Nurses with second jobs

caliotter3 · Jul 21, 2015

It depends on the type of nursing jobs, your personal fitness and stamina, and the cooperation of the various employers, should there ever be a problem. I used to work with a group of individuals who worked one shift at one nursing home, then walked across the street to do another shift at the nursing home across the street, and vice versa. One LVN did this seven days a week and it showed in her behavior. I have worked six days a week 12 hour shifts, which is about equivalent to two jobs. At times I did other shifts during that period. I have worked as much as 121 hours in one week. Not recommended. Tired all the time can get you killed if you fall asleep at the wheel or you can ruin your future if you make a gross mistake because of fatigue. Each person needs to work out what is best for their situation. And don't forget your family.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jul 21, 2015

I have three jobs. I work 24 hours/ week in the pediatric ICU, night shift. (Used to work full-time, and it was too much for me physically) I work 1 overnight shift (8-9 hours) per week caring for a vent-dependent toddler in his home. (Not physical AT ALL) And I work as a contract employee as a Clinical Instructor for a local nursing program. This is irregular, but adds up to probably 15-20 hours/ month (and pays the best of all three) The jobs are VERY different, and I am happy with the mix.

OP: The only issue with your plan is that you will never work the SAME three shifts per week. So scheduling the training sessions might be a logistical problem.

advsmuch08 · Jul 21, 2015

On my old floor we had to work every other weekend and at least two Fridays a month. For example, we weren't allowed to work every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. The managers needed more availability. I worked a few three days in a row but it was pretty tiring, especially on night shift. I think you may be able to continue the personal trainer job on the side but keep the scheduling flexibility for your nursing job. I personally don't have experience with cardiac rehab but perhaps you should look into that with your experience.

calivianya, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2015

Just saying - a lot of places have dedicated weekend option positions because it's harder to fill weekend shifts. If you work weekend option as a nurse, you will work every single Saturday and Sunday and maybe another day, depending on the facility. It would probably be very easy to schedule a personal trainer position around a weekend option job.

loriangel14, RN · Jul 21, 2015

I work 12 hour shifts at a hospital and 8 hour shifts at a LTC facility. It works well. One job is every other weekend and one is every third weekend. Weekends off are rare but it still works well for me. I like the variety of working two places.

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Jul 21, 2015

Everyone is different. I have worked 2 jobs for most of my nursing career. I like the variety I get with different jobs and then I always have a back up if something should happen and I lose one of them. I worked 7 days a week for nearly 2 years. That got old after awhile, but I had no choice I needed that $$$$ to support my family. It is possible if you can find jobs that work around each other. I would NEVER risk my full time steady income for any 2nd job.

Asystole721 · Jul 21, 2015

I've worked 2 jobs for many years. Both in different Specialties/different companies, neither position is full time but they could be. I definitely don't get bored and great pay! My husband is a stay at home dad. Since nursing pays so much more than his previous career it didn't make sense to pay 25% of his check in gas to travel to work 5 days a week. And it happens to work out since both my jobs are self schedule I work fairly routine days. It's not for everyone though, but for me if I were to work full time in one job I'd go bonkers.

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 21, 2015

I work full time (week days, day shift) doing staff education for a hospital. Then I teach one online course per semester for a university. The hours of online teaching are very flexible, at home in the evenings and on weekends -- so it works. I do it to keep my "foot in the door" for faculty teaching should my hospital job disappear or become unbearable. I also think that the online teaching may be a good way to phase into retirement in a few years.

However ... it does get "old." Even the hours aren't physically grueling, I find it tiresome to have to work my 2nd job after having a frustrating day at the hospital. And many times, I think it would be great to have an entire weekend off -- without having to do any work for either job. It is psychologically healthier for me to have some real time off and I don't always get enough of that with my 2 jobs.

Kittenlove · Jul 22, 2015

I have 2 jobs and so does all the other nurses in my team. It really depends on the job/hours. We have the ability to work out our own schedule, just as long as the work gets done, there's no issue.

Farawyn · Jul 23, 2015

I've pretty much always worked 2 jobs. The one time I didn't was the last job I had. I made more $$$ than I ever did with the 1 job, but I was miserable.

I am working 2 jobs again. I like it. No one can ever quite pin down where I am.

tvbbnumber41 · Jul 28, 2015

thanks for the replies everyone