Any Mormon/LDS nurses here? I need help?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi allnurses :)

So I'm currently working in a surgical onco floor as a new grad nurse and my shift begins tomorrow. I just finished a month of didactics and now we will be sent to our units.

So my didactics went from 8a-5pm and I had weekends off. That meant I had all the time to attend Church every sunday and have some free time. So I was called as a member of the young women presidency in our ward and also was assigned a teaching assignment for the youth. So I accepted these callings because I have always wanted to do these before.

What I am very sad about it is that we start working with shifting schedule this week (just as all us nurses usually do) and ofc, I may not always have the time to go to church and attend to my calling (or teach) every weekend consistently and this makes me sad. I spoke with my bishop about this and he knows I am on a shifting schedule. He said I didnt need to be there all the time.

Im just worried I might get schedules that will require me not to attend church for a loooong period and it makes me honestly sad. How did you deal with shifting schedules and Church callings and responsibilities?

Thank you so much!

Really, now? Klone, I can't agree with your notion I was being mean. Just like me, you are a manager. We can't accommodate every nurse's needs/desires to be off because of a major holiday, church, family gatherings, etc. I worked OB a long time. I worked a lot of Sundays and Thanksgiving and Christmas, too. No church I attended held that against me. But if they had, I would either have found a job where Sundays are not part of the package or hoped to find a coworker who wants to weekend diff. to cover me-----or found another church. Nursing is a ministry, in many religions' eyes, after all.

I was neither like the above post (referred to from Klone) said. I have been a nurse 21 years and have seen many people talk about church/family outings/holy holidays, etc, pre-empting their need/requirement to work Saturdays (Sabbath for some) and Sundays. I have read posts here where students and new nurses felt their religious practices pre-empted the need to work those days without even stopping to think that was what they signed up to do.

I was not mean to the OP but pointing out reality. She is not a nurse yet; now is a good time to understand that if she works in a 24/7 business like hospital or LTC nursing, she will be expected to work her share of Sundays, religious services notwithstanding.

And yea, patients generally do not choose to be in the hospital or LTC; they are sick or need specialized care and are also sitting it out, missing big events. I save my empathy for them.

Don't be thin-skinned. The first year of nursing is a huge wakeup call for all of us. If the new nurse starts a job wanting Sundays off, people "may" get "vicious" quick--- being expected to cover them for her. A small dose of reality now saves heartache later. There *are* places where Sundays are not workdays, albeit few. Office nursing, school nursing, dialysis (outpatient) are a few.

The OP may be well-served to find one of them.

That's fine and good, but SHE didn't say ONE DAMN THING about not working!!

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

If you did not think you were mean or vicious/viscous or disdainful to the OP, then feel free to disregard my statement as not directed at you.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

OP, people came up with some good suggestions - work nights, see if the manager would be okay with you working every Saturday and have every Sunday off, or swap some of your Sunday shifts with a coworker. Hopefully one or more of those suggestions can be utilized. Good luck!

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

As your bishop said, it's ok

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I am seeing this less about religious "law" and more about scheduling conflicts with competing interests. Yes, hospital work requires 24-7 staffing that is at odds with the rest of the world. Everything from taking an adult painting class to long term volunteer committments or your kids school can and will be impacted. Weekends are always going to be a land mine, and time off is wanted by many. Are there other ways you can become more invovled with your church at a less contested time, say, Wedsnesday night?

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As your bishop said, it's ok

This solution jumped out at me, hear only what we want to hear.

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Specializes in MDS/ UR.

It'll be okay and you will figure it out. You are entering into the adult world of navigating many things. Your spiritual advisor gave you counsel in line with your religion. Perhaps there is a forum or group that you can access for LDS nurses'.

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I am seeing this less about religious "law" and more about scheduling conflicts with competing interests. Yes, hospital work requires 24-7 staffing that is at odds with the rest of the world. Everything from taking an adult painting class to long term volunteer committments or your kids school can and will be impacted. Weekends are always going to be a land mine, and time off is wanted by many. Are there other ways you can become more invovled with your church at a less contested time, say, Wedsnesday night?

Wednesday night is TV night for me, a religious experience.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Caring for patients is spiritual and God's work.

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Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

All of this debating with one another and you have not even noticed that you have once again run off the OP who came here for help. And the member did not say she did not want to work any Sundays.

Come on people...

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Wednesday night is TV night for me, a religious experience.

Exactly. I am not a person of faith, but who am I to say what is worthy of scheduling accomdations or what is not? The trick is to find a way you can have a meaningful work life, and a meaningful life outside of work. This will involve making sacrifeces on both ends. Though I can't relate to the religious aspect, I can relate to wanting to do something meaningful and important, but having the times conflict with work.

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To whom are you all speaking? The OP? She didn't say anything about not working the Sundays, nor ask for any pointers on how to screw others out of their weekends off, nor state that it's a sin for her to work on Sundays, nor...blah blah blah...

What gives?

Thank you! For a minute there I thought I was crazy and missed some key parts of the post but it seems like some people were ready to get the sword out so they totally just did not get it.

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