Specialty with vacation time

Nurses General Nursing

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Hey everyone!

So, I have a question about which specialty will allow me to have the most vacation time. I am in my early twenties and I will be graduating next December with my BSN. Here the new grad opportunities seem pretty good, and I was just offered an externship which will hopefully boost my chance of being hired to a wonderful hospital. I feel like as soon as I graduate I will need to get an internship and do the med/surg thing for my first year of experience, which leaves me no time to travel during the next two years. And then only two weeks every year indefinitely as I work as a nurse. I'm young! I have wander lust! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love nursing and want to spend my life as a nurse, but I've never really had the opportunity to travel and I feel like there are things out there that I'm missing.

I'm married (no children yet, but I love kids) so travel nursing is out. I don't really like the idea of changing jobs frequently since I prefer a bit of stability in income and job security. I like working full time, I'd just like a career that allows me to take an extended vacation every few years. Right now we're saving to backpack Europe for two or three months, I'm just not sure when I'll ever find those two or three months. Thoughts? Am I just being unrealistic? :confused:

Thanks in advance!

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

Become a nurse in some country with a less draconian outlook on personal time? Like Europe?

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Specializes in Respiratory, Med/Surg.

I don't know of any employer that will give you months off at a time unless it's medical leave. A vacation like that is something you need to do before finding employment. What you can do is talk to the hospitals you were thinking about applying at and asking what their vacation policies are.

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Look into school nursing. I get a 9 day fall break, 5 days at Thanksgiving, 2 1/2 weeks at Christmas, 9 day spring break, many 3-4 day weekends, 2 1/2 months off during the summer. Great for packing up my RV and going wandering!

The school district pays my health insurance year round, and I average my pay over 11 months (1 month s a paycheck). I occasionally work camps during the summer, and some pay up to $1000 a week, plus room and board. Plus I get to write off my mileage/travel expenses as I have them pay me as an independent contractor. By the time I include mileage/expenses as I schedule camps on scenic routes, I don't have to pay much in taxes. There are camps available over Christmas break, Spring break and all summer, too! I am working a camp over Christmas break, then stopping and seeing friends and enjoy the beach before driving home.

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The VA hospitals get 5 weeks vacation per year, even for new hires.

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Get your experience and then do travel nursing or seasonal nursing. Then you pick when you want an assignment and when you want time off. Youll have to get your own insurance.

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All I can say is You Go Girl!!! Take that great sounding trip regardless of any job. You have many years of very hard work ahead of you as an RN. We "work to live" and shouldn't "live to work". Before those babies come along and you're tied to a career, enjoy yourself!

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Specializes in Home Care.

Life goes by so fast and we never know what is around the corner.

Get your backpacking trip to Europe done before you start working or you'll have to wail for some time in the future. But, you don't know what the future holds and it might take you 20 years to fulfill that travel dream.

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Lots of people manage to travel and work.

I know people who save up for and plan a trip overseas every year.

You might not be able to take 3 months at a time, but you still can travel.

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Specializes in LTC.

You may have to cut back on your trip's length of time if thats a compromise you are willing to make - then work PRN jobs so you can give yourself prolonged vacations throughout your career. That way you also get to save money for your trips in-between - unless of course money is not an object for you.

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I think you may need to look @ either a school nurse position, or maybe get a teaching job.

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In teaching summer work is often optional. The pay is good. Hard to get tenure though. School nursing it depends on where you work. I only earn 30,000 as a school nurse and I get about 6 weeks off in the summer, but not enough pay to do anything except work a second job.

To be realistic, nursing is year-round work. My last job I never got more than 3 or 4 days off in a row because no one could cover for me and the work would build up too much. Most places you start out with 2 weeks off for 5 years or so then go up to 3 until after 10 years or so then you max out at 4 weeks. This is highly variable- sometimes it takes 20 years to get up to 4 weeks.

Agency nurses pick and choose their hours and work and you can take off when you want. The pay is good, but the work is not as secure.

Many jobs now have little to no vacations. Employers strive to work people to death even though what most of us want is time off for life. Very poor work-life balance in this society.

I once knew a nurse who would work a couple of years and save up then quit and travel for a year until the money ran out. There was a time when you could do that. What about yur travel partner? Whoever you are with will be in the same boat. You can have money or time, not both. That is just life.

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