommendations and passed NCLEX in June. It's now August and I can't even seem to get an interview. Obviously that is not the case for many people but I'm also not alone here either. One thing to consider would be the market in your area and whether or not they are really able to accommodate the amount of graduate nurses that are currently coming out each year. If those are the only pros you can truly come up with then nursing may not be the field for you.

Now, on to the schedule issue. There are plenty of places that don't include working weekends/holidays but they are not in hospitals and if you want to work in a hospital then it's kind of non-negotiable. Physicians offices and clinics that are closed on holidays are an excellent possibility for someone wanting a regular 8:00 - 5:00 type of job. The downside to that is they generally pay quite a bit less than hospitals/nursing homes (but again, you have to decide if the positive schedule outweighs the pay downside). When it comes to schedule and babies though, something to consider would be the time aspect that you're concerned about. Working 8:00 - 5:00 Mon-Fri would take you away from a baby approx 45+ hours a week (not including drop off/pick up and that travel time). Considering the time to drop off and pick up and all of that, it's quite the investment in time. It you were to work 12 hr shifts, you would be much closer to 36+ hours (not including drop off/pick up) a week. Yes, it's a long stretch at one time but when you look at it over the course of a week, you're going to be with your baby more days a week with less days spent at a daycare/babysitter.

Also, holidays are hard but they are what you make them. I'm a new grad and know that working holidays is in my future but my family and my husband's family completely understand that everyone has scheduling issues. If I am working nights, we will plan our celebrations in the late afternoon/early evening. If I am working days, we will have a late dinner. It's all about compromise and remembering that Christmas can be just as special when celebrated on Christmas Eve as it can being celebrated on Christmas morning as long as you're with the ones you love (just using Christmas as an example).

So, I hope I addressed your concerns in ways that make things seem doable if nursing is REALLY something you want to do. If it's not really something you want to do then it is definitely best to decide now before making the time and monetary investment. Good luck with whatever you decide!

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Thanks for the feedback. I do want to clarify just one point though. I really do LOVE health- maybe the medical field isn't the exactly right term but biology & chemistry- the human body (aced my A&P classes easily). I have never thrived so much academically as I do with these areas. I for sure know I have a passion & innate ability towards these areas. I'm just trying to find the right use for them. :o I absolutely want to help people- that is why I wanted to go into Counseling, but I do also want to be financially stable.

Again- thank you. The responses gave me more to think about.

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Specializes in 4.

Just a heads up but being a nurse does NOT exactly equate to financial stability. I work at a major hospital & the pay is not so great. Thank god I became a nurse cause my heart was in it, not my wallet. You will only be happy at a career that your heart is in. Things are very tough with nursing right now. There is major competition, salary low's & jobs are scarce. It isn't impossible & such a rewarding career but your success all depends on you. Many nurses relocated due to the job market also.

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I started out as a STNA, then got my LPN, and recently my RN. I have been in "nursing/healthcare" for about 10 years. And considering my age (28), and previous jobs (before healthcare--I was in high school doing fast food/retail--where weekends and some holidays were worked). So, for me working every other weekend and on holidays is not really a big deal--it has become my norm. I have never worked a 9-5 job. I am also a mom, and had two kids under the age of three when I started nursing school. I also worked fulltime while in school. For my LPN, I worked fulltime as a STNA on first shift and had classes in the evening. I spent a lot of time away from my kids. I do not feel like I missed out on anything. As a LPN, I mainly worked second shift and went to school during the day for my RN. I recently graduated this past spring and about October of last year I went back to first shift. One thing that many people told me that kept me "in it" so to speak, was to "do it and finish it while they (my kids) are still young." When they are old enough to start getting involved in extracurricular activities, it becomes harder to work, and go to school, and then help them with their work and rip and run them everywhere. But I guess that's why, like sarakjp said, most working nurses that are parents prefer to do the night shift. I never liked night shift, let alone 12 hours. But now my kids are approaching that age where they are going to be doing some extra activities, and it just might be in my best interest to work nights--they will be asleep, when I come home, I can get them off to school, then catch my own sleep, and wake when they return home from school and do my "motherly thing." Doing a 12 hour night shift might make for less time with them still, but I have also been told that if your doing 12s, you usually end up doing three in a row, and then get four off (or two on , three off, 1 on, then one off)--and when doing 8s, you don't always get two in row off unless it's your weekend off.

I have not really encountered a problem, thus far with the holidays. Depending on the institution, holidays are rotated among the staff. And if you work second or night shift, you will have Christmas morning for instance with the family. The only time it probably would have impacted me a great deal is if I traveled out of city/town/state--then that requires time off.

You really just have to do your research (job outlook in your area as was already mentioned), and make a plan. If you have no children now, and nursing is what you really want to do, go for it now while you only have you and your husband to take care of. Nursing school can be tough and is a lot of work. Yes, I did it having two kids and was a single parent, and when I went for my RN I had another child and got married--but I worked throughout and it was tough!!!!

Keep in mind too--that once you finish, and get that credential, and start working, depending on how soon you want to have kids, but there is FMLA (usually have to work at least one year before being eligible), on top of other benefits that may be offered with a job. That being said, you can accrue time for leave in addition to the FMLA during those early months of an infant's life.

One more thing--I don't where you are located, but I know here in Ohio, new grads CAN get PRN or part-time jobs.

I don't know if anything I said helps, but I hope it does. Nursing is a very rewarding career. I never went into it for the money--I love caring for others and helping them to take care of themselves. The pay and stability are added perks. Like 1pinknurse said, you have to have your heart in it--if not, you will not be happy.

