What are the pro's and con's of working second shift f/t?
Hi everyone. I was wondering what various opinoins are to working the second shift are. I am purchasing a house in the country and there isn't much choice of where to nurse there because I am limited as a LPN. So besides taking a pay cut that's half of what I'm used to making, I'm also taking the second shift, mostly because that's all that's available to me. I'm trying to picture what it's going to be like while being engaged and living with my fiancee and his daughter while I'm not home most evenings for dinner. It can be a good thing considering that his daughter can't back talk me if I'm not there....LOL and absence does make the heart grow fonder so I'm thinking my fiancee and me will miss each other and appreciate each other even more when we do spend time together right? But I'm the type of person who finds waking up early very painful, I've been an am nurse and it was horrible in the morning to me but I did appreciate my late afternoons and entire evenings off. And I've worked as a night nurse and found how pleasant less stress is but how bad feeling like a zombie most of the time is. And I really didn't get to see my family then because all I did was work and sleep. So this seems like it might be alright to me. I hate missing evening shows and spending time with the family watching them together, but I do seem to have a high energy point in the late afternoon and evening now, so I think that's the busiest times in the nursing home passing meds and following up appts and addressing family members. I think when the pt's wind down and go to bed I'll be ready to sit and chart myself. Although I don't look forward to "sun downing" in the pts although I'll be working a medicare unit and it's not dementia like I'm used to. That's another huge adjustment I have to make. I would choose dementia but since I can't I have to start looking forward to this. Are there any perks in working with sane pts? Aren't they demanding as all hell? Picky, demanding and time consuming? O'h well, I better get my "little miss socilizer" hat on huh? I have a hard time getting away from family members because I'm too nice and take the time to talk to them for as long as they usually want even when it gets into my other "scheduled" duties, and I hate that! Maybe I'll play quite at this job so people will just get to know I'm not much of a talker, yeah right, I'm so a talker, look at my type!? What's the best way to deal with this situation? All I know is having 30+ pts in medicare is huge. 60 pts in dementia isn't as bad to me because you basically just shove the pill in their mouth and keep going and just talk gibberish when they speak non-sense to you as long as their smiling and happy and not in pain, but now I'm going to actually have real dialoge with normal people. Uhhhhggggg. That's another thing, I'm moving to a small country town where everybody knows you and I am going to impressing upon myself with families in my home town so I want to make a good thing happen here too. I just got IV ceritified at this facility which means I'll need it, and that's new to me too. I'm just an LPN, why or why do I have to do IV's now? And not get more money for it? I guess that the city girl in my talking. Look, all I know is that I'm not motivated to get my RN, and I'm in a home study program, I've had my books for 4 yrs now and I haven't even finished one yet. Almost half way through one, big whip. Maybe this is just the thing I need to kick me up the ass to get going huh? My new DON makes as much as I do right now. She told me so! And that hurts. I make good money as a LPN. In a nursing home I typically can make $23-$24/hr and in my agency at night $26/hr. I've only been a nurse for 4 years on and off that is. And she's a RN with 20+ yrs experience and makes $26/hr. She shit her pants when she found out what I make as I did mine. My God man, I can't believe it. But that's a small town for you. I want out of nursing actually, but now I feel that God has a different plan for me. And it's probably to get my RN and move onto hospital work. I think working in a ICU would be cool. I like machines. Forget med-surg although I know it's inevitable in the beginning. I also think ob-gyny is cool. I want to work in a specialized dept and as I gain a masters if not sooner teach. I wouldn't mind taking a pay cut to teach nursing students. I love to teach. But my honey bunny over here would keel over knowing what I could be making and what I'd be choosing to make. But I just want to enjoy what I do as well. I also thought I'd be teaching a CPR and CNA class on the side moonlighting when I got my RN so why not do it full-time and have all those school holidays off too! So I'm going to the country and there are no jobs there really. It's depressed there. But I should consider myself lucky just to get this one. But now I'll have a mortgage and my bills will be higher than they were here in our 2 bedroom apartment in the suburbs. But not by much. A couple hundred I believe. So if my fiancee gets unemployed while there we're screwed. It's definetely going to take a dual income. There have been times where I haven't worked and it was no big deal with his income and vice versa. But now the pressure's on us both! Welcome to the adult world huh? It's about time I'd say. But anyways, I'd really would be interested in what 'yall have to say about working second shift medicare nursing home. Pro's and con's. I know all my MD and dentist appts will have to be made either very early in the day or on my days off and I already anticipate missing some school plays and stuff because of my schedule. I already know that I'll be eating dinner at work while my familiy eats together without me and that will also mean cooking dinner ahead of time and leaving it in the oven off while I go off to work. Roasting and baking are my best friends. Pot roast and baked chicken and oven fried pork chops are perfect for that and then speghetti's always best once cooked and mixed with sauce spread out in a baking pan with motzerella cheese on top and covered with foil on a warm oven turned off to melt. They'll love it and so will I as I pack a portion for my dinner at work. Did I just help any of you reading this out just now? Good ideas huh? And I have a regular chore list I do even now so I plan on doing them when I wake up before work so when I get home late I can just relax and crawl into bed with my snack and honey and watch some late night t.v. Same thing always, a couple loads of laundry, vacumm house, make bed, staighten up house from night before and dishes and cook new dinner and take out the trash and wipe down cans. Basically dusting and intricate cleanings like the bathroom and kitchen are done on my days off and on-going projects on the apartment/house (which are forever going on) are done and looked at as some play time for me. But that's also because I enjoy them. I'm really going to enjoy them in my new house. I have all sorts of fun ideas. Can't wait. I'm hungry, talking about all this good home cooking, and guess what? Because I'm moving in two days, there's not good food to be found here damn it! Where's a plate of baked speghetti when you need one?