Every other weekend & holidays??

Everline · Apr 30, 2015

And here I was thinking having to work every other weekend instead of every weekend was a good deal...

blondy2061h, MSN, RN · Apr 30, 2015

Is this a joke? So you want to make really good money but not work any weekends or holidays? Ok, if you find that job let me know!

Or nights! You forgot no nights! And probably no poop either, though not explicitly mentioned.

blondy2061h, MSN, RN · Apr 30, 2015

You can still celebrate with your family if you work an off shift. I still work weekends and holidays and am able to have Christmas dinner, and other holiday meals with my family. Another thing is you can have Christmas dinner, for example, on the 23rd if you're working the holiday.
I work nights. As a new graduate you will likely not find a day shift, and may end up on nights. You need experience before working in ambulatory surgery, or a clinic.

I've actually come to really enjoy celebrating Christmas on the 26th. 95% of the fun of Christmas is the anticipation. I get to celebrate at work (and yes, it really is a celebration- we have a Christmas tree, we bring in food, and many of the patient family's shower us with more junk food, carols play on the radio, and my coworkers have become like family to me), then, when the rest of the world is experiencing the gradual let down of December 26th, my Christmas with my family is just kicking into gear.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Apr 30, 2015

Or nights! You forgot no nights! And probably no poop either, though not explicitly mentioned.

You're so right!!! I forgot. Silly me. Thank you. :)

Yeah. I worked my fair share of nights when I first started out. Yes there will be a lot of blood, guts & poop.

MunoRN, RN · Apr 30, 2015

Are you under the assumption that the vast majority of RN's who work in jobs that extend outside the hours of weekdays 9-5 don't like to spend time with their families? Personally I also enjoy spending time with my family, but at the same time I chose to be a nurse, so I have obligations to both which I must balance, that's just how it works.

maryen · Apr 30, 2015

I have worked every other weekend for 7 years.

RNKPCE · Apr 30, 2015

It is very hard for most new grads to get jobs. If you add no weekends or holidays it will be super hard. Wanting good pay and having no experience hmmm in addition your other desires, extremely difficult. If you turn down opportunities that don't fully meet your requirements you will be one of the new grads posting on here in a thread called " Old new grad can't get a job"

Working PRN or Casual as other's have suggested isn't really likely as a new grad. As a new grad you need to work some serious hours to get a strong nursing foundation that first year.

I work one outpatient job PRN and I make 25% less than my hospital job and I've been a nurse a long time. The hours are also inconsistent at the outpatient job.

melizerd, ASN, RN · Apr 30, 2015

I work in a hospital and we work every third weekend and rotate holidays. Though I have a good deal with another coworker that I'll work every thanksgiving for her if I can alway have off the Fourth of July (normally you'd work thanksgiving every other year), so it can work out.

The reality is though that only clinics reliably have off weekends and holidays and you may not be able to start in a clinic position.

allnurses Guide · Apr 30, 2015

Hi everyone,
I will be graduating nursing school next year, and I am trying to figure out what I want to do. I was wondering what kind of positions there are out there that I do not have to work every other weekend, and a holiday. I am a huge family person, and being with my family at night and holidays is very important to me! I do not want to make a lousy salary as well.
I do not care about working one weekend a month, but the every other is something I am not interested in. What kind of jobs do you guys have and the hours? Is the pay okay as well.
Thank you!!

Hi Gabriela :)

This question has been asked many times before but I'll bite.

Personally I give you kudos for wanting to put your family first. There are ways to budget so you don't have to work as much. And if you google it . . lots of books about that.

I've answered this question before and usually my first thought is free standing surgery centers which are a great place to work because they usually don't do surgery on weekends or holidays.

Hospice, for me, has a pretty flexible schedule where you can choose to be per diem, part-time, full-time.

School nursing is great as well because you can work in the school where your kids go to school and you have the summer off and all the same holidays.

I have never been a huge proponent of the "you absolutely MUST work 1 year in med-surg before you can be a real nurse" or "you have to pay your dues" before finding the job that works for you.

In my nursing class, one nurse started working in postpartum and soon got to move to NICU as that was her first love. She's been doing that ever since. Others went to ER. One went to L&D. I started at a rural hospital where you are a jack of all trades; master of none. I did ER, L&D, baby nurse for cesareans, post-op, and then acute nursing as well.

There are all kinds of jobs and new nurses do actually get hired at some jobs sometimes.

Good for you for looking. I wish you success in finding something that works for you and your family.

amoLucia · Apr 30, 2015

Or nights! You forgot no nights! And probably no poop either, though not explicitly mentioned.

And add to the list of 'no weekends or holidays and great pay' that there shouldn't be any mandated OT when next shift staffing is too low. Oh, don't forget about not driving in any bad weather. Or when you have the 'feelin' lousies'.

Not to pick on OP to be mean, but those kind of wishes would be rather nice, you have to admit.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 30, 2015

We have a system where everyone swaps holidays every other year, no matter how long you've been there. Even management has to rotate b/c someone has to be on call. I know that I will be working Thanksgiving and New Years next year because I worked Christmas Eve/Day last year. Just part of the deal. I bargained my way to days only but started out rotating 2 weeks days, 2 weeks nights for my first 9 months. Hate nights, but ya gotta pay the dues. Now I am a weekend warrior and love it so that is a non issue. In fact, we have such a solid group of weekenders, I think the rotating shifts, have to work on;y one weekend or even just one weekend day a month. We need night shifters.

Green_Grass · Apr 30, 2015

In 2004 as a new graduate RN, I worked on a medical floor run by a nurse manager who believed that staff would perform better if they did not need to go between night and day shifts. It was at a 900-bed level-1 trauma centre and the staff on that floor was cohesive and wonderful. My schedule was three 12-hour day shifts during the week and an optional one weekend day per month, if patient and staff census dictated a need for it. Many nurses enjoyed three 12-hour night shifts and still others preferred to work all weekend because of the pay increase so demand for day shift positions did not outstrip the supply. I also worked at an agency, working some additional day shifts on orthopaedic and med-surg units. I suppose things have changed in recent times and as there are more nurses than available jobs, day shift may sometimes be elusive. As others mentioned; working in a public health clinic, occupational health clinic, ambulatory care centre, catheterisation lab, are all good options for daytime schedules. It is a worthwhile experience to work as a bedside RN in a hospital at least for a couple of years. The experience and little pearls gained from more seasoned nurses in an acute setting; the experience in critical thinking, disease pathology, time management, and teamwork is invaluable and really is a solid foundation for a nursing career.