Good side job for RN?

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm reading from time to time posts from very unhappy nurses and those who quit. I'm too struggling with direct patient care and I think that nursing can be very draining. I'm wondering about pursuing a second career choice beside working as RN in case I get really fed up with nursing. I was thinking phlebotomist, medical laboratory technician, because they don't require 4 yrs of studying. I know that some of you will advice to change the unit, or go for advance degree, but that still involves direct patient care one way or the other. I work per diem now and have time to do sth else, and I don't want to pick up too many shifts because it's stressful.

Does any of you work in non nursing field and at the same time as RN in hospital? My friend's coworker works part time in Hallmark store to relieve the stress from her regular job as a RN in hospital.

Specializes in home health, peds, case management.

bartending is not nursing.

nursing is not batending.

stop it. stop it now!!!!!!!!!!

i've been a nurse for 10 years, spent 7 years in the restaurant industry before that...including pouring drinks and managing a bar.

apples and oranges guys....

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bar tending is does bring in a comparable pay but th tips are better for the younger set..the 'fat and forty' will give good service and get less pay

look at your hobbies and see if you can progress them into a paying career

if you would like to earn some extra money as an rn check out the ltc facilities, they many times have openings for chart auditors or for doing 'rn coverage' on the weekend just be sure that you don't get snuckered into doing meds or wound care..this is their idea for paying one to do the work of two

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Okay, I am working on my pre reqs and just got this AMAZING job working for bare Minerals in the mall. It is super fun and pays ridiculously well compared to the other jobs mentioned such as phlebotomy etc. And the traing is paid rather than you wasting MORE money on training that wouldn't put you in a better place financially. This is a great stress free job and this company pays well..... Check it out. It would be a nice change from the medical stting and they are really flexibal with hours.

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

hmmm, side job? I dunno if I would do something with my RN, but maybe something from home with computers, songwriting/poetry service for events, something I do as a hobby(woodwork, etc.) I would stay out of medical.....just my opinion.

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Specializes in Cardiac Thoracic Surgery, Emergency Med.
"Bartending is in my opinion the single most overpaid "profession" in existence,"

Bartending "professionally" isn't as easy as it looks. Trust me, I could write a book. But I will just toss out a few general stressors, Just like nursing, you basically have peoples lives in your hands,Gotta know who you serve, what you serve them, how much you serve them, and who is driving ...... Just like the ER and the "drug seekers", or your overdoses, while in the bar, I have the under 21 booze seekers, along with people that don't know when they have had enough,..... You have a psych ward in the hospital, well, ever heard of Jager, Patron, or Jack Daniels?, or the newly brokenhearted, or the "new in town and I'm lonely, or I just lost my job and I'm so depressed... Oh did I mention the "Gun" toting idiot that thinks his ole lady may be at your place with another guy, Oh and she is........... Hummm lets see, Nurses have to deal with rude family members and patients alot right? Ummm well Bartenders have to deal with Rude waitresses and customers daily, we have to be mind readers, we have to be shrinks, we have to be nurses, we have to secretaries, we have to be security, dishwashers, and we have to prepare and serve drinks, just the way you like them, all at the same time. And thats just the tip of the Iceberg.

So yes I make great money being a bartender, probally about as much as a nurse with a few years experience, but I work hard for every penny I make! On your feet all day? Yeah me too! Don't get to take your break everyday? Me neither!, You have 10 patients with no help, my bar seats 30, Dining room seats around 200, Guess what, I don't have any help either..... Nope just one bartender. Do you know how to make a "Red Headed Sult?" I need 22 of them, a wedding party just walked in!

That being said, Thats one of the reasons I am going to nursing school. The professions are really not that far apart..... :wink2:

I was a bartender for many many years... and I am a nurse now. I have to say, with all due respect, the professions are nothing alike. NOTHING.... I find it absolutely mind boggling that you can say that they are at all alike. First off, you don't have to know anything about who you are serving, and if you don't like the person coming in the door, you don't have to serve them. You don't have to know how to make every drink in the world, because as long as you have your bar book with you, you are all set.

Nursing now, you have people's lives really in your hand. I can assure you that your choices in nursing will be taken much more seriously if you do harm. You have to know how to assess and what you are looking for. You have to be sure that what you are giving (for meds) is safe... I could go on and on, but I won't. I am just really shocked that you can say that the professions are anything alike, unless you are joking.

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Specializes in Day Surgery, Agency, Cath Lab, LTC/Psych.

For years, I've considered getting a job at Starbucks. Free. Coffee. Heaven.

And I hear they have great benefits. I might be joining you there.:smilecoffeecup:

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I was a bartender for many many years... and I am a nurse now. I have to say, with all due respect, the professions are nothing alike. NOTHING.... I find it absolutely mind boggling that you can say that they are at all alike. First off, you don't have to know anything about who you are serving, and if you don't like the person coming in the door, you don't have to serve them. You don't have to know how to make every drink in the world, because as long as you have your bar book with you, you are all set.

