Clinic nurses, do you have a second job?

Specialties Ambulatory

Published

Just started a new position in an ambulatory clinic. It's family medicine and so far I've just been rooming. I'm slowly starting into "inbasket" management and coordination stuff and eventually I'll be doing triage which is what I was hired for. It's not bad, pretty straightforward so far. And the regular day time hours (8-5) are great as is having weekends off! Consequently, my paycheck has also dipped. I came from an in patient night shift setting so all said, I took about a $6.50 hourly pay cut (ouch). And at this new position, I'm only 0.6.

My question is, for those of you working in clinics, do you also have a second/per diem/prn job? Like weekends, nights, etc? If you do, how challenging is it to work both a clinic job and your second one? I'm debating whether to pick up agency work or something to fill in the pay gap that I lost. Or if you have daycare age/young children, does most of your paycheck go to daycare? How do you find the balance?

thanks for any advice.

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I worked in a public health clinic, but I can relate to the ouch in the wallet - the hours are great, but the pay can be meh, especially since I was a new grad when I started. I picked up float shifts for an outpatient gyn surgery center to help with my income and kept the second job for about 4 years until my pay at the public health clinic got better. I don't have kids, so I can't speak to that question. My second job was on Saturdays only, but I got to pick which Saturdays I wanted since the centers were always understaffed (they couldn't assign us, it was voluntary prn only). It was a nice way to pick up extra income for savings or vacations or when I had unexpected costs, but it definitely made me tired to work a M-F clinic job and then pick up a Saturday shift on top of that. I don't miss being that busy.

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Specializes in Allergy and Immunology.

As an RN, I've never worked in a hospital or LTC, so clinic nursing is all I know (I started at the clinic as an LPN and stayed after getting my RN, then BSN. I was promoted and compensated as I rose the ranks).

I know I could be making a lot more elsewhere (in the hospital). But, to answer your question, I'm fine with just the one job. But, I also don't have kids either. I do like my nights, weekends, and holidays off. I care about more free time, not more money.

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For most of my career in the outpatient clinic setting I had a second job. For a few years I did homecare on the weekends (Sat and Sun). Then when I was tired of working 7 days a week I started teaching two nights a week after my clinic shift ended. That wasn't bad at all. I always like having a back up income in case something should happen. Right now I am starting a new management role in a clinic and still have my hospital job PRN, just for some extra money.

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