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.
As a new grad, it would behoove you to take a position in an acute care hospital, to start with and get experience. You will have to work rotating weekends and holiday. Join the club, we've all had to do it...but we survived. Once you get experience, you can then direct your career in other directions. Some home health jobs are Monday thru Friday with most holidays off. Case Management in private insurance or Workers Comp is M-F with weekends and holidays off. Management is, too...but you need experience and even then you will be on call for problems 24/7, 365. Most Doctor's offices don't pay well at all. You won't be able to go per diem until you get more experience, same with registries. I worked M-F from 1990 until 2010 but I was in Management for part of that, and in Home Health, Home Infusion and Insurance Case Management. When I worked home care and home infusion, I still had to take call and would have to go out a lot. Most M-F jobs don't pay as well as hospitals....unless you're management, but the down sides to that have been stated. And again, you need experience to get those jobs. Good luck.
Ahhahaha that's so funny. Wait, you're serious? Wow.
It's called paying your dues, youngling. Been an RN since 1979, and missed more weddings, parties and family get togethers than I can count. Even missed my daughter's first Spelling Bee!
You remind me of a colleague when I worked Pediatrics (way back in the early 80s). She came up to me one day, and said, with a perfectly straight face "I think I should have every holiday off, and you should work all of them, because I have kids and you don't." She really wasn't kidding. Guess entitlement isn't all that new of a concept.
I work in inpatient dialysis. I was hired as a new grad. We are closed Sunday's and major holidays (thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years). I only have to work every other Saturday and I don't have to work nights. I get paid the same as a regular nurse.
..... You remind me of a colleague when I worked Pediatrics (way back in the early 80s). She came up to me one day, and said, with a perfectly straight face "I think I should have every holiday off, and you should work all of them, because I have kids and you don't." She really wasn't kidding. Guess entitlement isn't all that new of a concept.
Almost choked on my coffee. I'd swear we must've worked in the same place with that same co-worker. Except that it occurred to me in the late '70's. You're right that the 'age of entitlement' has been around for a while.
And while I don't have kiddos, the last Christmas I worked also was my 87 yo Dad's last Christmas. Who knew? I guess that he didn't COUNT as 'family'.
While I understand most of the poster's points I do get a little tired of nurses acting like missing out on important events and family time is some type of badge of honor. Granted its a sacrifice made for our jobs but it's not something to brag about like it makes you better than those of us who don't work weekends and nights and haven't paid our alleged dues.
I must say it really depends on the area in which you live. Most school districts in my area hire new lvn, adn and bsn nurses with no experience. I know because I have had many friends go into school nursing when they couldn't find hospital jobs. They get summers, weekends and holidays off. The pay off though is you get a teachers salary and only get raises by tenure. So if you need extra cash, you are out of luck. My unit (I am a CNA at a busy med surg unit and getting my ADN) will hire you as a new grad for straight days or straight nights. You will work holidays but they try to work to accommodate everyone by making holiday wish lists for holiday shifts. Those are really the only days that you don't work straight days or nights but they try to give everyone their top holiday off or at least accommodate them with a shift that works for your schedule. As for weekends, it is self schedule so most of the same people work the weekends because they like the pay differential and everyone else is happy because they get time off. It really pays to do your research, get to know what type of economic environment where you are practicing nursing and what you are willing to give up. Maybe a job fitting your job description will be far from family, less pay or less hours. Find out what is most important to you in a job and what you are willing to most sacrifice to get that job. Good luck in everything.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
It's not a badge of honor; it's a fact of the majority of nursing positions, acute care, LTC, even some clinics. Most M-W Type clinical jobs don't pay much. Yes I have done that, and it was nice working 7-4 and being off weekends, but I literally made 1/2 of what I do as a dialysis nurse.
The OP wants weekends off, no nights *and* good pay. Well, that is a hell of a lot to ask for someone who has yet to even graduate.
And EVERYONE has family or loved ones, kids or not. I don't like when people with young kids think they should get priority over those whose kids are grown or are childfree. Your family situation is no more important than the next person's.
Now, the OP is long gone, but still, it's not about a "Badge of honor" but paying your dues. For years, the economy has been tough all over. For ANYONE, Jobs are hard to come by. The OP would do well to set her expectations in a much more realistic direction. And so would any lurkers who have the same aspirations and expectations right out of nursing school.
It really baffles me that people get into nursing with the mentality that people only get sick on the NURSES schedule. "I'm sorry Mr. John Doe but it's the weekend so can you tell your pneumonia to hold off until Monday at 7am" or "I'm sorry Ms. Jane Doe it's Thanksgiving and I know you are on the brink of life and death but can you put your crisis on hold until after the holiday is over".
I chose to work in a clinic because of the pace....and the better hours with holidays and weekends off. I won't lie.
However, I also chose a significant pay cut. If you're willing to have better hours and less pay, that type of nursing is for you. Also, if you care about losing acute care skills, clinic nursing is not for you.
Wait a quick minute. Some of you get paid extra to work weekends? I need to work at a place like that. I love working my evert other weekend. There's less traffic :)
The weekend/night RN shift differential was almost as much as what I got paid an hour at the last hospital I worked at.
JanRN84
1 Post
As a new grad, it would behoove you to take a position in an acute care hospital, to start with and get experience. You will have to work rotating weekends and holiday. Join the club, we've all had to do it...but we survived. Once you get experience, you can then direct your career in other directions. Some home health jobs are Monday thru Friday with most holidays off. Case Management in private insurance or Workers Comp is M-F with weekends and holidays off. Management is, too...but you need experience and even then you will be on call for problems 24/7, 365. Most Doctor's offices don't pay well at all. You won't be able to go per diem until you get more experience, same with registries. I worked M-F from 1990 until 2010 but I was in Management for part of that, and in Home Health, Home Infusion and Insurance Case Management. When I worked home care and home infusion, I still had to take call and would have to go out a lot. Most M-F jobs don't pay as well as hospitals....unless you're management, but the down sides to that have been stated. And again, you need experience to get those jobs. Good luck.