Nursing now, you have people's lives really in your hand. I can assure you that your choices in nursing will be taken much more seriously if you do harm. You have to know how to assess and what you are looking for. You have to be sure that what you are giving (for meds) is safe... I could go on and on, but I won't. I am just really shocked that you can say that the professions are anything alike, unless you are joking.

I agree that with nursing there are a lot more risks and you have more capability of doing harm to your patients, but that isn't to say there aren't any similarities between bartending/waitressing and nursing. I was a waitress for many years before I graduated from nursing school and I felt that it prepared me for a job in nursing. The pace is nonstop, you hardly ever get breaks, you are catering to your guests'/patients' needs, and you have to listen to people ***** you out all day and try to remedy situations to make the guest/patient happy. Granted in nursing you really have people's lives in your hands and your license is always in danger. Bartending/waitressing is more fun and if someone's steak is overcooked or a drink isn't prepared right it's not life or death. It can be tricky to know when to cut someone off when they have had too much to drink, but it's not the same when you could be killing someone by giving them too much of say, Valium. With nursing you have more responsibility, but the pace and some of the situations you deal with are really not all that different. :monkeydance:

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Specializes in Cardiac Thoracic Surgery, Emergency Med.
I agree that with nursing there are a lot more risks and you have more capability of doing harm to your patients, but that isn't to say there aren't any similarities between bartending/waitressing and nursing. I was a waitress for many years before I graduated from nursing school and I felt that it prepared me for a job in nursing. The pace is nonstop, you hardly ever get breaks, you are catering to your guests'/patients' needs, and you have to listen to people ***** you out all day and try to remedy situations to make the guest/patient happy. Granted in nursing you really have people's lives in your hands and your license is always in danger. Bartending/waitressing is more fun and if someone's steak is overcooked or a drink isn't prepared right it's not life or death. It can be tricky to know when to cut someone off when they have had too much to drink, but it's not the same when you could be killing someone by giving them too much of say, Valium. With nursing you have more responsibility, but the pace and some of the situations you deal with are really not all that different. :monkeydance:

Well if you put it that way, we can also say that nursing is comparable to waitressing, working at McDonald's, a department store, etc. I actually had somebody tell me that their job (a Correction's Officer) was very comparable to a nurse. Maybe we can also say that a daycare job is the same as well... Please... It is nothing alike and it irks me when our Management wants us to treat the patients as if they are "customers".

I guess what I am saying is that if you are comparing the pace, you can say the job is similar to just about anything. I suppose we will agree to disagree.

:)

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Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.

My job as a waitress wasn't life or death, but it sure prepared me for the time-managment demands of nursing, no doubt about it!

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Specializes in Operating Room.

I think I'd like to apprentice to a tattoo artist or a body piercer..I've known some nurses and techs that did this...the money is very good. I'd have the sterile technique aspect down pat too!:D

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Specializes in Acute Care.
I think I'd like to apprentice to a tattoo artist or a body piercer..I've known some nurses and techs that did this...the money is very good. I'd have the sterile technique aspect down pat too!:D

That would be awesome! :D

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i can see where they are alike, bartending and nursing. i was a bartender for 4 years at a very very busy restaurant that stayed open utill 2 in the morning. i would work 12-15 hours straight on my feet all day. i would sometimes get home at 4-5am because cleaning up the mess after the fun is over takes time. i have to know how to make 100s of drinks because who has time to look in a book seriously!!!! and of course we do have to know our customers. especially when they are regulars that have been coming to you for years. we know things about their families and the problems they face. yes sometimes people come to a bar to talk. not to mention i have to provide all of this quality service while the serivce bar is over flowing with drink orders for the rest of the people in the dining room. take to go orders, have jim's beer ready because he is yelling hey from the door and expects his drink to be on the bar before he sits down.

oh and by the way, people lives are in our hands because if i let a customer who has had too much to drink walk out my bar and they get into a car crash killing someone, legally i could held responsible. also i had to do cpr on a bar guest who was choking on her vomit because she had too much too drink. i have called many cabs for guests because there lives are in may hands. i've called the police when fights break out to protect the other bar guests. so i get offended when someone says that lives are not in our hands because that is totally untrue. now sure nurses have way more lives to take care of and more responsiblity. i am not doubting that. and please don't compare a mcdonald's worker/ retail worker to a bartender or a nurse. that is just crazy. look no one is trying say one is better than the other but there are things the two have in common. long hours, on feet all day, money is better than most jobs, we both save lives (in different ways of course), muti-tasking, being a listening ear sometimes, comfort, etc. just my :twocents: good day everyone.

:heartbeat

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