Whats a good position to be available for kids schedules.

SassyTachyRN · Dec 30, 2013

I don't think there's a whole lot out there where you'd be able to drop them off and pick them up... School only really lasts for 7 hours so you'd have to find a job where you only work 6-6.5hrs. I'm a school nurse with a great schedule but in still can't drop my kids off and pick them up. If I worked at my kids' schools I could bring them with me and take them home, but I don't. I drop my daughter off at school (before school care program) at 7am and am at work by 730. I get home at 4 when she's getting off the bus.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Dec 30, 2013

Really, if this is a serious concern of yours, perhaps you should reconsider nursing school. or day care, or both. A new grad requires extensive orientation- running into the months. It involved either 5, 8-hour days or three, 12 hour shifts. And getting hired for a day position is an iffy proposition at best.

As the previous poster said, there are few positions available to a new grad that are 6 hours in length. Part-time hours are usually awarded to more experienced staff.

SassyTachyRN · Dec 31, 2013

Really if this is a serious concern of yours, perhaps you should reconsider nursing school. or day care, or both. A new grad requires extensive orientation- running into the months. It involved either 5, 8-hour days or three, 12 hour shifts. And getting hired for a day position is an iffy proposition at best. As the previous poster said, there are few positions available to a new grad that are 6 hours in length. Part-time hours are usually awarded to more experienced staff.[/quote']
Exactly. When I worked at the hospital I couldn't go to part time for several years. My orientation was 2.5 months of full time days and then I went to full time nights. Part time in nursing usually means 3 8-hr shifts or 2 12-hr shifts.
Even if you worked in an office (which I don't recommend as a new nurse), you'd still be working 8-530 or longer. Thing about nursing is that you're not done until all the patients are taken care of and all the documentation is complete. 12 hour shifts turn into 16 sometimes and sometimes my 8 hour shifts turn into 10 or more.

ready4nu · Dec 31, 2013

Just curious why you wouldn't recommend a Dr's office for a new nurse? I graduate in May with my associate's and begin my BSN in the fall, so was thinking that even.though I really wouldn't want an office job that I may need to settle for anything I can get.

SunnyMindRN · Dec 31, 2013

Home health might be a good option. I hear some companies are flexible with schedules.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Dec 31, 2013

Keep in mind that new grad jobs with plum hours are hard to come by, and are rare to find in acute care (i.e., hospitals). Most facilities require staff to work every other weekend or every third weekend, as well as on selected holidays. New grads frequently start on nights or second shift because many facilities often have waiting lists for day shifts. Most positions are 12 hour shifts.

And I'll warn you now: playing the kids card to get out of working lousy hours/days will not make you a lot of friends. Nursing is 24/7/365.

If your family is your priority, I can respect that. You can certainly try applying to acute care positions because you never know if you'll snag one with great hours. However, you may have better luck finding family-friendly hours outside of acute care: community/public health, outpatient, same-day/ambulatory surgery, partial hospitalization programs, schools, private practices, and clinics are some suggestions. Also consider places/positions with 8 hour shifts instead of 12s.

FlyingScot, RN · Dec 31, 2013

Just curious why you wouldn't recommend a Dr's office for a new nurse? I graduate in May with my associate's and begin my BSN in the fall, so was thinking that even.though I really wouldn't want an office job that I may need to settle for anything I can get.[/QUOTE]
Be careful how you word things. This is completely insulting to every nurse that does office work. I work in a hospital based clinic now after many years of advanced practice nursing. We just started a new grad internship and it is a COMPLETE disaster!! Office/clinic work is not as easy as many people seem to think. Just ask the RN candidate on a tour of our clinic who got to see me bagging a patient on the floor!!! She withdrew her application immediately!

ready4nu · Dec 31, 2013

Oh geez! I was just waiting for the day when someone would jump on something I said as I have seen happen to so many people here. LOL. I apologize from the bottom of my heart for saying something that you felt was an insult.

I do not want to work in a doctors office. Clinic work, however, may interest me. I am speaking about a small neighborhood office, which is fine if someone wants to do that. I don't. Settling for anything I can get means settling for what I personally am not looking for, I was not saying I consider it to be a crappy job.

FlyingScot, RN · Dec 31, 2013

Oh geez! I was just waiting for the day when someone would jump on something I said as I have seen happen to so many people here. LOL. I apologize from the bottom of my heart for saying something that you felt was an insult.
I do not want to work in a doctors office. Clinic work, however, may interest me. I am speaking about a small neighborhood office, which is fine if someone wants to do that. I don't. Settling for anything I can get means settling for what I personally am not looking for, I was not saying I consider it to be a crappy job.

I didn't "jump" on you! Unfortunately tone is difficult to determine on a forum and it goes both ways. When people say they are "settling" for something the implication is often that it isn't good enough. If that wasn't your intent then I am sorry. In addition, there seems to be a huge knowledge deficit related to what clinic/office nurses deal with. It is frequently assumed to be "easy" or a great place for new grads to start, or not "real" nursing when the reality is much different. While you did not say all of these things you did question why it wouldn't be a good place for a new grad. Well, the "bagging" incident might be the place to start. Not everyone who goes to an office/clinic is well. Many people are actually very sick but didn't want to go to the ER. There are extremely limited resources in equipment and manpower. As a nurse you need to be able to rapidly and accurately assess patients, you need to be able to critically think at a much more advanced level than a new grad usually is able, you need to be able to prioritize and efficiently complete multiple tasks in a very short period of time. It's much more than vital signs, phone calls and paperwork (although there is that too which just complicates things). I hope this answers your question.

SassyTachyRN · Dec 31, 2013

Just curious why you wouldn't recommend a Dr's office for a new nurse? I graduate in May with my associate's and begin my BSN in the fall so was thinking that even.though I really wouldn't want an office job that I may need to settle for anything I can get.[/quote']
I was basically going to say the same thing as the above poster. Most office jobs require experience as an RN and for good reason. You need really superb assessment skills, which is typically learned in an acute care setting. In an office you'll be phone triaging which you have to remember takes excellent assessment skills without having the patient in front of you. You'll also need really great patient education skills which honestly comes from a lot of experience.

ceebeejay · Dec 31, 2013

New grads don't get pick of the litter. Get the best job you can that accomodates your lifestyle. In the future, when you have lots of experience, more doors will open. Ambulatory surgery is pretty good for hours, but again, it's not pat and dry either. The only thing I feel bad about is the loss of set time with my kids since I started as a nurse. It's been a difficult juggle and sometimes I feel that I am nursing strangers, when I should be nursing my own sick kid. It's not easy and there is no perfect job. And, to say to consider something else is to say that nurses should not have children, which is silly. You just have to work it out between your support system, your kids, and your options. Good luck.