God Bless you in making a decision about nursing school.

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As a new grad nurse, you can also get positions in doctor's offices, clinics where you do NOT work 12 hour shifts, weekends, or holidays. My first new grad job was as a Public Health Nurse in a local health department working 8-5pm M-F. I admit that finding employment can be challenging but nursing IS a very rewarding career.

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I am a full time nurse and I haven't worked a weekend or holiday in decades. Sure, I did my 50/50 for the first eight or so years, but not after that. As someone said above, they split them up and everybody takes turns, and it's not as bad as you think.

Think about heading for a career as a nurse in a research group, perhaps. They'll want people who know nursing, with all its assessment and management skills, but they don't usually work weekends or nights. :)

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As someone who started working at age 14, the oldest in a large family that was not well-off, and who had a successful career in law prior to becoming an RN later in life, I was offended when I first read this posting. Then I re-read it, and I just had to shake my head.

So, you don't want to work on an occasional holiday, or on the weekend, or to work 12-hour shifts (even though those 12's allow you to work three days a week, and have four days off, with full benefits). Millions of people, across a broad range of occupations, work on weekends and holidays. Personally, I'd rather work a Saturday or Sunday and have time off during the week ... movies are less crowded, and so is the beach, the grocery store, and the gym. If you want a M-F, 9-5 job, then go get an MBA and take a job with a bank ... if you can get hired. No RN I know works every weekend and every holiday, unless he/she wants to. And believe me, some do. Nursing hours can be incredibly accommodating to a person with a family, but to think that you're entitled to escape any vestige of inconvenience is pretty startling.

Now comes the touchy part: you want a nursing career, but you want to have a baby "in a year or two". Well, I suggest you choose one or the other. But you won't, because you "want it all". You want a family AND a career AND you want to feel fulfilled, etc. All without working weekends or holidays. Ugh. I better stop here before I say something that some will feel is inappropriate.

I mean, really ... the words that come to mind are "prima donna". I guess it's a generational thing; your generation seems much more entitled than mine.

Anyway, I wish you luck finding that interesting, well-paying, and fulfilling health care job that allows you to work 10am to 4pm, Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday. With holidays off, and full benefits.

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As someone who started working at age 14, the oldest in a large family that was not well-off, and who had a successful career in law prior to becoming an RN later in life, I was offended when I first read this posting. Then I re-read it, and I just had to shake my head.

So, you don't want to work on an occasional holiday, or on the weekend, or to work 12-hour shifts (even though those 12's allow you to work three days a week, and have four days off, with full benefits). Millions of people, across a broad range of occupations, work on weekends and holidays. Personally, I'd rather work a Saturday or Sunday and have time off during the week ... movies are less crowded, and so is the beach, the grocery store, and the gym. If you want a M-F, 9-5 job, then go get an MBA and take a job with a bank ... if you can get hired. No RN I know works every weekend and every holiday, unless he/she wants to. And believe me, some do. Nursing hours can be incredibly accommodating to a person with a family, but to think that you're entitled to escape any vestige of inconvenience is pretty startling.

Now comes the touchy part: you want a nursing career, but you want to have a baby "in a year or two". Well, I suggest you choose one or the other. But you won't, because you "want it all". You want a family AND a career AND you want to feel fulfilled, etc. All without working weekends or holidays. Ugh. I better stop here before I say something that some will feel is inappropriate.

I mean, really ... the words that come to mind are "prima donna". I guess it's a generational thing; your generation seems much more entitled than mine.

Anyway, I wish you luck finding that interesting, well-paying, and fulfilling health care job that allows you to work 10am to 4pm, Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday. With holidays off, and full benefits.

:wideyed: As a public health nurse, I worked the convenient hours, never worked a holiday, or weekend, and had the family time. We had nurses with newborns who kept these hours and their career.....and made it work. It CAN be done. You can be a nurse, have the career & family yes, but I don't feel she is giving off a sense of "entitlement".....some nurses are just not fit for hospital hours.

She wants advice, not judgment.

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The things that stick for me are "high student debt" and "baby in two years".

How long do plan on paying those student loans?

Babies and childcare cost money.

And yes there are jobs where you don't work shift or statutory holidays but it also depends on where you live. In my area, public health/school jobs are like gold. They go by seniority.

Tele-health wants at least three years experience

Doctors offices hire LPNs or NPs.

Before you sink anymore money into your education, figure out what you want to do. You want to help people, have you considered ultrasound? My region is always short of sonographers. Dental hygienist?

I became a nurse after my youngest started school. I didn't want strangers raising them. I also worked casual for the first five years. No guarantee of hours or wages but I could make sure I was there for their fieldtrips, soccer games, and scouts. I paid my loans back in 16 months.

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It's definitely possibly but takes some planning.

Starting a family-I didn't start nursing school until my youngest child was 3. Now that I'm working, my husband is doing the stay at home dad thing so we can raise our kids they way we want. We have always worked opposite shifts to ensure one of us was always home with them.

Holidays-my family has 4 nurses in it so there is always someone who has to work. We plan several weeks in advance to schedule a day so everyone can participate in holidays. All employees also switch holidays, so if u work Christmas Eve, you are off Christmas, work New Year's Eve, off New Year's Day. I honestly don't mind volunteering to work those days bc it's more money AND my kids don't care what day it is as long as we can celebrate. I also don't work every weekend, just every other. But it affords me the opportunity to be with my kids in the afternoons and evenings for homework duty.

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