Help in deciding to go into nursing.

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Hello, I'm new to this so I apologize if I did this wrong. I have a major decision to make and I need help from real nurses to tell it to me straight about how nursing really is. I dont want to become stuck in a career that I wont like. Becoming a nurse has been a dream of mine for a long time, but because of special circumstances I decided not to and go for a teaching degree instead. I have not finished yet I basically have only finished my gen. eds so far so I can still change my mind in what I get my degree in. The reason being is that Im a military spouse and I have 2 kids. With us having to move all the time and my husband having to leave a lot and not knowing when he has to leave or come back, it was hard for me to think that my children were going to be left home with somebody else than me,at night and not having a set schedule really scared me. My children need me more when my husband is gone,so I couldnt imagine leaving them with someone else, especially with my daughter getting bigger and being so emotional. lol When I talked to someone at my last college about the nursing program they said it wouldnt be ideal for a military spouse because of the hours and always having to move. He said thats its really hard to get a day off and that you wouldnt get holidays off and stuff like that.

What I want to know is how is the schedule for nurses at a hospital? How hard is it to get a day off? where else can i work other than at a hospital? with me moving so much, will I always start off at the bottom, like doing all the odd jobs that rookies do? My husband is making the navy a career so this is for the long haul. So I want to make sure that I make the right decision for my family in what I make a career of. anything you can fill me in on will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

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Specializes in ICU.

Plan on working weekends and holidays if you do hospital work. As far as days off, the bigger the unit with lots of other RNs, the better your chance. That being said, I worked in an ICU that had a staff of 90 RNs, yet GOOD LUCK on getting time off on short notice.

Once you get hired, you should have plenty of hours and the pay is 'decent'. Not great, but it will certainly pay the bills.

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I am graduating with my BSN in December and I am a military spouse. (Air Force) I understand the frustration about moving all of the time. I was just applying to Nursing Programs in Colorado when we got orders to Texas. I was lucky to get in a program here. We are now moving to Ohio 3 days after graduation. BUT thankfully we are guarenteed to stay there for at least 4 years...maybe even 8 if we choose to. I do not know how much the Navy moves their people around. If it is a lot you could always work on, what do you guys call it, Port??? When you move somewhere else you transfer to that Port. At least that is how the Air Force works if you work as a civilian in a Base Hospital. I would say if you are just starting out though, going to school is a bigger issue than worrying about time off once you get a job. Nursing school, for me at least being an untraditional student (in my 30s) was a challenge. I had to study a lot more to make good grades than I ever had to when I was younger. Plus you do not decide your schedule in school, your classes are when the program says they are, so are your clinicals....Just something to think about. GOOD LUCK with whatever you decide to do!

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Specializes in Mental Health, Medical Research, Periop.

Hello fellow Navy Wife!!! I am a navy wife as well. When I first started my pre-reqs for nursing school my husband was on a ship that often went out to sea. It was very difficult, I did have to leave my children with a provider. Than we recieved orders and had to move out of state right when it was time to apply to programs. When I moved, the programs here required different pre-reqs putting me a year behind. He was on shore duty at this time, so it seemed do-able. We decided to buy a house, the house was an hour from the school I was attending. As soon as we bought the house I recieved an acceptance letter, LOL! First semester not so bad, our youngest daughter was on the base daycare, so my husband dropped her off and my next door neighbor was a school teacher who took my oldest to school. Right before second semester my husband gets orders to go to Iraq for a year. I thought I would die in the program. I had to leave my house at 4am to make it to clinicals, My daughter pretty much lived at my neighbors. When my husband returned I was in my final semester (I was on the LPN-RN track, so it was a semester shorter), soon as he returned I got pregnant. Graduated Dec 2011, had the baby in July, no job yet but it will happen in time. And when it does it will work out. So, there is my story. It can be done. It wont be easy, but it can be done. The job market is rough right now, so I can't be as picky as I would like. There are Mon-Fri jobs out there, while other places are open 7 days a week,24 hours a day + holidays (because people will be sick during these times). As a LPN, after my 2nd child was born I worked jobs that were only MOn-Fri (I was pretty lucky, because I also loved those jobs). With my 1st child I worked evenings, every other wknd, and holidays. Weigh your pros and cons, I wish you much luck!!

Hospitals (open everyday, all day) usually 12hr shifts, 3 days a week (7a-7p, 7p-7a)

Clinics (usually closed on wknds and holidays)

Research labs (varies)

Chart Review (can possible be done in the home)

Nursing homes (open everyday, all day) usually 8 hour shifts (7a-3p, 3p-11p, 11p-7a)

Jails (open everyday, all day) shifts vary

Dialysis centers (varies)

Hospice (varies, may require travel)

Home Health (varies)

etc......

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Specializes in Mental Health, Medical Research, Periop.

Sorry I meant graduated dec 2010.

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As I understand (with the Army) military spouses can claim some sort of preference for positions in our hospital. I hope this helps and that you find a way to make whatever it is you decided on happen.

Nursing school is a challenge for everyone, but if you truly want it, you'll find a way!

Best wishes!

