What hours do you work?

I'm an adult health CNS and I work in a large nephrology practice. I am responsible for the medical management of 200 (approx) dialysis patients. I work anywhere from 6am to 7 pm and I try to limit my hours to 50/week. I am also responsible for one weekend (7am to 7pm) call per month which is kinda a misnomer. I actually have to travel 50 miles one way to another city and do rounds on the nephrology patients in those hospitals. Plus, I take call from the dialysis units during this weekend call.

Nursing, in general, is not a 9-5 type of job. However, is it possible to find regular working hours as an NP? I want a predicatable schedule (ideally M-F, 9-5, no weekends or holidays) that leaves lot of time for leisure activities. Am I kidding myself thinking that I will get closer to this type of schedule as an NP?

Please share the hours, schedule, and setting in which you work as an NP. Thanks!

As a fellow Michigander (I read your previous posts), I can tell you that there is a wide variability in work hours for NP's in the Southeast Michigan area of our state. My first job as an NP was with an academic Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation group working 8:00-4:30 PM, Mondays to Fridays, no holidays and on-call responsibilities. The job involved medical management for the in-patient rehab units in an acute rehab hospital that used to be exclusively affiliated with a medical school and is part of a system of hospitals that are mostly specialty focused. Job also involved PM&R consults for acute care hospitals within the group of hospitals in the system.

As nice as that schedule seemed, I felt unchallenged and wanted to be involved in patients with higher acuity so I ended up changing to my current job as an NP in adult critical care. Current work setting is another academic hospital with a closed medical model where physicians and mid-level providers are part of a single medical group in the entire hospital. Job involves coverage of 16-bed Adult Cardiothoracic Surgical ICU (fresh CABG's, valve repairs or replacements, heart and lung transplants, ventricular assist device implantations, aneurysm and dissection repairs). NP's (and recently PA's) work 12 hours shifts (6:00-6:00), 3 days a week. Night shift rotations for a duration of 1-2 weeks following 4 weeks of straight day shift. Some weekend coverage (no more than one Saturday or one Sunday a month). Not quite banker's hours but it works for me.

Finally would also like to remind you that employment outlook for NP's appear to be picking up in this side of the state. Two of the biggest Metro Detroit health systems are rumored to have many open positions for mid-level providers and since I work for one of these hospitals, I can tell you that we have at least 11 open positions for NP's alone. If this trend continues, that will leave many options for NP's as far as specialties and work schedules.