Depressed...don't know what to do

[momof2buns]

*sigh* I need some advice...

Ok, there is Not a nursing shortage here. The biggest hospital in town only hired 8 students (we have like 68 graduating looking for jobs) and I was one of the lucky ones to be offered a job. Here's the thing...it's 12 hr shifts for four days straight-that's 7a to 7p. I wouldn't see my kids at all!! I would have to leave by 6:00am and would get home after they were in bed. The patientcensus has been low, soa lot ofstaff are being sent home. Now I know why they really aren't hiring many folks. I would have to drive an hour to work total daily only to be sent home after a couple of hours of work... Is it really worth it?? Here's my options:

#1 - Keep the job at the hospital
Advantages: Its a JOB! excellent experience and great to put on a resume if I ever did something else, pay is good-it's $20/hr

Disadvantages: Far from home, wouldn't see my kids for almost a week, unstable working hours-a 40 hr wk week isn't promised, need to find childcare that is able to keep them odd hours, especially this summer...

#2 - Work at my kids' school (opening in the library)
Advantages: on my kids school schedule, off in the summer, I can go back to school and finish up my bachelors degree(have my associates right now), no childcare needed, no commuting

Disadvantages: low low pay, not nursing jobso it wouldn't help me get a nursing job in the future

To me, spending time with my kids mean more than money and I would do it in a heartbeat(I should have been a teacher-I'm so stupid-LOL:blushan...BUT I dont' know if I should pass up the ICU nurse offer.

So what would YOU do??????

 

[Flashy]

You sound like you already know what you want to do to be honest.

Could you maybe volunteer at the hospital or anything? Then that could be added to your CV and could potentially help in the future.

 

[okiron]

I decided to be a sahm and live on Errik's income so I could be with my kid so I'd be a bit bias on the advice I give you

 

[pamnock]

If you are able to, I'd advise option #2.



Pam

 

[slavetoabunny]

Keep in mind that this is coming from someone who has never had children. I personally think that career-wise, it's best to start working in your chosen profession as soon as possible after graduation. At least take the job for a while to get the experience under your belt. My niece graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering. She took a year off and toured New Zealand and Australia (she was only supposed to be gone for 3 months and her parents actually had to fly over and drag her home, lol). Anyway, she had an extremely difficult time finding work when she got home due to this.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I would go with option 2. You get to spend more time with your kids, don't have to pay child care, don't have to commute. The money you could make as a nurse may no be more when you factor in child care and gas. The time with your kids is priceless. The nursing job may not give you the job security you want or the hours. Although the library job pays less, it seems more secure and a bit of a better fit for you right now.
Would it be possible to get a job at a clinic instead of the hospital? Even if it is only part time, you would continue your nursing and hopefully get to see your kids more.

 

[momof2buns]

Thanks guys for the advice, I really appreciate you all taking the time to write. We'll see what happens, hopefully this time next month everything will be different and I'll wonder why I even worried about it. Thanks again!

 

[DeniseJP]

Korr_and_Sophie wrote:

I would go with option 2. You get to spend more time with your kids, don't have to pay child care, don't have to commute. The money you could make as a nurse may no be more when you factor in child care and gas. The time with your kids is priceless. The nursing job may not give you the job security you want or the hours. Although the library job pays less, it seems more secure and a bit of a better fit for you right now.
Would it be possible to get a job at a clinic instead of the hospital? Even if it is only part time, you would continue your nursing and hopefully get to see your kids more.

I would go with option 2 myself...kids are kids for such a short time - mine are 19 and almost 18 and I don't know where the time went. Back when I had to work, with little kidsmy hubby worked days and I worked nights 4PM to 1AM but flexed hours so that I did not have to pay for day care.

Does your kids' school need a school nurse? That may be an option to look in to.

Denise

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Many nursing jobs have gone to 4 12's. Honestly, I think in this economy, I'd take the ICU job. The kids will see you on the 3 days you're home.

 

[JennJenn]

I would personally take the ICU job. Its great experience and if you don't like the schedule you can transfer somewhere different after 6 months. Once you have ICU experience you can go anywhere, and I'm sure you will find a position with a better schedule with no problem. Working 4 12s in a row will definitely be difficult, and not being able to see your kids as much will be very hard, but if you think you can make it through 6 months of it then I would go for it!

Another option would be to take the job at the school and continue looking for nursing jobs. As the economy starts to improve more jobs will be opening up.

I wouldn't start your BSN until you have the job situation figured out. A lot of hospitals offer BSN programs in house and will pay the tuition. You definitely don't want to pay all that money if you don't have to!

Good luck! It's tough for us nurses right now!

 

[SOOOSKA]

Wow, I'm surprised about the job situation for nurses in the States. Here in Canada it's one of the hot job prospects. No shortage of jobs here in the Nursing Field.

