Nursing hours

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Ive always wanted to become a RN and eventually work my way up in the chain. Ive been going to the college and have completed quite a few of the pre reqs for the RN program. But now, I am actually thinking about the long work hours and the hours away from my children and my husband. I really cant see myself working 12+ hour shifts. I know people say you work 3 12 hr shifts and get 4 days off but my son is in BMX racing and my daughter wants to be in gymnastics, so I feel like Im going to miss out on so much of their lives. Ive even actually started thinking about going into teaching. I dont know if Im just talking myself out of nursing to see if this is what I really want. I dont want to work in any other area in nursing except peds and I know, what are my chances of getting hired in a peds dept right out of school?

Please girls, any advice. Do any nurses work 8-5 jobs or is it the long work hours?

Specializes in geriatrics.
My mom is a teacher. She brought work home with her: lesson plans, grading papers, etc, and had to deal with her fair share of parents who felt they should be treated as customers.

I think there are benefits and trade-offs in either profession, and neither is as sweet a deal as it seems to outsiders.

Agreed. Nursing requires time outside of work for review, but teaching never ends. Teachers always have homework, and they will often spend hours at a time in preparation. No thanks. The pay isn't as high either.

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Well, I my mind....

....oh wait, you don't want my opinion. (did I mention this was a pet peeve of mine?)

I'll take this over the "big girl panties" phrase you see plastered all over this site :rolleyes:

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Specializes in LTC.
Agreed. Nursing requires time outside of work for review, but teaching never ends. Teachers always have homework, and they will often spend hours at a time in preparation. No thanks. The pay isn't as high either.

That's not true, the pay is very reasonable.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Yes you're right. The pay is reasonable. However, I make more after one year of nursing than my friend makes after 11 years of teaching. She will never make what I make as a nurse, unless she decides to advance and become a Principal.

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How about being a school nurse and then pick up some per diem shifts during the breaks if you want more? Most areas require some hospital experience in order to qualify for per diem so you would need to check out what the requirements are for where you live.

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Specializes in on the fence about nursing.

I have taught in PA, NJ, and NC....grades 1-3. It wasn't the kids, it wasn't the work, it wasn't the parents, but the administration that made me leave education. My last position as a teacher was in an urban charter school. This school eventually wound up on probation with the Department of Education and had its charter pulled. The job market can be really tough for a teacher as much as it is for a nurse at this time. As far as pay for a teacher, it is greatly dependent upon what district you are in. For example, my first year salary as a teacher in Philadelphia was 28k..if I was hired in Upper Merion, which is right across the street (Bala Cynwyd Ave) I would start out at 35k. Please be aware that these are 1998 salaries. I am sure nursing salaries are different from hospital to hospital. I was looking at becoming a school nurse in Philly at one time...they start at around 60k...but you need 2 years experience and a BSN. I will tell you that there was only one school nurse on staff at a K-12 school in Philadelphia County when I was a teacher there. That's a lot of kids. Even as teacher, I was sometimes the school nurse, when the nurse was not available...yep, started early in delivering those meds. I think that nursing and teaching offer the flexibility of moving around. Teaching a first grader is not the same as teaching a third, and granted, care of a child is not the same as care of an elder.

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Specializes in OR.

Your time away from your kids is going to be a lot, whether you are a teacher or nurse. You might as well do something you are passionate about.

Btw, you could always work full time (3 12's) for a year or two, then switch to per diem, working 1-2 days a week. You cant do that with teaching.

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School nurse: you work with kids, more decent hours, you get to be a nurse. I don't think the pay is very good though.

There's a sub forum on this site:

https://allnurses.com/school-nursing/

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I dont think there is any perfect job or schedule. I use to work in the hospital 3 12's a week and sure I did have to work some holidays and miss out on some stuff,but I got to take my kids to school, pick them up. If they had something going on in the middle of the day I would just miss out on sleep, but I could be there. Plus having four days off in a week gives you alot of flexibilty to schedule around things you need to do. Now I work mon-fri 8-5 in an office and while I get weekends and holidays off it's really hard to get off to do stuff during the week in the daytime. I missed my son's kindergarten graduation because I couldnt get it off because it was a mandatory training day. Teachers dont get to leave at 3pm when the bell rings and kids are out. There is still alot to do. Just something to think about.

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Thanks girls for all the replies. Im not looking into a job for the pay. If youre in it for the pay, youll never be happy either.

There are a number of nursing jobs where you don't have to work 12s... You might also consider part-time nursing with 12s --doing maybe two days a week. That way, you'd be able to spend a significant amount of time with your family. Consider home health, long-term care, outpatient surgery, pre-op, hospice, insurance, etc.

Just another note: I cringed when I saw the term "girls." :uhoh3: With that, you inadvertently excluded all the men (would you have called them boys???) in the nursing field and diminished (however inadvertently/innocently) the status of the women in the field. Nurses are professionals and adults. I don't really like the term "girls" for women, but if it must be used, I'd rather it be in a non-professional context. --I also don't like the term "girls" for CNAs. I think it's important to pay attention to terminology we use. I think it also helps to create an atmosphere of teamwork and greater respect in the workplace. As a nurse, I value the opinion of other nurses, CNAs, doctors, NPs, PAs, family, and patients. I think when we use diminutive terms, it is diminishing and even offensive. It fosters a hierarchical structure that doesn't support a culture of safety.

Hmmm...Consider how in the past African American men in this country were referred to as "boys." Not so nice.

I also think that we as professionals must look out for our salaries sans apology. It sounds like you have a family to care for. What if you were the sole provider for your family? Would salary matter then? What if you had to pay the mortgage, utilities, insurance, car note, tuition, and food bills on your own? Would salary matter? Nurses have a right to expect compensation for their work. I am in it for the pay AND the personal satisfaction of helping others. The two goals can coexist. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if the notion that nurses shouldn't be in it for the pay is related to old-fashioned ideas that females are better placed in the home and/or should have secondary earning status in relation to males.

Okay...enough of my rant. I hope you find the right balance. It may take you a bit of time, but if you keep looking (and that can be a bit of a job), I think you will find it. :)

Good luck!

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Ok. I didn't mean to offend anyone by saying girls, so I do apologize. I don't get offended by words since I was just asking a question. Thanks for all the help. It is a very tough decision to make and I just pray I make the right one. I love the he's and days of a teacher and I definitely don't want to work long term care or hospice or anything of that kind. I think of me being a nurse I just don't know many shifts they can work. I just pray. God helps me in my decision.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
After 15 years of teaching, I'm back in school to become a nurse. From my perspective, teaching is every bit as stressful as nursing, plus no matter how hard you work, people do not appreciate you. Of course I hear these things about nursing as well, but nurses do get paid better, and from what I understand, do not have to bring home loads of paperwork. Job outlook for teachers is not good in my state (Florida). Budget cuts and layoffs are making it difficult for new grads to get jobs as teachers. Plus your pay or your job security will be dependent on how well your students' perform on state assessments. You will constantly have administrators come in your classroom for brief visits and judge your performance as a teacher on silly things like what is hanging on your bulletin boards (I was actually told my word wall was too orderly and should be more random) and on how you write your agenda on the board (I'm sure students will perform better if I write down the learning objective before the date, right?) Don't get me wrong, I have loved my career working with students, however, the climate in education is changing and teacher innovation and creativity is being thrown out the window. Good luck with your decision, but really research things before deciding.

If you make a mistake as a teacher, it's highly doubtful anyone will die as a result. I'm not saying teaching isn't stressful; a good friend of mine was a teacher, but it's not a life and death profession.

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