What type of nurses work regular hours?

[Emendoza01]

I'm a junior in high school and have always wanted to become an RN. After doing more research on this career, I've decided I don't want to work 12 hour shifts or night shifts.

I've been looking more into becoming a dental hygienist because it is fast and the salary is high, but there will be little opportunities for me to advance in that career.

Bottomline, I want to remain in the nursing profession, but I want to work M-F 8-10 hr shifts.

Any advice/personal experiences is appreciated.

[Apple-Core, ASN, BSN, RN]

School nurses have more regular hours, although not sure you'd get those positions straight out of nursing school. I have a friend who works as a prison nurse who does M-F 7-5. You could work more office based, such as a docs office or an urgent care? Home health is another option; another friend of mine works M-F and pretty much picks his own hours, as long as he covers all his patients in their homes.

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

I never found a M-F 8-5 nursing job as a new grad. If you want that kind of job, you have to work for it & get experience first. If you want that kind of work schedule then nursing is NOT for you.

[direw0lf, BSN]

I thought I didn't want to work 12 hour shifts either and wanted the 8 hours. Then when I worked as a nurse intern for 3 days 12 hours a week, and had 4 days off, it was WONDERFUL!! I honestly felt like I was working PT not FT.

BTW to add to what others said, some medsurg and psych floors in hospitals have 8 hour shifts. (the ones I know though, most nurses push for them to be 12 only)

There are studies though that 12 hour shifts impact nurses negatively compared to 8 hours. I feel like I'd burn out more with 8 hour shifts 5 days a week however.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

The positions that work "regular hours" are also not going to allow for much in the way of advancement in the beginning. Nursing is a 24/7 job and to get the positions that have "cushy" hours like no nights, no weekends, no holidays, no 12 hour shifts, you usually have to put in your time in the less desirable positions in order to be qualified for those from an experience standpoint.

[djksjdalksjf]

School nurse perhaps? I can't think of a field that's m-f only where there is room for much advancement though, honestly.

[Peaceful_me]

My graduating class has some nurses in pacu, ambulatory surgery and other specialty areas that work 5 8's or 4 10's. No nights, weekends or holidays. Yes it is true that they are harder to come by but they are out there. It may depend on your location and the saturation of the job market as well as the reputation of your program but those offers were in place before we even finished our program. One of the great things about nursing is being able to find what works for you. I was thrilled to get the specialty I wanted working 3 12's on nights. That does not make me a harder worker or my classmates lazy because we work different shifts or schedules.

[Ambersmom, BSN, RN]

My last job was 7-330pm on a very busy trauma unit.Some hospitals still have some 8hr shifts.

[OHIO LPN]

You need to get experience first. It's very hard to even get 12 hr dayshifts as a newbie. Do your time, get some experience under your belt then you'll be in the type of nursing you want instead of taking a position just because it is M-F days. You need to be happy in your area of nursing chosen in order to survive in nursing.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

Most places DO hire nurses for 8 and 10 hour shifts. It's just not a preferred option when you can do 12 hour shifts and only have to be there 3 days instead of 5. Even new nurses. It's going to depend on where you live. Call around and ask, every single HR department can answer that question on if they hire new graduate nurses in those time slots. Your challenge is going to be them having someone to train you on that schedule. It doesn't hurt to try, the worst that'll happen is they say no, just accept that since so many nurses just do the 3 12 hour shifts, you might have to deal with it at least through the whole orientation process.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Of my 5 nursing jobs, 4 have been Mon-Fri positions. They were:

School

Home Health

Home Infusion Liaison

Case Management

The last 2 times I've job searched, I only applied for Mon-Fri positions. This past time, I had 4 good opportunities and I limit my search to Pediatrics. The normal hours jobs are out there if you're willing to look but, as others have said, you will likely have to pay your dues in acute care first. I did almost 5 years in acute care pediatrics working day/night rotation, weekends, holidays, evenings, 12 hr shifts, etc.

[Steffy44]

School nurse perhaps? I can't think of a field that's m-f only where there is room for much advancement though, honestly.

All of the school nurse jobs in my area require 5 years of nursing experience.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Most PACU positions want 2-5 years of ER or ICU experience and frequently require on-call hours in addition to regular shifts.