What would you do? Stay at home and work for half pay??

[libbyswin]

I have had some major professional slams to the face over the last year. I was a charge nurse for 5 yrs and my manager was trying to fire a good nurse who used to also be a manager, and several of us stood up for this nurse and to make a long long story way short, we all got put on final write ups for the stupidest things, none of ever having been written up before. We went to HR and they did nothing. Most of the floor (80%) turned over. I resigned with notice.

A few months later I got rehired at the same hospital to surgery. I HATED SURGERY! I would go home in tears from the nastiness of the other nurses and some of the Dr's. It just wasn't for me. I worked there less than a year. So here I am again and very very gun shy.

I have worked for 16 yrs full time, I'm nearly 50 yrs old and I'm just flat out gun shy about getting into something new. I suddenly went from feeling like i was everyones mentor and (genuinly) everyone loved working with me (before we were stabbed in the back) but wow surgery nurses in that unit must have took a MEAN GIRL class in college. I'm way to old to be dealing with people who run to the manager because you sneezed.

So I have been applying for jobs, but I just can't find much out there. I was offered a dream job of telephone triage, 30 hours per week, 7-8 hour shifts 4 days in a row. Benifits, pto etc. They send you to another state all expenses paid while they train you, give you the computers, set up your faxes and phones etc. NO out of pocket.

Sounds great huh? No traffic? Wake up at 12:55pm to be at work at 1pm! Shower during your lunch break, start dinner on your 15 min break..when you get off work you simply walk out the office door and your home. Bunny slippers and flannel jammies are your dress codes.

Thing is, I was making 38.02 per hour with 5.00 shift diff for working nights (and 3.00 if i was in charge) IF i was called in on call I would make over 60.00 per hour. NOw this is with lots of years under my belt. This new job pays 24.00 per hour with some sort of incentive bonus plan after 6 months. Benifits are more because part time, but hubby can carry my insurance.

With my old pay and night diff (this is not nights but would be more like second shift) this job is about 40% paycut (tho less hours x6) I keep trying to weigh the good with the bad. Pay is the primary disadvantage. That and I'm terrified I'll lose my skills. However getting a PRN job when you cant work 4 days per week (set schedule) is hard. Most PRN jobs need you available to fill in empty slots.

Again I'm almost 50, have swollen ankles and legs, high blood pressure and am prone (lately) to some anxiety issues (nothing i need meds for just stress) The traffic in Baltimore is AWFUL so I will also gain 6 hours of my life back not being in traffic 3 days per week...plus gasoline. (20 mile drive takes btw 45 and 60 minutes each way). No more committee meetings at 2pm, no more bosses breathing down your neck, no more angry patients throwing urinals at me, or thier adult children grilling me. I think i'm just burned out.

If i take this job do you consider it lowering myself? Will I ever be employable to a hospital again. I'm ADN and so many hospitals are pressuring me to go back for my BSN and I'm sorry but with a son about to enter college and the fact my prereqs would take me 18 months, I just can't fathom going back to school for 3-4 more years! For what??? To do the same job I've been doing for 16 years!?

Things would be very tight...and I'm scared if i make this decision, I can't ever go back on it. I know most employers look at what you have done the last 2 years of your career.

Advise??

[Genista, BSN, RN]

Congrats on the new job offer. Do you want to do the triage job? There is a chance that you will lose your hands on skills, yes, and that it might make you less desireable for rehire to acute care after a period of time. Are you okay with this? You also have lots of experience that might make you excell at triage, and maybe you'll really like it & won't even miss acute care. I think any career change is scary. Ideally, if you want to keep acute care skills, you might want to try pick up some work a few shifts/month. Maybe agency? Not sure. Some of my coworkers went agency for the very reason of having more control over their schedule. Good luck & hope everything works out well for you.

[RNewbie]

If you can afford to take a pay cut I would say give the triage job a try. If you don't like it you can look for something else. If you are worried about your skills, you can work agency and create your own schedule. Working a few agency shifts a month will help you maintain your skills and supplement your income. Good luck, hope things work out in your favor!

[libbyswin]

Thank ya'll. I can sorta afford the pay cut, but in a couple of years my son will be off to Jr college, which is fine but then he wants to go to college and live in the dorms which as we all know is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. I was planning on taking loans out on my 401k but may not have that much for that now. When your working and taking a loan they just take small amounts out of your pay, but this way i cant really do that now.

I think i just need someone to tell me that it's ok to do this. Agency may not be a bad deal, but trying to find one that needs me is the thing. I think I'll go with this and look for PRN or something, even home health..just to keep me in touch with patients.

I just don't think i can pass up the idea of working at home, even if its for such a paycut...i mean even at nearly 25/hr where on earth or who on earth gets that kind of oppurtunity to work from home even making that kind of money. There has to be something to say about decreased stress, no micromanagement, and no urine or poop being tossed about!

[mindlor]

I suggest you do whatever is required to find happiness. Perhpas home health? With your experience they would be chomping at the bit to have you,.......

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

First off, congrats on the job!! This is awesome!! Take it, my dear. What you will save in gas money, wear and tear on your car, uniforms, lunches, and all the other incidentals of nursing practice will even out in time. You could do one weekend a month in home health, urgent care, a clinic--if you feel like you would lose your clinical skills. There are even per diems in an MD's office or surgical day that you could do on occasion. But for now, this sounds like a great gig, you said there are bonuses, which is also a plus.

