I am a pregnant 20 year old. I have already done some college, and I have taken some time off from school as well, but I will be going back to school next fall. Because I am pregnant, I can list myself as independent on fafsa and get the full financial aid package, as I barely earn any income right now. So, I am trying to decide what career to go for but I am not sure! I would like a job in healthcare, but I don't think I can actually handle night shifts. I really can't. Does this mean I shouldn't do nursing? Or is it possible to get around this? Can I get a job out of school that's more of a 9-5 job? Maybe in a clinic or something? I am also okay with working part time and day shifts. If a hospital wants me to work two 12 hour day shifts, I can do that. It's just that I literally cannot function at night. I never pulled an allnighter, other than when going on long, overnight plane flights overseas, but even after I slept on the uncomfortable plane seat, I still was like a zombie. I just can't imagine having to take care of patients in that state. During those overnight trips, after the plane actually lands and when I need to start functioning, I end up feeling extremely cold, light headed, and can barely walk properly.
Should I still become a nurse if I simply cannot function at night? I just don't know what career to choose other than a nurse. I want to work in healthcare, but I don't want to go to medical school (to become a doctor) because that costs way too much and takes too much time. Plus I have a baby on the way. I am with the father of the baby and he is graduating from grad school and hopefully will get a job after he graduates (his field is not healthcare related). But I want to do a career that I will enjoy, and I knew I was always passionate about healthcare. I really don't want to be an accountant or a computer programmer or anything. I can see doing that for maybe a few years, but I will get bored. I need to be in a healthcare setting.
I have been a nurse for 8 years and still work nights. All of the new nurses coming on wanting days right away just make me shake my head. Most hospitals will make you start at night. If there's a day shift available, you probably don't want it. The night nurses should have the option to move to days if they want and, if they don't, there's probably a reason. There are day positions available, mostly not in a hospital setting, but they aren't going to pay as well. Probably not school nursing because there are very few of those jobs and I know experienced nurses who have been applying and are still stuck on nights.
Most importantly you shouldn't become a nurse because you can't think of something else to do. Nursing isn't easy, so do something that you will LOVE.
While it would nice if every nurse *loved* nursing, I don't think it's necessary to *love* nursing to be a good nurse. (And with the patient-as-customer focus on HCAPS scores and seemingly endless charting rather than providing patient care, I've heard many a nurse complain that (s)he doesn't get to do nearly as much of "nursing" that (s)he may or may not *love*.)
For me, there are parts of my job that I truly enjoy and there are other aspects that just have to be done and can even be a PITA. But this balance of the good and the bad was true of my previous career, where eventually the con's outweighed the pro's, so I took a pay cut and went back to school for nursing.
I do think it makes sense to take a good long look at the pro's and con's of nursing and make sure you are aware of what an "average" nursing shift entails so that you can decide if your personal list of nursing pro's outweighs your personal list of con's. For me, even though I am not the type of nurse who describes nursing as a passion, and even though I took a pay cut to change careers, I'm still glad I did it. For me, the pro's far outweigh the con's.
Also, my personal experience with nights was that I thought I would not be able to function. When I was put on nights for my last semester preceptorship (while still having to attend daytime classes), I thought my physical and mental health would suffer. Surprisingly, after reading a lot of tips from "surviving night shift" threads on AllNurses, I eventually found the perfect sleep prep schedule and I am thriving on nights. I've had the opportunity to change to days on every unit I've worked on (usually within 6-15 months of hire), and have chosen to stay on nights for now. The pay is better, the stress is lower and I get to spend a little more time with my patients.
It is possible to get day shift jobs right out of school, but it is hard and you have to take what you can get.
There are far more positions than just nursing, though, if you want to be in healthcare. Look into other avenues. Check out physical therapy, respiratory therapy, radiology, speech therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition, pharmacy, etc.
PPs are providing really valuable information for OP.
I just wanted to add -- an important factor in salary is the 'market'. Highly desirable jobs have lots of applicants.... so employers don't have to pay as much to fill those slots. That's why night shifts pay more. OP - and anyone looking for jobs without the requirement for working 'anti-social hours' should keep this in mind. Salaries are going to be lower for those jobs.
If you are not sure of nursing have you looked into other health care jobs? Radiology tech ect? Nursing is not for everyone, even with financial aid it is very expensive and not a career you want to regret
I want to have a career in medicine. I am just wondering how realistic it is to avoid nights if I go into nursing. I am okay with working swing shifts.
I want to have a career in medicine. I am just wondering how realistic it is to avoid nights if I go into nursing. I am okay with working swing shifts.
You don't want to work night shifts but now you want a career in medicine? Med students work some crazy clinical hours which includes night time. If you want to be a physician, which I assume you do if you want a career in medicine, why on earth would you go to nursing school? Nursing isn't a "stepping stone" to medicine. It is an entirely different profession. Maybe you need to do some soul searching before you decide which avenue you want to pursue. It'll save you lots of time (and tuition money). Good luck.
this is basically exactly how I ended up in nursing. they told me to pick a major and nothing else sounded particularly good. it worked out alright!
l.a.m.b, ADN, RN
80 Posts
That could be a problem if the facility that u have training in both day and night shifts