Nurses & their children..

Nurses General Nursing

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My question is to nurses with children. Do you believe, being a nurse, has effected your family in a negative way at all? Have you ever missed one of your childrens important events, like a play in school, because you're a Nurse? I do not have kids, but I plan to eventually and as a new nursing student, this is something I am terribly afraid of. I do not want to miss any of my childrens milestones in life and that is very important to me. Does Nursing effect your life at all in that sense [family & kids] due to the crazy hours/hectic schedule you have?? Thanks for your input :)

Specializes in Med Surg/Ortho.

It really depends. Every job has it's advantages and disadvantages. A 9-5 job during the week, and you are always home nights and weekends. Most of those places close for holidays. But if you are a nurse, you can be pretty flexible with your schedule. You will have to work on holidays (unless you work in a dr's office, are a school nurse, or have a non-bedside nursing position), but you can usually work around important events. You can work 3 twelves and be home 4 days, or can work nights to be home with your kids.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
My question is to nurses with children. Do you believe, being a nurse, has effected your family in a negative way at all? Have you ever missed one of your childrens important events, like a play in school, because you're a Nurse? I do not have kids, but I plan to eventually and as a new nursing student, this is something I am terribly afraid of. I do not want to miss any of my childrens milestones in life and that is very important to me. Does Nursing effect your life at all in that sense [family & kids] due to the crazy hours/hectic schedule you have?? Thanks for your input :)

I have to say my son didn't miss much school-if I didn't see body fluids or blood he went.I'm very compassionate at work but I have had little patience with him,the poor kid...Ironically he is a bit of a hypochondriac-my fault,too.He thought he had the Ebola virus when he was in 1st grade.- Every time he fell he thought he "broke something" Neighbors have carried him home more then once .He tried to sell his first 2 wheeler at a yard sale because I would not duct tape pillows around his body while he was learning to ride without training wheels. He had a fear of head lice and deer ticks. oth fears I helped insill and I wouldn't say they are unhealthy fears He never got lice or Lyme's disease: wink2: And MEDS!! I can get the most demented resident to comply-but this kid! OY! Would NOT swallow a frigging pill! I tried teaching him with m and m's-what drama! "What if I choke ? boo hoooo booo hoooo. And " I can't drink THAT-it'll kill me" I'm sure he never completed a course of antibiotics when he was little.I'm surprised he has not had a whopper of a resistant infection but he is pretty healthy.Except for high school when he would not eat all day because he would notdo "#2"at school .He passed out twice in gym class which sent us to specialists galore. He's 18 and still won't listen to his mom,the nurse. He comes by it honestly - husband always has to learn everything the hard way,too....

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I may have missed a few things over the years, but I think over all I went to almost everyting and am a pretty good mom. Unless you keep your child with you 24/7, you will miss something. Your child could take his or her first step when you are at the grocery store. That is what one of mine did. It is more important to be there when your child is sad or needs you than it is to attend every ball game or every soccer practice. I am not saying to miss everything, but you are not put on the bad mom list if you can't come to one out of twenty t-ball games. I worked nights and took care of my daughter who had a chronic illness for about eight years. (She is a nurse now, BTW) and my younger two daughters. It is more important to be a loving presence in your child's life, to be aware of what is going on, and to be a good role model to him or her. My kids have learned that some days, in some circumstances there was someone who at some moment might need me more than they did. It doesn't mean that i don't love them. It just means we can't always be #1 at all times. Sometimes we must wait to have someone's time and attention. That is not a terible lesson to learn either. I find that many people are teaching their kids that they rule at all times. It is a hard lesson to learn when you find out this is just not true. I remember a discussion awhile back that moms always must call out sick because sick kids want mommy not daddy. My kids preferred me most of the time to dad when they were sick. Sometimes, they had to have dad take care of them. They have survived quite nicely and dad was actually able to take good care of them. He got even better at it because he got lots of practice.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical.

I would think Nursing might give you some flexibility and more time off than other jobs, especially 9-5 jobs

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Specializes in General Medicine.

Family and children are the most important things in my life. Career comes next. To me nursing is a great profession to balance family/career: you can work PT, PRN, "weekend program", am, pm, nights, inpatient/outpatient. I know many RNs I talked to liked homecare because they were able to drop off kids to school, do some errands in between, pick kids up etc... My bf is an attorney and he told me about a partner at this firm who had a baby and had to travell for business a lot, so she would ship her breastmilk through fedex :-) If you want to be with your kids/family and there for them, you'll find the way with any job... nursing does not make it hard (unless you do three 12s at one hospital and three 12s at another etc), there are always so many choices... good luck! :-)

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I became a nurse at 40 - my 3 older kids were junior high/high school age and YES I missed things and I hated it!!!

I work hospice now - one day a week I see patients and then I'm on call every other weekend.

I like the options folks have given you here when you are able to spend as much time as possible - per diem is a wonderful idea.

Nursing is more flexible in regards to scheduling.

steph

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Specializes in ICU/ER.

nursing allows me to only work 36 hours a week nights and weekend and still make a decent anual wage. I may have missed a few things but I am pretty sure my kids still know I love them!!

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I was wondering about this. I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and an opportunity for an 8-5 job is something to think about with higher pay and a different resume after a year or 2. Would you choose to sacrifice 2 years to do an 8-5 job (it can also be 7-4 if i want to) or keep the bedside 3x a week?

Or should I wait for how many more years before I try an office job? I don't plan on having more children. My husband works at home and when he is needed in his office he goes for only about a maximum of half day. That might not be the case in the coming years.

What do you think? You can also direct me to another thread that can answer my question.

Appreciate it a lot.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.
I was wondering about this. I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and an opportunity for an 8-5 job is something to think about with higher pay and a different resume after a year or 2. Would you choose to sacrifice 2 years to do an 8-5 job (it can also be 7-4 if i want to) or keep the bedside 3x a week?

Or should I wait for how many more years before I try an office job? I don't plan on having more children. My husband works at home and when he is needed in his office he goes for only about a maximum of half day. That might not be the case in the coming years.

What do you think? You can also direct me to another thread that can answer my question.

Appreciate it a lot.

it depends on your lifestyle. i work alot of 8 hour shifts and 8's are waaaay easier anyday than 12's. "only" 3 12's can be very taxing, whereas a m-f 9-5 is more normal for your body and for your family. if weekends and holidays are a big part of your family time, then the 9-5 is probably a more attractive option. again, it depends on what is most important to you. i also have a 21/2 year old and the older she gets the harder it is for me to consider staying in the hospital and have to worry about weekends and holidays. at the same time I like having days off during the week. I deal with it one year at a time.

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I was a stay at home mom until my daughters went to grade school. Then I went to nursing school. The first year worked full time nights 12s. It was great to have the flexibility that nights gives. Give up a little sleep and do whatever you need to. Then as the kiddos got older I went part time in an attempt to be able to be at "everything". Now they are even older and more busy so I am taking a 7-3:30 M-F job. That is great thing about nursing the options are endless if you just look hard enough. Try getting that flexibility from a 9-5 job!!

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.

I'm going to have to miss my daughter's Valentine luncheon because I work the night before and the night of. I could go, but I'd be very sleep deprived if I do. I hate to miss her luncheon, I'll try to find someone to change shifts with. You can always use PTO if it's an event you absolutely can't miss.

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Sometimes on my floor you can get someone to work a half shift for you. Might try that it allowed at your facility.

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