9-5 (or 8-5) shifts as a new grad possible?

[Kendrer]

I know this is early, as I'm just starting my RN program, however I'm wondering if it is even possible to find a job that does not require overnights or early morning starts right out of nursing school?  I am absolutely not opposed to working these shifts eventually, but my kids are too young to get themselves to school, etc. I would actually LOVE to work in the ER, but my husband's job requirements/hours and my kids ages prohibit me from pursuing that right out of nursing school. 

My husband is an aortic aneurysm device rep, so his job is basically on-call all the time.  Not only does he have scheduled surgeries in the OR that can start very early, but if there is ever a rupture, he has to drop everything and go to whatever hospital he is asked to in a very large metropolitan area, day or night.  Due to my husband's job responsibilities, it restricts my ability to work outside of regular hours until my kids are able to handle being home alone (will probably be a solid 5 or 6 years before that is possible since they are in Kindergarten and 2nd grade now). I don't want to look like a "princess" right out of school, but I'm worried I will have a hard time finding a job since it seems like most nursing jobs require night shifts or 6am starts?? Any advice or areas of specialty that I can focus on early to help me get to work after school would be great!  I am doing a BSN program.

[beachynurse, ASN, BSN]

Had you thought about a before school program for your children? Without experience it may be difficult to find a job with those hours. Most new nurses need to hit the ground running to a med surg floor in order to gain the experience that kind of floor can provide. Learning to hone your critical thinking skills, and assessment skills is paramount to being able to be able to work in any kind of office environment where this kind of knowledge is so valuable. I had to make many difficult choices in my career when my children were young. My now ex-husband was in the Navy and was out to sea for 6 months at a time. I often had to figure out coverage to care for my children in order for me to work. I wish you the best in your career, and I hope you are lucky enough to find something..

[Kendrer]

8 minutes ago, beachynurse said:

Had you thought about a before school program for your children? Without experience it may be difficult to find a job with those hours. Most new nurses need to hit the ground running to a med surg floor in order to gain the experience that kind of floor can provide. Learning to hone your critical thinking skills, and assessment skills is paramount to being able to be able to work in any kind of office environment where this kind of knowledge is so valuable. I had to make many difficult choices in my career when my children were young. My now ex-husband was in the Navy and was out to sea for 6 months at a time. I often had to figure out coverage to care for my children in order for me to work. I wish you the best in your career, and I hope you are lucky enough to find something..

Thank you!  I have tried, but the only real option will be an Aupair or live-in nanny since my husband is out the door by 6am some days.  No babysitter or part time childcare worker seems to want to start work as early as 5:30am, and be done by 8:30am when the kids go to school. Plus my husband’s schedule is totally unpredictable and no week is ever the same. Sometimes he’s home a lot, other times he leaves early, and still other times he has to leave for an emergency at dinner time and doesn’t get home until 1am!  We also live in an area that requires a car to get to school (busy, winding road to the beach). At least once I’m working we’ll have the $ to afford childcare until my kids can fend for themselves!  Of course our house is also not really big enough for a live-in care giver. 

[beachynurse, ASN, BSN]

4 minutes ago, Kendrer said:

Thank you!  I have tried, but the only real option will be an Aupair or live-in nanny since my husband is out the door by 6am some days.  No babysitter or part time childcare worker seems to want to start work as early as 5:30am, and be done by 8:30am when the kids go to school. Plus my husband’s schedule is totally unpredictable and no week is ever the same. Sometimes he’s home a lot, other times he leaves early, and still other times he has to leave for an emergency at dinner time and doesn’t get home until 1am!  We also live in an area that requires a car to get to school (busy, winding road to the beach). At least once I’m working we’ll have the $ to afford childcare until my kids can fend for themselves!  Of course our house is also not really big enough for a live-in care giver. 

How long might you have until your children are self sufficient? Do you think your husband can adjust his am schedule temporarily until they are older? It sounds like your husband works a lot, and these days Dad's are just as involved in child care as the Mom's are. Just a thought??? 

[Rionoir, ADN, RN]

Probably depends where you live, but where I am it is absolutely possible. You may have to look outside of the hospital and maybe consider a specialty you weren't necessarily looking at, but yes, totally possible. 

[Kendrer]

Rionoir thank you!  Do you mind listing a couple of the specialties you can think of?  I am open to anything. I definitely don’t have to work in a hospital. 

[Birdy, ADN, LPN]

Maybe look into something like an endoscopy center? The one in my local hospital has an 8:30am start time.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I am going to ask a stupid question. Do you HAVE to work at this time? If not, then stay home w/the kids til they are older. They will never be this young ever again. There is so much time to work when your kids are older.....I never put my kids in daycare before or after nursing school except at a friend's house. She and I exchanged babysitting with each other in order to help one another out. She was so well known to mine it was like a 2nd mommy.

When my  youngest came, I worked Per diem in the  hospital, weekend nightshifts, when hubby was home to care for the kids. I got them to school when they were very young and will never, ever regret spending the time with them when they were little.

My kids are grown now, but we are pretty close and I think it helped that they had a parent at home at all times and never had to be in another person's care except family and a close family friend.