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I am graduating with my BSN in December and I am a military spouse. (Air Force) I understand the frustration about moving all of the time. I was just applying to Nursing Programs in Colorado when we got orders to Texas. I was lucky to get in a program here. We are now moving to Ohio 3 days after graduation. BUT thankfully we are guarenteed to stay there for at least 4 years...maybe even 8 if we choose to. I do not know how much the Navy moves their people around. If it is a lot you could always work on, what do you guys call it, Port??? When you move somewhere else you transfer to that Port. At least that is how the Air Force works if you work as a civilian in a Base Hospital. I would say if you are just starting out though, going to school is a bigger issue than worrying about time off once you get a job. Nursing school, for me at least being an untraditional student (in my 30s) was a challenge. I had to study a lot more to make good grades than I ever had to when I was younger. Plus you do not decide your schedule in school, your classes are when the program says they are, so are your clinicals....Just something to think about. GOOD LUCK with whatever you decide to do!

I am in the same situation. we're stationed at Ft. Carson, and I just started applying and studying for the TEAS. Now we find out my husbands reenlistment window opens up in Oct, and he is going to have to reclass if he wants to stay in. Now, we have no idea where we're gonna have to go, and we don't even have orders! talk about stressful!

OP: good luck to you. I've heard that some nurses get to work 4 days on, then 3 days off...I've also heard about hospitals offering childcare to help attract nurses. Just remember: where there's a will, there's a way!!

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I'm sure nursing in your situation will have challenges but I would think teaching would have more. Teaching jobs and benefits are very dependent on tenure which would be hard to get if you move a lot, and will be lost when you do move. Teaching jobs are generally in great demand and getting them is often dependent on who you know. The hours that must be worked as a teacher are also often grossly underestimated. Sure you would have evenings, weekends, holidays off but you also must spend lots of your off time preparing and grading papers. Vacations, and long weekends are often eaten up by mandatory workshops. Nursing's flexibility is one of the best things about it. A friend of mine who has benefits through her husband only signs up to work shifts she wants. She is the first one to get "canceled" but she is able to work as many (or few) shifts as she wants. That might be a good option for you.

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Thanks to everyone who responded! I know it's been a long time but I couldn't figure out how to long back on and I forgot about it after awhile. Well now I have more questions, I am about 15 credits away from getting my associates in just my gen ed. How long will it take me to become an RN? We will be stationed here for about 4 years so I'm trying to figure out if that's enough time for me to finish. what is the LPN to RN program, is it easier doing it that way? How is the job market out there for doctors to hire RN's in a clinic rather than just hire medical assistants? How about working at a school, how does that work as in do they pay you during summer and if there is a demand for them? I know the pay is lower if you don't work at a hospital but that doesn't really matter to me right now. Maybe when my kids are grown and able to take care of themselves I will but right now I just want to see what's out there if I become an RN. I want to know that I have options. Thanks again everyone!! I will definately check on this soon now that I got things together. Lol

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

If you get your Associates in nursing and pass the NCLEX then you will be an RN. An LPN-RN program is for people that have their LPN and want to bridge to RN.Best of luck and hang in there. All your hard work will pay off in the end.

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I'm in nursing school right now, and I have to say that it is pretty rigid. Classes are on a set schedule (we have class on Thursday from 4 PM to 8 PM), and they aren't changing. Clinicals are also on a set schedule (we have ours every Saturday from 6:45 AM to 7:30 PM). There is no schedule changing, and the instructors really don't care if you're sick, if your kids are sick, if you have car trouble, or if anything else happens. You are expected to be in class and clinical each time they are held, and you have to have a note and excuse about a week in advance before they even consider calling an absence excused (which only happens in extreme cases like the death of a spouse, child, mother, or father, or if you are hospitalized). Next semester, our classes will be Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30, and clinicals will be on Saturday from 6:45 AM to 7:30 PM again. If we miss more than two days of class or clinical, we fail for the semester and we are automatically removed from the program. If our grade drops below an 85 we fail and are automatically removed from the program. If we don't perform the way we are expected to at clinical, we get a failure for the day, and two failures at clinical in one semester means that you fail out of the program. Nursing school can be very stressful at times, but it's really rewarding. Just make sure that you find a program in a city where you will be for a while. If you have all your prerequisite courses done, then you can finish a two year program in two years, and a four year program in a little over two years or just at three years. If all your prerequisite courses aren't done, then it could take three and a half to four years to finish a two year degree, and five to six years to finish a four year degree. I would worry more about getting into a program (admission is very competitive) and finishing it before I worried about what it would be like to work as a nurse. I can tell you that nurses in the hospital do have to work 12 hour shifts, they often work weekends and holidays, and some of them rotate between night and day shift. There are plenty of other places to work, such as: nursing homes, doctor's offices, hospice homes, long term care facilities, clinics, and home health agencies. You can even be a travel nurse and travel from city to city and hospital to hospital. You make more money doing that, and it may be a good fit. There are a lot of possibilities, and you can probably find a schedule that fits you. If you want to be a nurse, and you feel called to help others, then go for it. Good luck!

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