True? --> "RN's Can Work 3Days/Wk And Make A Good Salary!"

swirlything · Jul 28, 2009

I'm the one that said nurses line-up to work the night shift. And here in Orlando they do. The shift differential for night shift is huge here... I know it's not that much in other parts of the county. My preceptor in the pediatric unit at the children's hospital here said that when she was first hired, she got right onto the waitlist to work nights. A year later she finally got the slot.

When I was offered my job, the manager asked me if I prefer days or nights. When I said days, she said that was good because she had several day nurses who wanted to switch to nights.

My sister works in the Seattle/Tacoma area and tells me that up there the shift differential isn't enough to make people want the jobs, so new nurses often end up on nights.

As far as whether you'll be able to find a job when you graduate, I dont' think anyone can predict what the market will be like in a few years. It's going to take you at least 2 1/2 years to get your license... that's if you already have your prerequisites, and can find a school where you won't be put on a waitlist that has a program that starts in January.

nohika · Jul 28, 2009

Hello all!
Thank you for all of the responses! Well, it sounds like working in a Peds hospital will be doable, as long as I structure my training around it...which I'd do b/c I know that's where I want to work. Thing is, I'd be working in Southern California; San Diego. Do you think that's a tough market? A few of you guys said Peds is a specialty that a lot of people want to work in...not according to the hiring mang at the SD hosp I talked to. She said, "...Peds is always hard to fill b/c not a lot of people want to work around kids all day." I'm assuming you guys disagree with that statement?
Also, I've heard a lot about new grads not being able to find jobs. I don't want to change careers, work my butt off in school and not be able to find a job. I know I'd improve my job opportunities by moving but I don't want leave San Diego. Clearly, who would? So, moving is not an option...
So, am I drastically limiting my options when I said I only want to work in San Diego and for a childen's hospital? I'm thinking no...as long as I work at a children's hospital during school, volunteer and do anything I can think of that would boost my resume. Agree or disagree?
Oh! And someone else mentioned that people are pretty much lining up to work the night shift b/c it pays more? I thought people were lining up to work the day shift? I'd only work the night shift if they made me. With that said, do you think it's unrealistic to go into nursing only wanting to work the day shift? I don't care how much money I can make working nights; I'm not interested.
*Yes, I know I have a lot of stipulations :chuckle

Just from what I've read, and I'm not a nurse yet (or even in school), California has one of the TOUGHEST new-grad markets right now. I would think trying to find a job in Cali as a new-grad in a peds hospital might be a lot tougher then you think.

Definitely volunteer once you start school - try not to work too much; I'm guessing a direct-entry MSN is going to be insanely tough. Keep in touch with recruiters; network. Who knows where the economy will end up.

Just my :twocents: !

kerric511 · Jul 28, 2009

It depends on the hospital ... Where I am they are scraping to find night-shifters.

ArtisticAthlete · Jul 28, 2009

Just from what I've read, and I'm not a nurse yet (or even in school), California has one of the TOUGHEST new-grad markets right now. I would think trying to find a job in Cali as a new-grad in a peds hospital might be a lot tougher then you think.
Definitely volunteer once you start school - try not to work too much; I'm guessing a direct-entry MSN is going to be insanely tough. Keep in touch with recruiters; network. Who knows where the economy will end up.
Just my !

Well, I'd be getting my MSN in San Diego so hopefully the working, volunteering and networking would pay off. Hhhmmm. And yeah, I've heard it's a tough market, too. But, hopefully it's easier for those who go to school there *wishful thinking*

RNperdiem, RN · Jul 28, 2009

Networking is helpful. Many new graduates who get jobs in my unit often worked as CNA's or unit secretaries in the ICU.

There are more geriatric patients than pediatric ones, so there will be fewer jobs there.

fetch33 · Jul 28, 2009

You couldn't pay me enough to work days at my hospital.... Tons of patient turnover due to a very busy ortho unit. I choose to work nights and have done so for 16 years. The shift diff is 15 % of base pay and that jumps to an extra 12% on the weekends. I can't afford to work days!

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2009

Hello all!
Thank you for all of the responses! Well, it sounds like working in a Peds hospital will be doable, as long as I structure my training around it...which I'd do b/c I know that's where I want to work. Thing is, I'd be working in Southern California; San Diego. Do you think that's a tough market? A few of you guys said Peds is a specialty that a lot of people want to work in...not according to the hiring mang at the SD hosp I talked to. She said, "...Peds is always hard to fill b/c not a lot of people want to work around kids all day." I'm assuming you guys disagree with that statement?
Also, I've heard a lot about new grads not being able to find jobs. I don't want to change careers, work my butt off in school and not be able to find a job. I know I'd improve my job opportunities by moving but I don't want leave San Diego. Clearly, who would? So, moving is not an option...
So, am I drastically limiting my options when I said I only want to work in San Diego and for a childen's hospital? I'm thinking no...as long as I work at a children's hospital during school, volunteer and do anything I can think of that would boost my resume. Agree or disagree?
Oh! And someone else mentioned that people are pretty much lining up to work the night shift b/c it pays more? I thought people were lining up to work the day shift? I'd only work the night shift if they made me. With that said, do you think it's unrealistic to go into nursing only wanting to work the day shift? I don't care how much money I can make working nights; I'm not interested.
*Yes, I know I have a lot of stipulations :chuckle

You are narrowing your odds by limiting yourself to days and specialty and location. We don't have a crystal ball, so we can't say what will happen. However, in this economy, I hear your stipulations, and I think it may not look good for you. But who knows? Maybe the economy could improve by the time you graduate? Or maybe not so much?