Nursing is cool like that. You CAN work PRN/per diem around your husband's schedule. But you'll have to get a bit of experience first.

I hope I did not offend you asking/mentioning all this. I just think right now, if you can make it work w/one income, just do that a while. Your kids will grow up too fast, trust me. I know.

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

When my first was a baby I wandered on down to the local senior service center one day and was immediately surrounded by doting grandmothers. (She was a darling baby!) I found a few that didn’t need total predictability, could show up at 0600 if necessary from time to time, and were perfectly happy to do three or four hours at a time for a little cash to supplement the social security check. Widen your horizons. 
Oh, and endoscopy is probably not going to hire a new grad c no experience— you’d need to be able to recognize and manage complications of sedation, airway, and IVs. 

[SmilingBluEyes]

Just now, Hannahbanana said:

When my first was a baby I wandered on down to the local senior service center one day and was immediately surrounded by doting grandmothers. (She was a darling baby!) I found a few that didn’t need total predictability, could show up at 0600 if necessary from time to time, and were perfectly happy to do three or four hours at a time for a little cash to supplement the social security check. Widen your horizons. 
Oh, and endoscopy is probably not going to hire a new grad c no experience— you’d need to be able to recognize and manage complications of sedation, airway, and IVs. 

THIS is AWESOME. I never thought of that.

[Kendrer]

5 hours ago, SmilingBluEyes said:

I am going to ask a stupid question. Do you HAVE to work at this time? If not, then stay home w/the kids til they are older. They will never be this young ever again. There is so much time to work when your kids are older.....I never put my kids in daycare before or after nursing school except at a friend's house. She and I exchanged babysitting with each other in order to help one another out. She was so well known to mine it was like a 2nd mommy.

When my  youngest came, I worked Per diem in the  hospital, weekend nightshifts, when hubby was home to care for the kids. I got them to school when they were very young and will never, ever regret spending the time with them when they were little.

My kids are grown now, but we are pretty close and I think it helped that they had a parent at home at all times and never had to be in another person's care except family and a close family friend.

Nursing is cool like that. You CAN work PRN/per diem around your husband's schedule. But you'll have to get a bit of experience first.

I hope I did not offend you asking/mentioning all this. I just think right now, if you can make it work w/one income, just do that a while. Your kids will grow up too fast, trust me. I know.

Hi Smilingeyes, not a stupid question at all!  We have been struggling financially while I’ve been home with our kids, and the timing will have me graduating nursing school once our kids are finishing 2nd and 4th grade - still not quite old enough to fend for themselves and get themselves to school by 8am (but close). I will definitely do what I can and try to get creative to find early morning childcare, but sadly my husband’s job requirements are set - when a doctor needs him, he has to be there. It’s a shame, but we live in the SF Bay Area, where money doesn’t stretch very far!   I was just curious if it is ever a possibility that new grads find positions in clinics or Dr offices that have more of a 9-5 or 8-5 schedule. However, if that’s not possible then I can at least prepare knowing that my scheduling options will be what they will be. 
 

I should also add that we waited until later in life to have kids, so my husband will be 55 and I will be 46 by the time I graduate. I feel like my “marketability” and job competitiveness as a nurse could wane if I continue to wait before starting this career?

[Guest1176712]

13 hours ago, Kendrer said:

Hi Smilingeyes, not a stupid question at all!  We have been struggling financially while I’ve been home with our kids, and the timing will have me graduating nursing school once our kids are finishing 2nd and 4th grade - still not quite old enough to fend for themselves and get themselves to school by 8am (but close). I will definitely do what I can and try to get creative to find early morning childcare, but sadly my husband’s job requirements are set - when a doctor needs him, he has to be there. It’s a shame, but we live in the SF Bay Area, where money doesn’t stretch very far!   I was just curious if it is ever a possibility that new grads find positions in clinics or Dr offices that have more of a 9-5 or 8-5 schedule. However, if that’s not possible then I can at least prepare knowing that my scheduling options will be what they will be. 
 

I should also add that we waited until later in life to have kids, so my husband will be 55 and I will be 46 by the time I graduate. I feel like my “marketability” and job competitiveness as a nurse could wane if I continue to wait before starting this career?

It would be great if all daycares extended hours from 5am-8pm for shift workers.....I would pay extra. Not everyone has consistent family support. YMCA has before after programs when kids are in school. They start at 6 or 630am and close at 6. You can pay a sitter like 20/hr for a couple of hours 3 days a week maybe 10 on the weekend if you need a sitter then. It's really tough, I know first hand as single mom. You'll get a job as a nurse so don't worry about competion. It might take a little time in certain markets but you'll get in. While waiting and slamming them with resumes, you could get your NIHstroke cert done. There is a telemetry cert for nurses too thru NTA. Job usually pays for this, but you could get your BLS out of the way too. There are little tests on Indeed like for customer service, etc. Build yourself up. I'm one who feels family comes first. Just get that 6months to 1 year of experience over with so you can find you work home. You could even do telehealth from home as an RN. Also, if nursing gets too stressful, do something else until timing is better to go back to it. NOTHING in this life is more important than the health and love of you and your family. Use nursing, don't let it use you.