New nurse and new mom seeking advice.

[texasnurs]

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[TD]Hello. I will be graduating from nursing school in a few weeks and am expecting my first child in February. My husband is attending medical school and is not home much and we have no family in the area. I would love some job advice. I would like to work 3 nights a week so that he will be home with the baby (as I know I will have to start out working full time). As experienced nurses, how manageable is it to work nights with young children and do most hospitals try to make you work more than three 12 hour shifts a week? How long do you need to work before you can typically switch to part time? Any interviewing advice that could help me stand out as a new nurse? Thank you! Your advice is much appreciated. [/TD]

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[RNperdiem, RN]

Many hospitals typically want a year of experience before going part-time or prn.

Do you plan to use your husband for childcare during the day exclusively? With your husband not home much and not having family in the area, it is time to start looking at your childcare options now. A working parent needs basic childcare, backup childcare and emergency backup childcare. I have used all 3.

My particualr department cannot force you to work more than your 3 12 hour shifts. I work in ICU, but there are departments like inpatient dialysis, labor and delivery, OR and interventional radiology that have on-call requirements that need you to be able to come in as needed.