New grads in my city are moving cross country to get new grad jobs, which is something we never anticipated. When I started nursing school almost two years ago, new grads were getting sign on bonuses and pick of specialty units. I remember our instructor on the first day saying with a smile, "With the nursing shortage, you will never be without work, in your career." Everything has drastically changed. The rules of the game are changing, and we don't know how it will shake out this year and the next - let alone when you might graduate.

If you had flexibility about relocating for a new grad job, I wouldn't be so concerned. A year ago I said there's no way I'd move for a new grad job, and now I've totally changed my tune when the reality of the dismal economy smacked me upside the head. You may need to be open to readjusting your stipulations in accordance with the job market.

About your questions about what makes nursing so hard. I'd recommend reading a book called Nursing Against the Odds: How Health Care Cost Cutting, Media Stereotypes, And Medical Hubris Undermine Nurses And Patient Care by Suzanne Gordon. All 450 pages. Suzanne Gordon is a well-respected author and professor who writes about nursing issues. I'd also read this board and get familiar with what nurses are saying about their jobs in many threads. Another good read is oncology nurse Theresa Brown's blog in the New York Times. Her most recent entry is relevant to this discussion.

Good luck with what you decide.

Sterren, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2009

You will probably make 50K as a nurse, working 3 days a week most weeks. True.

You will also probably feel ridiculously underpaid when you consider everything you have to know, do, understand, and put up with over the course of what is often a VERY long 12 hour shift.

I love that I make as much as I do. And I love my job, the very large majority of the time. But when I look at what my job actually is, I'm absurdly underpaid (just like every other nurse out there, IMO).

I do think you are seriously limiting yourself and your potential job prospects by requiring that you would need to work days, in San Diego, in a children's hospital. Day shifts are typically fought over anyway, and "earned" a lot of the time by putting up with nights for a while. Usually day shifts go to experienced nurses. I've heard hiring is downright scary in California, and I imagine children's hospitals are probably even harder to get into now than normal adult hospitals.

Also, remember that you may step onto a peds unit as a nursing student and find that you HATE it. It's a good idea to have a back-up plan. If you're only going to nursing school to be a peds nurse, and then you find that you just can't handle being around sick children all day long, and you have no back-up plan, that's a lot of wasted time and money on your part.

learning08 · Jul 28, 2009

Start researching the job market in your area and/or in the area(s) you would want to move to. Call hospitals, nursing schools, friends of friends who are nurses in those areas. Around here, yes, you can land an RN job at a children's hospital fresh out of school (working there as a nursing assistant first and great references from peds instructors will help, so plan accordingly). $50K+ depends on the part of the country where you will work. Again, geographically targeted research on your part will be more helpful than our general comments here.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2009

Also, remember that you may step onto a peds unit as a nursing student and find that you HATE it. It's a good idea to have a back-up plan. If you're only going to nursing school to be a peds nurse, and then you find that you just can't handle being around sick children all day long, and you have no back-up plan, that's a lot of wasted time and money on your part.

This is an interesting point you bring up. Before I began my pre-nursing studies, I was unsure about which area I wanted to work in, but I had a strong interest in psych. Then, when I actually went through clinicals, I learned that I despise psych. nursing. I learned I had an interest in the academic field of psychology, but an aversion to psychiatric nursing. I couldn't get out of the psych hospital fast enough at the end of each psych clinical. I wanted to take a shower in my brain. Students often change what they think they want to do in clinicals. It's good to be open. I found my NICU clinical rotation to be fascinating/exciting, and I never anticipated that.

In my nursing school, we started out in a med/surg unit first semester. A few (I think 3?) students never came back after their first med/surg clinical. I remember talking to one of these guys in lecture, and he seemed so enthusiastic about the idea of nursing. I also remember looking at my classmates faces during our first week in med/surg. For those who had never worked in direct patient care in a hospital, they had wide eyes (literally) at the pace of the work. It was like it busted some of their illusions about the idea of nursing (me included).

Diaper, RN · Jul 28, 2009

I'm also working in ICU & step down ICU. Sometimes I worked 3-4 days in a row for 12 hours shift. It's exhausting to work few days in a row but I enjoy having more day offs afterward.

Nursing's a very stressful and demanding job. During my dayoffs, I just spend most of time catching up with my sleep. When I get home from work, I'd be too tired to do anything. However, I like the satisfaction from my job that I could not get from anywhere else. If you like working in a stressful environment and enjoy helping sick people, then go for it !

angel337, MSN, RN · Jul 28, 2009

Finically security is great as a RN, but heads up majority of the responses you will get will most likely say"Don't become a Nurse for a money"

and this truly annoys me. i'm sorry but i cannot work for free. salary is always a major component when people pick a career. i listen to the residents at the hospital talk about going into a specialty because family medicine pay sucks. no one criticizes docs for wanting to be compensated. i don't think nurses make enough for what we put up with.