mommo5

How much more do you make with night differential?

Just wanted to say thank you for all the great advice and suggestions I got. I really appreciate it. I will be making my decision soon.

I was a stay-at-home mom for 15 years before deciding to go back to school to become a RN. I graduated last May 2010 and finally got my first job offer from FMC for a staff nurse position at an outpatient dialysis center. I thought this was going to be a great job for me. Working 4 ten hour days, daytime hours, Sundays off, 5 minutes from my house, closed on Christmas. I took the job and am supposed to start in a couple of weeks. Then out of nowwhere the hospital calls and offers me a position in L&D that I interviewed for a few weeks ago and thought I had no chance of getting. Becoming a L&D nurse and getting a position like this was the whole reason I went back to school ...but now that I was offered it I'm not so sure I should take it. It would be a rotating day/night position 5 eight hour days, I would be working every other weekend, and I'm sure being new I would be working most of the major holidays that everyone else wants off for. I thought I wanted it so much.... but I feel like working at the hospital would be worse for our family due to the rotating shifts, working nights, every other weekend, holidays. Then I feel like I'm crazy to pass up this opportunity to work in L&D as a new grad...from reading on here it seems like a lot of nurses would jump at a L&D job offer. And the comments I read on here about FMC overall aren't that good. And dialysis, in general, it sounds like you either love it or hate it. I'm so confused! Does anybody have any advice? I need to let the hospital know my decision, but I'm not sure what decision to make. My dream of working in L&D is important to me but being there for my kids and husband and being a good mother and wife is even more important to me. One other thing, Since I already accepted the dialysis job do you think it would be weird for me to ask for a shadow day now? When I interviewed and toured the clinic it was actually closed for a total remodel. Then when she called and offered me the job I was so happy just to get an offer I didn't even think about shadowing to see what it was like. I guess I would have to tell the dialysis manager about the other offer and the reason I would want to shadow after I already accepted a job. This seems awkward..should I even do this?