I unfortunately gave up my Nursinglicence a few years back and am trying to get it back. I'm not sure if I will have to retrain which I really don't want to at the moment.

Good luck with whatever job you take.

Susan

 

[BethM]

Personally, I agree with Patti. Especially in this economy!

If nursing is really the career you want to follow, you will probably find it difficult to get back into it, if you take time off from nursing now. It would be easier if you already had some nursing experience, to take time away from it later, then go back to it.

I took some time off after college, and it really hurt my career prospects. I am no longer working in the field I studied, as it was just impossible to get that time and experience back. My MIL is a nurse, and she works the 12-hr. shifts, too. She did take a couple years off, and worked at a "fun" job, but ended up going back to nursing, because her "fun" job didn't pay the bills, and as much as she loved it, she also loved having money to pay the utilities and feed herself. Because she already had many years of nursing experience, she was able to find a job easily, but she says that her hospital isn't really hiring less-experienced nurses right now.

I also agree with JennJenn's suggestion of commiting yourself to 6 months of the ICU job, then deciding how you feel about it from there. It would give you a chance to get some experience, as well as try out the schedule, and look into your future prospects.

But, if spending time with your kids is more important to you than bringing home a paycheck, and you don't mind a bit of a career setback, you should try for the other job at the school. (Is it guaranteed you'd get it? What would you do if you turned down the nursing job, then didn't get the school library position?)

It really depends on what you want right now, and how you want to approach it.

 

[fuzz16]

i would take the nursing job. i am a single full time mom and so when i was working 40-50 hours a week i was miserable without being able to see my daughter. i missed EVERYTHING from her crawling, her first word, he standing up. but it paid off, cause the money was good and i know that i could support my daughter and i

 

[momof2buns]

Thanks for the many responses! I'm going to try my hardest to make the ICU job work. Deep down I know it would be a mistake if I didn't jump at the opportunity now. I'm so lucky to have been one of the eight who received an offer, and with the economy it wouldn't be smart to say no-and if I did, I'm certain that I would never be considered again with them. Thanks guys for the support, it means a lot.

 

[kirst3buns]

I would take the nursing job. If it doesn't work out you can always change later and you will have more job experience. I work in a hospital (but not a nurse) and it seems as though once you get a job, after a certain period of time you can look to transfer to other nursing positions/shifts. I don't know how it works at your hospital, but I suspect that it will be easier to get something within the hospital once you are already working there.

Just remember, if it doesn't work out, at least you've tried it and you will know for sure. The longer you wait to get a nursing job after you are done with school, the harder it will be. Go for it.

 

[SunnyCait]

I think that was a smart move.

Yeah, it will be tough for a bit and the kids may not see you as much... But it's not forever. You're doing what is best for them in the long run; you're building a career, which in turn will support them as they grow up.

I asked my GF (who is on her last year to become an RN) and she said she would jump on that so fast, because ICU nurses are practically invaluable, and that's GREAT to have on a resume. I think she's jealous. Haha!!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

momof2buns wrote:

Thanks for the many responses! I'm going to try my hardest to make the ICU job work. Deep down I know it would be a mistake if I didn't jump at the opportunity now. I'm so lucky to have been one of the eight who received an offer, and with the economy it wouldn't be smart to say no-and if I did, I'm certain that I would never be considered again with them. Thanks guys for the support, it means a lot.

I think you made the right choice. I used to be in Personnel and Employee relations and if we offered someone a job and they declined...... if they came back it was noted on their file and they were *discounted* over it. They might get a job but they weren't the first choice.

Good luck!

 

[fffarmergirl]

I feel for you. I'm an ER nurse (did ICU for a few years) and drive 67 miles to work and 67 miles back. I was working 12-hour night shifts in the ICU when my son was young and it pretty much sucked. It was a lot of stress because I went straight into the ICU from nursing school.

My son is 18 now and he turned out just fine, and he knows I love him. I gave him a lot of attention on my days off and he doesn't seem to have suffered any long-term damage.

That being said, I've now decided to cut way, way back on the bills so I can cut way, way back on my hours. I wish I could have done it when my son was younger so I could have enjoyed more time with him, but it just wasn't possible then.

If I had it all to do over again, I never would have gone into nursing and we wouldn't have bought new cars or used credit cards. I would have stayed home and worked a low-paying job close to home. It's just not worth the stress. A car is just a car and a $2,000 would get groceries just as well as a $30,000 one. Lesson learned.

Regarding the nursing shortage - I think that's a thing of the past. None of the new grads here can find jobs, and the travelers are stuck traveling because they're no longer being offered permanent jobs at any of the hospitals they go to. I'm so glad I'm not stuck traveling right now because, if I was, I'd probably be finding myself unemployed soon.