shift vs specialty

[smj79]

Hi. I'm a new RN. Just passed boards (woo hoo). I'm taking the summer off to stay home with my 6 & 8 y/o. Now that I've started browsing for jobs I've decided I need some advice. To begin with I don't even know what area I want to go into. Because of that I'm trying to do some "job shadowing" to get a feel for some areas that I didn't have clinicals in. How do you know what you should go into especially if you haven't been around it? The other complication is getting hours that work for me. Many dept.'s require shift rotation which is something that I don't feel is very possible for me. My husband's job is shift work, and I don't see things functioning well around here if both of us are doing it. Evenings don't seem practical taking into account that I wouldn't see my kids much at all, not too mention that they're both involved in activities in the evenings & on Saturday. So weekend option is ruled out. I precepted on nights and was never able to sleep more than 3-4 hours during the day not to mention that 2 work weeks a month I'd have to find someone to stay with the kids overnight. So that leaves me with M-F days. Then of course most dayshifts start at 7A, which means that if daycare opens at 6:30 A, and I include travel time I would never make it there on time! UH! Because of this I'm wondering if it is unheard of for a new grad to get a position in a doctors office or clinic? While I think something like that would work great for my family I am afraid it may be a dead end career wise. I'm not trying to make excuses but I want to do what is best all the way around (something has got to give)! Any advice?

[suzanne4, RN]

Find a facility that offers daycare on-site, they do exist. Where are you located? You can try looking at some private free-standing surgery centers, which only operate M-F, but most will require some type of experience.