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.
there are positions out there, but you really have to search. The company I work for does not have the nurses working weekends and for the holidays, its only triaging emergency calls only (no going out) and I was able to set the schedule where we only "work" one holiday a year. But that being said, it is rare. Once nurses find these positions, they stay! My team of nurses has been here 15+ years. I really lucked out, they pushed me into the DON position, because the DON have to come into the office a few days a week! They work from home/beach/spa...
The likelihood of a new grad getting a position like this is extremely low and should be. Triaging emergency calls requires a level of critical thinking and experience that most new grads have not yet achieved.
FWIW, I used to work in an ambulatory surgery center, and we NEVER EVER hired a new grad. Had to be experienced as an RN before you got in the door. School nursing, while I haven't done it personally, seems to require a healthy amount of experience first (as it should!!); in my region, I do happen to know the line of competition for the rare opening is long and heavy. Haven't seen/heard of a new grad anywhere in a school nursing spot within two counties for.....well, ever.
In your experience new grads were able to find themselves jobs in an acute setting without med-surg, that's great! It's also not common enough to consider it a plan for graduation, UNLESS the OP also lives in such a rare community :)
It's more common to NEED that year or two in med-surge to even get LOOKED at for one of the positions the OP is thinking she'll get.
This thread had about two pages of responses giving the OP a rather hard time about asking a question that has been asked before plus asking about a job that would fit in with family needs. Some were wondering if this was a troll as well. I simply wanted to encourage her to at least give some areas a look.
The experiences I posted are true - maybe not common - but they happened. I wanted to share something more positive for the OP. Be more welcoming.
AN put this thread on Facebook too and the comments there are even a bit more caustic like "suck it up buttercup" as well as almost every comment saying a variation of "you must pay your dues".
Obviously having experience will help you get the job you really want but there are exceptions to every rule and again, I've never liked being told I must do something or else.
I worked bedside for 9 years after becoming a nurse at 40. I spent way too much time away from my kids. If I'd like to encourage the OP to find a job that will not interfere with being a mom and wife.
I am now a hospice nurse (per diem) and a school nurse (24 hours a week). I'm leaving the school nurse job after 5 years because of all the bureaucratic paperwork nonsense. I rarely get the chance to be a nurse caring for a child. That goes to the school secretaries. But I'm in the process of interviewing a brand new BSN graduate with NO prior medical experience who is very excited about what school nursing can be and I'm so far leaning her direction from talks I've already had with her. This job, working Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday with weekends off and holidays off and the summer off is a pretty good deal if school nursing is what a person wants to do.
There can be a job that fits this new nurse who took the time to ask the question. If she wants to look in places besides bedside nursing, I'm not going to tell her she shouldn't do that. There is no reason she can't be warned about how hard it might be but it seems like people were jumping on the OP with both feet with incredulous comments.
I'm not a fan of "Nurses Eat Their Young" or "You gotta pay your dues and work bedside for at least a year" or many other generalizations I've encountered in nursing.
This thread had about two pages of responses giving the OP a rather hard time about asking a question that has been asked before plus asking about a job that would fit in with family needs. Some were wondering if this was a troll as well. I simply wanted to encourage her to at least give some areas a look.
The experiences I posted are true - maybe not common - but they happened. I wanted to share something more positive for the OP. Be more welcoming.
I have no doubt they are true, and never wished to intimate that they weren't. I believe you were looking for a positive spin to put on the OP's quest, and I applaud you for that, honestly.
But I do believe that wherever you are ("in the mountains" according to tag line!) must truly be an anomaly where nursing is concerned. To be frank, the school nurses I have known (four personally) and from what I'm reading here on AN as well, have a VERY high need for the kind of skillset that would only be acquired after spending a good amount of time in an acute-care setting, ie: hospitals. Based on only what they have TOLD me, I cannot imagine a new grad doing well in such a setting: PEG tubes/feedings, indwelling urinary catheters; PICC lines, insulin pumps/diabetic crises, cardiac arrest (yep, in a kid), and a whole host of other insanity. I wonder what you mean by the real school nursing goes to the secretaries...? That sounds like a nightmare in action! Unless, of course, the acuity at the school is more like bandaids and cold packs :)
At any rate, I think while a positive spin is certainly nice, it's probably just as useful to hear "you're looking for the Holy Grail", so as not to be shocked upon graduation and finding the distinct possibility of unemployment, regardless of hours sought.
Bottom line is if this new grad is in an area where opportunities are available, no doubt she will find them. But if not.....forewarned is forearmed!
This^^^^^ a thousand times over. Why on earth would it be a good thing to lead a nursing student to believe that her desires for a job are even reasonable in this day and age? Better she knows now than get the shock of her life after spending thousands of dollars on an education for a job that doesn't suit her needs.
Is this a joke letter? Why didn't you go into teaching? If you are unwilling to do weekends/holidays, you probably won't get a job. These jobs go to experienced nurses. Oh, get ready for night shift as well.
A. as others have asked, didn't you realize nursing is a profession of self sacrifice?
B. You can find jobs at doctors offices but they don't pay as well. One office offered me $12/hr. Nope. Floor nursing atm for me being new still is $20. It various on the area you live in.
C. You love your family. That's wonderful. Think about your patients who don't get to go home and need your help. They're stuck away from everything they are used to and all sense of normalcy. Some patients don't even have family that care enough to visit.
You have chosen a line of work that requires a whole lot of sacrifice and compassion.
