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Anyone a Nurse?

dazidogdazidog
in Toddlers: 24 Months+

I go back to work, at a hospital, in May. I'm nervous about going back in general because I've been off for almost a year but more worried about the 12 hour shifts. Before working at the place I'm going back to I was at an independent organization working 8 hour shifts and MUCH prefer those however.....money talks.

So my question is how do you handle the 12 hour shifts and seeing LO? I just hate to think there will be days (sometimes 3 in a row) where I won't see my DD's wake up or go to bed, I won't see them at all. It is especially hard with DD#2 because I've been with her almost 24/7 for a whole year now. So to go from that to 12 hour shift work just plain sucks!

Also, switching from days to nights will stink as well because I find I always loose a whole day during the transistion, either trying to sleep during the day to switch to nights or vice versa.

My last concern, and I know this is a long way off but I still worry, is that I'm going to get stuck working Christmas morning and miss seeing my girls faces when they wake up to see what Santa brought them. I'm lower on the totem pole since I haven't been there long and with thousands of employees I'm sure they aren't too concerned about my wishes. I don't even see/meet the person who does our schedule. I would actually be devastated if I got stuck working Christmas morning:(

On a side note: I'm taking a certificate course to work in another area of the hospital that only allows nurses to work 8 hour shifts but I won't be done with that for another year.

So in general I'm asking how you deal with the shift work and LO(s)? Is there a lot of guilt the days you don't get to see them at all?

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Re: Anyone a Nurse?

  • mistresscoxmistresscox member

    I do nights specifically because it allows me to see DD which day shifts don't.  (I do the occasional day shift to "help out" but really don't like to because I leave before she wakes up and am home only right at bedtime or just after and it sucks.)  That being said, in order to make nights/seeing DD work I run on sleep deprivation.  Here's roughly how my schedule goes (depending on what days I'm scheduled to work):

    Sunday: wake up with DD in the morning; take a nap from 1-3:30 in the afternoon; work from 7pm-7am

    Monday: home from work by 8am; finish getting her ready for daycare, pack lunch, do hair etc; DH takes her to daycare from 8:30-3:30.  I sleep from about 9-2:30; wake, shower, go pick her up at 3:30 then hang out with her/get dinner ready/do dishes/finish getting ready for work and leave for work at about  6:30; work 7pm-7am

    Tuesday: repeat Monday

    Wednesday: repeat Monday morning through pick up time at daycare; stay up with her until she goes to bed, then I usually pass out shortly after from sheer exhaustion.  

    Thursday: Wake with her as normal-return to "day" schedule

     It's not pretty, but my other option is to not see her for several days at a time, and I'm most definitely not ok with that.  

    A few other thoughts: does your hospital only have one other place that does 8s?  Our PACU and out patient infusion center (out pt chemo unit) both do 8 hour shifts.  

    As for the holidays-you'll just have to decide what you are willing to live with.  If you are willing to work Thanksgiving and New Years then odds are you will get Christmas off.  Wheel and deal-be ready to negotiate with your co-workers.  You might be surprised at how many don't particularly care about Christmas specifically.  But also remember that you can get away with moving holidays up or back a day to fit your schedule.  My mom was also a nurse and we RARELY had a holiday ON the actual day.  Thanksgiving might be on Friday, Christmas maybe on the 23rd.  Ultimately the time with your family doing your traditions is what matters, so you just have to get creative on how to make family time work.  :)  But it is do-able!  

    Good luck with the new job!  I hope you adjust well to the 12 hour shifts.  Just remember-having 4 days off is really nice! ;) 

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  • sunandsandsunandsand
    I took a big pay cut to work in a drs office for the reasons you listed. I can't function on no sleep and I neeeeed to be with my kids for holidays while they are still magical. When they are older I will reconsider, for now I'm ok with money being tight.
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  • JanuaryBride2007JanuaryBride2007

    ::popping out of Lurkdom:::

     I am a nurse too. I work day shift. On days that I work 12s our schedule looks like this:

    5:30- wake up, get dressed

    6:00- get the kids up, dressed and ready

    6:20- out the door

    DH picks up the LOs from daycare, feeds them snack and dinner then brings them to pick me up. We are usually home by 7:45 or 8:00 depending on where I worked that day ( I was an independant contractor, just got a permenant job at a hospital).

    8:00- snuggling, jammies and night time routine.

    I make lunches in the evening to expedite the morning routine. It sucks that I can't see them for more than about an hour on the days I work but 4 days off is quite awesome. =)

    As far as holidays go, make friends with a nurse that doesn't celebrate Christmas. I celebrate Hannukah and would gladly work Christmas day if I could have Thanksgiving Day off. =D T-day is our big family get together celebration.

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