katmint3

Question for those who like 12 hour shifts! Do you do the same schedule every week? See where I work I do 12 hour shifts and the days vary every week, so I find it very hard to adjust and not too feel exhausted and wanting to sleep on my days off. For example my schedule for one month is: 1st week Sunday, Wednesday, Friday 2nd week Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 3rd week Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday 4th week Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday I don't know if it's the varying of the schedule or the 12 hours shifts that wear me out. Some days I do crave the normalacy of a 9-5 job, but I think that may be my age showing.

When I was little I wanted to be a veternarian. But as I got older, I discovered I became so attached to my pets that I couldn't stand to see them hurt or die. So in high school I discovered Art. This was something I was good at and it was easy to do. So against my dad's wishes I got a BFA in Graphic Design. For 10 years I jumped from project to project, and I finally realized this was not a career and definitely not fullfilling. So through much soul searching and support from my husband and 3 kids I went back to school to become a nurse. I came to realize that nursing was in my blood. It was so much of who I already was and what I already did with my own children. My grandmother, aunt and my mother (briefly) were nurses. I grew up with the terminolgy and the skills as part of my everyday life. It still amazes me as I sit back and realize how well nursing just fits. Well I start clinicals on Jan 3, and I will have my BSN in December of 2006. I cannot wait to start this new and rewarding chapter of my life. It just goes to show you can be whoever you want and you can change careers, it just takes time, patience and most of all courage.