Also yeah, get ready for night shift. I love it personally but as the bottom of the totem pole expect to be treated as such.
I am really confused by all these people in various lines of work who think they will graduate and somehow be handed what others work years for. Do you honestly not know how real life works!?
Another note: don't be afraid to choose a different career especially if you're young. This is not for the faint of heart.
I have no doubt they are true, and never wished to intimate that they weren't. I believe you were looking for a positive spin to put on the OP's quest, and I applaud you for that, honestly.
But I do believe that wherever you are ("in the mountains" according to tag line!) must truly be an anomaly where nursing is concerned. To be frank, the school nurses I have known (four personally) and from what I'm reading here on AN as well, have a VERY high need for the kind of skillset that would only be acquired after spending a good amount of time in an acute-care setting, ie: hospitals. Based on only what they have TOLD me, I cannot imagine a new grad doing well in such a setting: PEG tubes/feedings, indwelling urinary catheters; PICC lines, insulin pumps/diabetic crises, cardiac arrest (yep, in a kid), and a whole host of other insanity. I wonder what you mean by the real school nursing goes to the secretaries...? That sounds like a nightmare in action! Unless, of course, the acuity at the school is more like bandaids and cold packs :)
At any rate, I think while a positive spin is certainly nice, it's probably just as useful to hear "you're looking for the Holy Grail", so as not to be shocked upon graduation and finding the distinct possibility of unemployment, regardless of hours sought.
Bottom line is if this new grad is in an area where opportunities are available, no doubt she will find them. But if not.....forewarned is forearmed!
I have no problem with "forewarned is forearmed". I just felt bad for the OP after reading some of the comments.
"In the mountains" is close to the "big city" where I meet with the other school nurses in this district and we all have the same issues. In my state new laws were passed that school district employees are now allowed now to give rectal valium for seizures and insulin for diabetes. So far, no teacher or aide or secretary has come forward to be trained in my district and you can't force it on them. Yes, the job is complicated and we do take care of kids with all kinds of health issues. So yes, I'm am running between schools doing some nursing but the majority of my job is not caring for the kids.
The school secretaries and some aides are trained to care for emergency situations that might arise - asthma, diabetes, seizure, anaphylaxis protocols. They have the inhalers, the epi-pens, the glucagon, blood glucose monitors, and have been trained to use them. I can't be on every campus every day. We did hire one nurse to come in for a diabetic elementary student with an insulin pump on my days off for a few hours to give him his insulin at lunch. The junior high and high school diabetics are self-sufficient for the most part but the secretaries/aides are trained to at least oversee one of the kids who is not very compliant. We have emergency AED's in every school.
Much of my job is training lay people to handle emergencies. That's the law in my state.
(edited to add - a new law in effect since Jan of this year mandated that all school districts MUST purchase at least two epi-pens and train two volunteers at least per campus. Of course, no mention in the bill about how to get a physician to write that Rx and we've had a lot of trouble getting that part done. And of course, getting people to volunteer is hard as well).
Wow. Really? You're asking for the holy grail of nursing jobs right out of nursing school when there are THOUSANDS of nurses with light years of experience that are still scrambling for them. Best of luck with your pipe dream!!
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.
This^^^^^ a thousand times over. Why on earth would it be a good thing to lead a nursing student to believe that her desires for a job are even reasonable in this day and age? Better she knows now than get the shock of her life after spending thousands of dollars on an education for a job that doesn't suit her needs.
:) Personally, I'm not arguing that it would be easy or prudent to lead a nursing student to believe certain things but I was taken aback at some of the more caustic comments and wanted to let the OP know that his/her desire for being there for the family was laudable. And that the OP might be able to find something that would work.
I've been here on AN a long time - this question comes up regularly. To assume this poster is writing a "joke letter" is not being very helpful. Nor is telling her to give up nursing.
Obviously I want her to be fully knowledgeable but it would be nice to do it in a kinder way.
But I see the comments continue about what a fool the OP must be. I'm truly sorry about that. I'm talking as simply a member of AN here - not as a Guide.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I have worked every other weekend one way or another my entire career, of 18 years. But I only work every other Saturday now, working in dialysis, which is very nice.
I advise you not to be too picky unless you are in one of those few areas with a true shortage of nurses. There are not many. I would expect to work weekends, nights and holidays for most new grad jobs. You may come to like it; who knows. Working 3- 12 hour shifts a week is awesome and you have PLENTY of family time. Why you ARE off 4 days a week!!! That can be really nice.
If I were you, I would learn to redefine "family time" and make it such when you are not working. Also, EVERYONE wants their family time, whether they have kids or not----all of us have loved ones we want to spend special holidays with ,but we learned sacrifice was necessary to have the career we* CHOSE * in the first place.
I had to celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving on alterative days or times for years-----but at least when working nights, I could come home, open presents, make dinner, put it in the oven and then go to bed. It's good for kids to learn that this is real life; they will still have Christmas or Thankgiving, but it may be at a different time or day. Kids are resilient; they will get over it. And they learn it's not all about them anyhow. Better sooner than later.
I do wish you Good luck. My further advice: Cast a wide net in searching for jobs, and be prepared to work your way up as a nurse for the first years. Most start at the "bottom" seniority-wise and have to be patient to get the hours and days they want. But it is not impossible. I don't want you to lose hope.
FlyingScot, RN
2,016 Posts
The likelihood of a new grad getting a position like this is extremely low and should be. Triaging emergency calls requires a level of critical thinking and experience that most new grads have not yet achieved.