And regarding your son--a couple of years is a ways away, and who knows what he will decide to do with his life then. Who knows what scholarships will be available (and he should apply for ALL of them) what the school he would like to go to will offer him, and with the FASFA what he can get on his own. That he would like to be in a dorm may not be feasible at first. And perhaps he should look for a part time job, full time in the summer. If you need to contribute, by then you may have a raise--or the bonuses that you get could be put in a seperate account. He may choose to go to a trade or vocational school. Those have financial aid as well. That he can get. Finding that when the student decides that they have to contribute to their own education makes it far more real and they are far more serious about it then if Mom foots the entire bill. Commuter students by far get the lowest college cost. In my opinion, parents need to get off of the "I am responsible for paying the entire cost of college of choice for my kid" bandwagon. Just my couple of cents.

You need to do what makes you happy in your work. This sounds like an ideal situation for now. Perdiem postions are just that--when you are available. And even if it is one weekend a month. Especially with your experience.

Good luck and keep us posted!!

[libbyswin]

yeah I don't want to saddle my kid with any debt before he even really grows up. I do find myself on that "gotta send my kid to college bandwagon". I don't think i have to pay for every day expenses, but the tuition, books and dorm are my responsibility. Unfortunatly between my husband and I we make about 90k a year so we really dont seem to be eligible for any financial aid. UGH. Funny when i was raising all my kids we had to have the big house, the 2 cars, the good jobs, and with those things come bills. Those bills pile up on you, new roofs, new airconditioning system (in the last 2 yrs mind you and my roof had a deductable of 3 percent of teh cost of my house!) Crazy bad bills. Then my daughter totalled 2 cars one of which i just finished paying off even tho it was in the junk yard 3 yrs ago. One daughter got into trouble and i spent 8k on a lawyer...yeah i know. It seems you can never get a head. Now i have a grandson, who lived with me till he was 3, and that was a financial burdon (i cant believe how much day care is now days!!!)

Its all tough in this world, but at my age, i'm just BURNT out on the bedside thing. If i get one more manager with a chip on thier shoulder sending me an email saying "i need to see you in my office monday morning" or one more 23 yr old nurse who thinks she knows everything because she used to be a cheerleader in college and that college was a better one than i went to...i'm going to crack.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

I think i just need someone to tell me that it's ok to do this. Agency may not be a bad deal, but trying to find one that needs me is the thing. I think I'll go with this and look for PRN or something, even home health..just to keep me in touch with patients.

Have you looked into Nursefinders? I am in D.C. and they are the agency used most down here. They pay around $45/ hr, and obviously that is without benefits. As far as I can tell Nursefinders has a need for a variety of specialties too.

[JBudd, MSN]

I'll say it. Yes, its okay. You need to destress, get your health back, enjoy that 6 hours off the roads, put your feet up long enough to not have swelling anymore.

Sounds like you have taken on far more than just taking care of your kids. You are also bailing them out of their own troubles. Yeah, I know, that's what parents do. Me too. But... comes a time they have to take responsibility for themselves. Youngest? You don't have to put him in a dorm. More fun? Better experience? sure. But going into personal financial problems just to pay "rent" that is far more than living off campus? Need to weigh the pros and cons seriously here.

And, as others have said; there are more options for extra part time pay. Agency, home health, school nursing, corrections, etc. Agencies send us a wide variety of nurses, I doubt they would be turning you of all people down!

[RNperdiem, RN]

Another benefit with this job: "You wrecked your car? Sorry sweetie, but the new job doesn't allow me much extra cash."

Sometimes it is not how much money you make; it is how much you keep.

Take the job, and best of luck in your future.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Oh, do it. I can't tell you how much more than money is the ability to manage your own time. Besides, who says you have to go back to the hospital? I know, I know, it's scary going to something you've never done; I did the same thing and it was a week or two of shock before I looked around and say, "Hey now, this is all-dang-right!!"

A year or two of telephonic work will beget more telephonic work, perhaps as a disease mgmt nurse for an insurance company, or a telephonic case manager for work comp, or all sorts of other options. Believe me, it's really nice out here working in home offices. We love it. Much easier on the old knees, too.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Thank ya'll. I can sorta afford the pay cut, but in a couple of years my son will be off to Jr college, which is fine but then he wants to go to college and live in the dorms which as we all know is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. I was planning on taking loans out on my 401k but may not have that much for that now. When your working and taking a loan they just take small amounts out of your pay, but this way i cant really do that now.

I think i just need someone to tell me that it's ok to do this. Agency may not be a bad deal, but trying to find one that needs me is the thing. I think I'll go with this and look for PRN or something, even home health..just to keep me in touch with patients.

I just don't think i can pass up the idea of working at home, even if its for such a paycut...i mean even at nearly 25/hr where on earth or who on earth gets that kind of oppurtunity to work from home even making that kind of money. There has to be something to say about decreased stress, no micromanagement, and no urine or poop being tossed about!

I could have wrote your post. Frankly, I would Kill (not really;)) for a phone triage position. You are not getting any younger (I'm older than you;)....52ish) with a 15 and 16 year old. But besdide being older....I have an auto-immune dosorder....no one wants that sick old nurse.

Hospital nursing is changing. It will get worse before it gets better (if it ever does). You can always pick up some per-diem if that is what you want. What do I do? I hang out here and help the students. I tutor on the side.

As a seasoned RN of 34 years.....I am giving you permission. Take the triage position and get a per-diem if you want to play now and then! Withthe price of gas look at the money youi'l be saving! You deserve it!