Normal working hours and part-time

TPfan24 · Mar 11, 2009

I work part time in two different positions and am satisfied with these hours. Since you have small children, it is possible to find a part time position. My youngest daughter is in college but my feeling is family first, career second. I have worked agency as an RN for years prior to becoming an APRN so I am used to a job with flexibility. I know that I am fortunate to find two part time positions with a degree of flexibility. Life happens, opportunities present and i want to be able to work but still be able to enjoy life outside of work.

After graduation keep researching positions that meet YOUR needs. Good Luck.

mrspopeye · Mar 11, 2009

We have about 15-18 mid-levels employed where I work and almost all of them work part time because of their families - only 3-4 of us are full time. My employer actually prefers to hire part time people because he does not have to provide as many benefits, and the employees get to work around their children's schedule. I work from 7am to 4 pm every day. Hats off to you for putting your family in front of your career. You worked hard for both. There absolutely are legitimate practices out there who will commit to you.

Trauma Columnist · Mar 12, 2009

I work with several other mid-levels and we do have one part time NP. She did start as a new grad NP and worked full time for 2 years so that she would have a good start - that is what our practice wanted.

As a new grad NP/APRN, it does take a while to get your feet wet. I think much depends on your success:

1. First - what are you considering parttime? 32 hours/week or 8 hours/week? Could you do fulltime for six months to a year to get experience?

2. Second - decide how you will keep up to date? Journals, CEUs (some of which are going to be mandatory in order to keep your certification active), other conferences, membership in professional organizations.

3. Third - How much experience do you have as an RN and is it in the specialty where you plan to work? This would give you an advantage because you would bring in some base knowledge already to the table.

Good luck...

abcdefg · Mar 12, 2009

Thank you trauma, this is the kind of conversation I was looking for. I've been a RN for three years on a med-surg floor. The plan has always been to work full time for a year or two before hopefully working my way into a part time position. Though I feel a 4 day work week to start would be fine as well.

My main concern would be the length of the workday. I can start any time in the morning but it will be tough to not get off work until 6pm every night. So I'm curious as to how late most NP's work, since this is not exactly a negotiation piece. I need to know ahead of time how many hours I'll be expected to put in.

VivaRN · Mar 12, 2009

I also work with part-time NP's, one who started as a new grad. She speaks 3 languages and had the right experience mix so it was well worth it to have her.

One preceptor I had came in early to make a 4 day FT work week. There's a lot of options out there for you.

westcoastgirl · Mar 12, 2009

I was definitely one of those folks who felt the need to do full time right after graduation thinking I needed maximum experience. I feel a bit silly actually because most of my graduating class did NOT work full time, and they all found work any way. I was a workaholic all through my twenties and finally recognizing it's time to slow down, find some balance in life and I think many people of all different fields feel the same.

Typical hours may be 8, 10, 12 per 'shift' depending on the practice but keep in mind you need to add charting and miscellaneous things on top of patient contact hours.

There is a difference between working8-10 hours a week (and yeah I've seen it, mid level or physician) and working anything over half time. Really 32, 36, 40 I think is enough work to keep a person pretty current and hands on. What I have noticed in job postings is many will require the candidate to have at least worked 1/2 time at their last NP job, so I think 20hours a week or whatever equals 50% is a good number to keep in mind.