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Working Moms
traci1774
member
Career Change to Nurse??
traci1774
member
in Working Moms
Hi ladies. I currently work on wall street and am thinking of making some major changes in my life - selling my dream house which i can no longer afford thanks to this economy, move back to parents house (separate apartment of course) and go to nursing school. And break up with boyfriend/baby daddy to become a single mom. LONG STORY but it's inevitable. Am hoping to find a more fulfllling career and with a different schedule. I am currently working/commuting from 7am-7pm 5 days a week and I can't bear the thought of raising my daughter like this. It's causing such anxiety for me to think her life will always be this way - seeing me on weekends only for an hour or two at night.
If you are a nurse, or have close friends and family that are, please share your thoughts. I know I would love the profession - I have always felt my career is thankless and unsatisfying. But am I totally fooling myself that I'd be able to spend more time with my daughter?
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Re: Career Change to Nurse??
I looooove being a nurse. I love working 3 12s. If I had to work 5 days/week I would be a SAHM.
Nursing school is hard and time consuming. You have clinicals and labs on top of classes, so I would caution you against thinking you can work full time and go to nursing school on top of that. I worked ~20-30 hours a week but I didn't have LO. Do you have money saved up to live off of until you graduate? Do you have a childcare plan? I would also strongly caution against a diploma/LVN program, even if night/weekend classes and a shorter program are tempting. Those nurses are being phased out of most good positions. Go with a BSN program or at least an ADN.
Once you're out of school it's awesome! I feel like I work part time, even though the days I work are really long. And there are SO many options for RNs- hospital, clinic, school, research, teaching, advanced practice, etc. DO IT!
I am a nurse. I did the right out of high school route so I really don't have much insight as to taking the non-traditional route.
What kind of degree do you have now? BS or BA? Nursing is a BS degree, so if you already have a BS, then some of the science and math classes may transfer if you decide to get a Bachelor's degree right away. You would have to consider time for studying plus clinicals once you get all of your pre-req's out of the way. My clinicals were 8 hours/week, and then we all had to do a preceptorship that was approx. 16-24 hours/week during our last quarter of school.
You could always go the Associate's route, but it all depends on your area. In my area, the community colleges have wait lists that are backed up for a few years because of clinicals and lack of clinical instructors. I only know this because my sister just graduated HS and wanted to go into nursing but didn't want to take out the amt of loans for a university. She decided to go ahead with her BSN at a university right off the bat because it may take her longer to earn an associates degree.
Alot of employers, especially the bigger hospitals are making a big push for only hiring Bachelor's prepared nurses, so this is something else to consider. I know of a co-worker who worked as a nurses aide through his nursing school at a community college and was not hired for a job out college in our dept. and a girl who had her BSN got the job.
Others are right. New grad nurses typically do not get the day shift positions, unless you choose a clinic, OR, or other area where hours are set hours. I have worked in the same dept. for 7 years and work evenings, which works for me, but there isn't a day shift nurse that has less than 10 years senority on my unit. But, hours are less than what you are doing now unless you work for an organization that can mandate OT, then you may have to work over from time to time.
My mom went back to school to become a nurse when she was in her 50's. She went through community college and came out with a job...during the day, at a hospital. She didn't like the 12 hour days, so she moved around a bit and found hospice care.
It can be done, but there are also benefits to working nights. I have a friend who will only work nights.
Good luck!
Thanks for all the input. I do appreciate it. I have an amazing support system in my parents, who currently work but are nearing retirement and they would definitely be available for childcare. And if I moved into the upstairs apartment in their house, the proximity would make things that much easier. I would probably try to go to school full time and not work, or part time at most.I am 38 years old and have a 17 month old daughter. While it is late in the game to start over, i don't think it's too late and I don't want to settle for the life we have now.
I have alot of thinking and planning to do in consideration of this life change, but I am going to start by putting my house on the market this fall and start working towards what it is best for my daughter and I.
Thanks again!
I have been an RN for almost 5 years now. I actually went to college the first time around and had a Communications/Marketing degree and working in that area for a few years until I really felt a calling for nursing, especially Oncology nursing. As a pp mentioned, I went back to school in one of those accelerated 2nd degree programs and earned my BSN. I looked into an Associate's degree, however, if I was going to spend 2 years in school I figured I might as well get the most from it and earn my BSN instead of an Associates. Best decision I could have made b/c many local hospitals are now only hiring BSN-prepared RN's.
