prn/overtime addiction/survey

[ThePrincessBride]

Curious: Is anyone here a job/OT addict? How many PRN/PT jobs and overtime hours do you think is over the top?

And for those of you with more than one job, are they all in the same specialty?

How many hours do you work at your FT job and how many hours do you work at your PRN job(s)?

I used to work with a woman who has five kids. She works full time at one spot but then also has three PRN jobs. Every time she would quit a job, she would go contingent. Now, she has collected four jobs (all in the same specialty).

As for me, I have one FT job in one specialty and a PRN job. I will be out of town for a bit and have signed up for a nine straight days of work! Thankfully, they are a mixture of twelves and eights.

Oops.

[Ard123]

To each his/her own , glad you found your balance. But there are other philosophies/ways of life too. Like work hard now, save the excess and invest, so you don't have to work so hard later, or have extra for a rainy day. Because we all know it doesn't get any easier later for most of us, and that hardships happen.

[whichone'spink, BSN, RN]

I only accumulate significant overtime when I have no choice. Every once in a while I will sign up for extra shifts, but not all the time. I'm in graduate school, and use the 4 days I have off for that. I prefer to take call shifts, if there are any extra call shifts to sign up for. That way I am not stuck at work for 8-12 hours at a time.

[kaydensmom01]

Yes... you can. Work to live. not live to work.Kayden would agree.

You do not know me, my family, or my finances so please do not act like you do.

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

I worked with several nurses who routinely worked 56 hrs per week at 2 jobs--1 full time and 1 the other 2 days.

These were people old enough to have young adult children.

They inspired me!

That being said, regarding finances, when I was an LVN I could pay all my bills with 1/2 of my monthly take home.

As an RN, I plan to keep my required expenses low so that I can easily afford "extras" such as....I dunno! Paying for unexpected expenses or possibly private school for my youngest. My eldest children attended private schools for most of their childhood. And yes, to be able to help fund my kids college educations.

I, personally, never want to be in a position in which I need every single dime I earn just to be able to stay afloat. BTDT.

[luvsltcrn]

OT was totally an addiction for me. I would work every possible second I could get. I strictly did it for the money and the things it allowed me to buy and do. Now I am salary and really miss the opportunity for OT. Although I love my job I make less now than I did working as a bedside nurse and working OT.

[Ard123]

I have heard of these exceptions, especially with prison nurses. I have to hand it to you, I don't think I'd take it because if the opportunity cost on time being on call, unless I get highly compensated. Just out of curiosity, what are the on call hourly rates and how are they structured?

[Ard123]

Actually, I'm going to go with since the poster you quoted stated call pay that they are in a position that requires "on call" hours. My position requires on call coverage, with many hours of working extra during those times. On call hours are exempted from the mandatory overtime laws as it is an expectation of the job. It's not uncommon to see on call requirements for procedural areas such as cath lab/OR/endo/etc and certain specialties- my facility also requires call for ER and ICU nurses. This isn't call where it's "don't come in for your scheduled shift but we'll call you if we need you to come in" but where these hours are in addition to scheduled shifts.

I have heard of these exceptions, especially with prison nurses. I have to hand it to you, I don't think I'd take it because if the opportunity cost on time being on call, unless I get highly compensated. Just out of curiosity, what are the on call hourly rates and how are they structured?

[citylights89, BSN, RN]

I only do OT when I'm on call. Other than that, most of the time I'm at work I'm thinking about when I can go home. The best part is when I get my paycheck and I start the cycle all over again. Good thing I don't have a lot of addictions and fancies. I try to keep my bills to a minimum. Less bills = more simple life.