What would you do if you were me?

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Hello!

So some of you may be familiar with my story, but I was put into a bad position last December, lost my job, and have been trying to recover since.

Over the last few months, I have been busy volunteer nursing with my parish and some other groups, and putting out applications.

I also decided to try to get back with a free clinic I had volunteered for about 2 years ago. It is a good group of people, and they were happy to have me, but they were SO SLOW to pick me up as a volunteer! It took forever to get emails or calls responded to, they pushed off my orientation till the end of this month, and they had a ton of applications and paperwork I had to fill out and hear back on. It has been about a month of run around.

So fast forward to the present.

I got called in for an interview for a really great job!! Yeay! It seemed they like me, and hopefully they will pick me up by the end of the month! Things are looking good!

Here is the thing... It is a full-time position. And if I take the job, I am not so sure I am going to want to be working 6 days a week (5 days paid work, 1 day volunteering at the free clinic).

I have a family, plus I plan on still keeping my other volunteer work going. (Which is all evening and weekend - no conflict)

But I am supposed to start my first day orienting with the free clinic at the end of the month. And if this job doesn't work out, I would still like to volunteer, since I would have the time.

So what would you do if you were me?

-Would you go ahead and do the orientation at the free clinic, knowing there is a good chance I won't be able to volunteer very often if I get the job? (Maybe once every other month, at most?)

-Would you tell them about the potential job and potential schedule conflicts and not continue on with volunteering? (This saves them from having to take time to orient me, but makes me look like a flake, and what if the job doesn't pan out?)

Anyway, just hoping to get some opinions or ideas....

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Specializes in PACU, OR.

I would go ahead and do the orientation, but be up front and honest with your church organization. If you can volunteer just once a month, or every second month, it will be invaluable experience for you.

Like I say, just inform the church that you may not be able to work every weekend. I think the worst that can happen is that they may decide to postpone the orientation until after you find out whether you have the job or not.

Good luck, glad to hear you've fallen on your feet! :)

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Specializes in ICU,ED, Corrections, dodging med-surg.

How bad do you need the money? If you are in dire straits, then do the orientation. If you get the job, but still feel committment, see if there is something that can be worked out.Food on the table comes first.

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Specializes in CEN, CPEN, RN-BC.

Drop the volunteer gig. Times are hard and nursing jobs are scarce. Don't divide yourself.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma.

Doing some volunteer work always looks good, but you said they were really slow in "picking you up." You've got some choices to make, but first you need to decide on your priorities. I'd suggest you sit and list your priorities along with pertinent details. Maybe put each priority on a separate sheet of paper (a la med cards! ugh) so you can mix and match to get things sorted out for yourself.

Family always comes first for me, but my answers might not be right for your situation. Decide what works best for you with a strong emphasis on happiness. The volunteer gig must not have been desperate or they would've grabbed you faster, in case you're thinking of dropping them. Or maybe put them off a while to get the paid job in order. Try not to put up artificial barriers for yourself, or second guess how these or those will react to requests for flexibility. Best I can think of right now, good luck, hope it all works out really well for you.

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Specializes in NICU, ER, OR.

if it were me, the job that pays me would be absolute priority. no question.

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Such good posts! :yeah:Do what you can to volunteer, but take the job.

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Now the plot thickened even more!

Out of the blue today, I just got a call from the Kidney Center around the corner from me! They are following up on a resume I had sent in a month and a half ago! And want to interview me! I was so shocked, I don't think I even sounded right on the phone! I had comepletely written them off!

So here is what I need to decide now:

1.) Full -time HH job. Job sounds like it is nearly offered at this point. I love the sound of the job and could probably get a confirmation by the end of the week. The money could be good. I would love the autonomy and the work doesn't sound too complex.

But it is full time and I would be driving my car all over the place to places I have never been to before in sun, rain, hail, snow. I would be working full-time salary, which could wind up being a huge job as far as time commitment. I would not be able to volunteer for much of anything anymore. My husband could be a real pain when it comes to supporting me in my job choice. Gas prices are dicey and could really cut into my paycheck if they suddenly jump.

2.) Kidney Center. 13-hour shifts, 3 days a week. Center is right around the corner, so I could walk to work and my husband and son could visit me on my lunch breaks. I know I could do the job and the job would be somewhat predictable. I would have a lot more days off. I could keep doing my volunteer work and my husband would be more supporting and have more freedom.

Cons - I would have to pass up a job I have almost already have lined up to interview for this position. The pay would probably be less than the HH job. (Not sure by how much) I might get bored with the job. I might not land the center around the corner at first, and might have to drive to another center for 6 months of orientation.

3.) Keep doing what I have been doing, which is being a volunteer, mom, and BLS instructor, and make my husband go to work! I love my life right now and for the first time in a while, I feel like I can balance my life!

Cons: $$$ and I don't think my husband would be happy with me! Plus I would be throwing away a lot of hard work.

Arrggghhh! For two months, I couldn't get anyone to touch me with a 10-foot pole, and now in less than a week, I have all these offers and don't know what to do!!!

What should I do???????????

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Specializes in PACU, OR.

Sorry, I only noticed this by clicking on "my account", some of my email notifications just don't come through.

I don't know if you've made a decision yet, but one statement made me wonder....are you currently the sole breadwinner? If you took a job, would hubby sit back and let you go out and work?

Clarify that, then I'll offer an opinion :)

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I would take the Kidney center job.. just being able to walk to work and only 3 days a week.. reevaluate this one in your own mind!

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Specializes in ED, ICU, Education.

If you want to do both, you will make the time to do both. It sounds like you are a strong, persistent woman. You can do it!

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Hi!

Update on what has happened so far...

I went to my interview at the Kidney Center. So glad I did, because the job was not what I thought it was at all! The job rotates every 6 months from center to center in the area, which means I could be at my local center for 6 months, then have a 1-hour commute 6 months later. The pay was nearly $10 less that my current salary rate, and did not cover mileage. I would have to attend mandatory training on my off-days, and a big part of my day would be supervising techs.

To add to it, I just did not like to vibe of the place. No one was smiling, talking or being friendly. Things were very "proceedural," if you get my drift.

So I accepted the job offer from the HH job, and have been giving my notice to my volunteer chairites. I feel this is the best thing to do.

My husband is employed per-diem in the facilities department at my old hospital, and while he says he wants to be a stay-home-dad, the reality is he really can't handle being with a toddler for more than 3 full-days in a row without losing it, so I have been shopping for local GOOD daycares in the area who can watch my son part-time.

And, yeah, hubby has some "direction issues" right now that we are working on, but one battle at a time!

Hopefully, by the time my orientation starts I will have lined something up!

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