I love being a nurse, especially in Oncology. It's a tough and dirty job (literally) and can be thankless most of the time. (I say this b/c you mentioned this in your OP). And being a nurse can be VERY stressful. I used to laugh at my DH when he said he had a stressful day. (he is a manager at a manufacturing plant) I'd always think to myself that he didnt have to give CPR that day, or feel ribs break as you try desperately to revive someone. Now THAT is stress.
Upon graduation, I was hired on to work nights (3 12-hr shifts) but due to a new unit being opened (and some of day shift moving to that unit), I was able to quickly move to day shift. Day shift worked for me, however, there are several people who work nights (and who have a young family) and that schedule works best for them. It all depends on the person and situation.
I actually recently left the hospital setting and am now in an outpatient radiation oncology office. One of the worst parts of my day-shift hospital schedule was working holidays and weekends. We worked every 3rd weekend, and that seemed to sneak up on you so frequently! And I missed too many Christmas and Easter mornings and family gatherings on the weekends. It wasnt worth it to me. Granted, I had 4 glorious days off with DS, but it was a matter of weighing my pros and cons. I would see DS for maybe 1 hour total on the days I worked. I got home just in time to put him to bed. I LOVE my new M-F 8-5/no holidays or weekends schedule. I actually see DS every day and I dont miss any more important events or memory makers on the holidays or weekends.
Being a nurse is very fulfilling but very hard. I suggest you also shadow at a local hospital to get the real gist of it before you make alot of changes since it is a big deicision! Good luck!
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Lots of people go back to school in their 30s (and 40s and even older) to be nurses but I think it is good that you'd be able to do full time school & have the childcare support. If you know what the role is, what the school entails, etc then it can be a great move esp from the work-life balance perspective. Another thing to remember about nursing is that there are so many roles you can have- the hospital is not the only place to work as a nurse! If qyou
ETA oops! DD started messing w/ my keyboard & I didnt think this ever posted...
I was going to say if you already have a BS/BA in something else I would definitely advise going the accelerated BSN route if you have a program nearby. While you can do an associate's program, you will likely find yourself needing to get the BSN at some point b/c the nationwide goal is to have 80% of nurses with a BSN and to go to graduate school or be promoted (for the most part) you will need the BSN. However, as others have said, BSN programs in particular are very competitive these days so make sure to really look into the admission requirements. Since you work in business, you likely will need to take a number of pre-reqs (depending on your first degree) to even apply.
GL!
I have been a nurse for 9 years. I went to college for nursing right out of high school, so can't comment on being a non-trad nursing student. I know many people in my graduating class were women with families. And some were single moms.
It is a rewarding career and I can't imagine doing anything else. I recently said to someone that I couldn't be FT SAHM. I love my job too much. There's so much you can do with nursing. I worked in a hospital setting for about 7 years. I did mostly 3, 12 hour day shifts. Most hospital settings do prefer that schedule for their nurses. But I'm sure there's some flexibility. I never had the need to work less hours.
I now work at an outpatient endoscopy center and I love it! I got a bit burned out from working in an ICU for 7 years. I work no holidays, weekends, and do no on-call. I work with great nurses and physicians. I now work PT now that baby is here. I work 2, 8 hour shifts. 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. I am working 4 days a week this summer while a co-worker is off on FMLA.
It will be tough to go to nursing school being a single mom but you can do it. It will be worth it in the end. The pay is decent, too. Good luck with whatever you decide!!
My Mom was a hospital nurse, as is my best friend. Mom worked ten or eleven Thanksgivings in a row; like my BFF, she also worked nights, weekends, and holidays.
Being a nurse in a doctor's office would have much more predictable hours.
Just a thought: What about other jobs in healthcare that aren't nursing. I'm going to assume you have a bachelor's degree of some form, so you could look into things like Physical Therapy (3 years, DPT), Occupational Therapy (2 years, MS), or Speech Therapy (2 years, MA/MS). The benefit there is (1) No over nights, limited weekends, (2) Higher pay since you'd have an advanced degree, (3) Options to work with children or adults, health care or academic settings. They're all great jobs--and there are always job openings!
Just want to throw that out there!
After college I worked at a large law firm in NYC because I was thinking of becoming a lawyer. Within a few months, I realized law was not for me. I stayed in my job almost two years (got engaged to someone I met at the firm) and started the prereqs for dental school. I graduated dental school two years ago and now I'm a resident in pediatric dentistry.
I just wanted to encourage you to go for it! The dental field is another great field with potential for good work/family balance. I can't wait until I'm done residency and only work 4 days a week! Definitely consider dental hygiene or perhaps going to dental school (although it is a long road to be a dentist if you haven't taken the science prereqs.
The path may seem long, but take it one day at a time!