Working two nursing jobs?

[Cardiac_Nurse1]

Hi All! I am looking for insight/experience from anyone who has worked more than one job as an RN. Essentially, I am looking to move from nights to days, but haven't been able to commit to leaving my cardiac critical care world. There is a part time days position available and I'm trying to consider all my options. I cannot afford to drop down to part time completely so I am considering the possibility of two part time positions. One would be weekends which would open the possibility of working during the week.

I know there are many factors to consider. I have already talked to HR regarding benefits/401k info and those are not factors for me. Does working two part time jobs vs. one full time effect the chances of being hired full-time down the road? I am interested in hearing your experiences in these type of situations, whether it's for the same hospital or two different places!

Thank you! :)

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

In mid seventies, I'd work full time nights in CCU/ teaching hospital, & days in a pvt. Doctors hospital.......pacu.....the pacu work ended up as me becoming their new ER....supv. .so I said goodbye night time CCU gig.......I was in my mid 20's with more stamina......not possible after 45 years RN, & 68 years

[cleback]

I work two.... Both self-schedule, so balancing the two has been good. My biggest issue is one job requires a lot of inservices/meetings/random trainings on new equipment... so it's hard to schedule those incidentals in an already (usually) full schedule. A word of caution, though, that a lot of times projects and leadership opportunities go to the more full-time staff, so if you were counting on those types of activities to boost your career, you may be short-changing yourself working two part-time gigs.

[Davey Do]

In mid seventies.......I was in my mid 20's with more stamina......

Yeah- back in the mid nineties, when I was in my 30's,I had much more stamina, and worked 36 hours at a LTC facility in order to have medical insurance, plus worked for two Home Health agencies making visits on top of doing my free lance Art thing.

Now I work 36 hours a week at Wrongway Regional Medical Center and have more time to pursue my interest:

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[MikeyT-c-IV]

Several years ago I had a FT working Tuesday-Friday and every other weekend plus a PRN working every Monday at a different facility. I found it difficult to keep up with all of the staff meetings and education requirements between both facilities and it just took up too much of my time. So I dropped the PRN (I had worked at that facility for 10 years... that was difficult to leave.)

In the meantime I picked up 2 PRN's (that I still work) that do not have all of those requirements. All education is done through email or online which helps with my sanity and time management. My two PRN's are very easy jobs and I have control over my schedule. Either I can, or can't. No explanation needed.

I can't see a reason why holding two part-time positions could hurt your chances of being hired FT down the road. Maybe someone else will have insight on that topic.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I had three jobs at one point :) It didn't stop me from getting hired full-time...in fact, I had kept one of the other jobs while working full-time. I had to eventually drop it as I was spreading myself too thin.

Working 2 (or 3) jobs at the same time isn't going to affect your hireability.

However, each job will have its own scheduling requirements. Also, be prepared that each job will expect to be your priority and may not take kindly to being asked to accommodate the other job. So you will need to pay careful attention when planning your schedule and providing your availability, so you don't overextend or double-book yourself.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

I work two RN jobs. One FT in NICU working three twelves per week and a PRN job on an adult med/surg unit. Juggling two part-time jobs would be difficult as each would have their own scheduling requirements that could overlap each other.