If you have taken some time out to raise a family you might now be ready to go back to work. You are the only person who will know when the time is right, and it’s important not to be pressured to either return to work or stay at home; you need to do what is right for you and your family.
Alternatively, you might already be a nurse and you are thinking of starting a family. The only issue is, you’re not sure whether your career choice is compatible with being a mother. You’ll need to do some research until you’re completely comfortable with what you intend to do.
There are some nurses who have found being a mother at the same time quite a challenge, and some who have found it ideal because they have managed to find an excellent work-life balance. Equally, there are some mothers who have chosen to go into nursing because it offers plenty of scope to give them everything they want, and some mothers who have chosen different career paths altogether because nursing just wasn’t going to work for their family.
This is why it’s not a decision to be made lightly, and why the pros and cons should all be considered before you start your studies or walk away from the idea altogether. Read on to find out what the pros and cons are so that you can be a little more informed and can make your decision.
Pro – Nursing Is Flexible
When you hear that nursing is flexible, it might come as something as a surprise; after all, nurses work shifts, and they work long hours. Hospitals never close so there must be some staff members there at all times – no one can predict when they are going to get sick or have an accident that puts them in the hospital, which is why they never close. Not to mention the patients who have to stay in the hospital for a while to recover; they all need plenty of care too.
Yet it is this 24-hour opening, 365 days a year, that actually makes nursing so flexible. There will always be shifts available when you want them, and if you request time off in advance you should always be able to be at home for your children’s birthdays, for special school events, to have family days out, and so on. It’s crucial that every nurse plays their part and generally works the shifts they have been allocated, but when there is something important to do the flexibility of the work and the fact that others can cover for you (and you will cover for them) means you can have a life as a mother and a life as a nurse and the two shouldn’t cause conflict between them.
The flexibility of the nursing work you’ll be doing even means that there will be time to go back to school and earn more qualifications such as your DNP degree. When you do this, you can be promoted to a position that works even better with your family, giving you more money in most cases too.
Besides flexibility in scheduling, nurses are offered flexibility in work settings as well. As a nurse, you can work in hospitals and non-hospital facilities like schools, public health departments, industrial job sites, research labs. To choose the most suitable schedule and work setting, try to research the job market and the working conditions of available opportunities. Search for phrases like “RN jobs near me” and you will have access to available job openings and positions.
Pro – Five Day Weeks Are Unusual
At first, it might seem like a strange point to bring up about not generally working five day weeks (unless you’re working in a school or clinic that doesn’t open at weekends, for example), but in reality, it is a big benefit when you’re a mother.
Because you will be working longer days, usually 12-hour shifts, you’ll find that you tend to work for three or four days in a row, and then have three or four days off. Although those three or four off days may not always incorporate a weekend, they will allow you to spend a lot more time with your family. The days are longer but the working week is shorter, and when you’re a parent that tends to work out much better than shorter days and longer weeks, especially during school vacations.
Pro – You Can Study Online
Online studying is something that has opened up the world of learning – and work – to many who might have thought it would be impossible for them to get their degree. When you study online, you can do so at times that suit you (as opposed to having to be in class at a certain time in a physical school), and without having to factor in any traveling time to get there since you can simply log in from your home laptop or tablet, you can study even if you do have a family.
As mentioned above, this means that some careers, nursing being one of them, are now available to those who wouldn’t have the time to attend a standard college course to obtain their degree.
On top of this, it means that those who are already nurses but want to do more and climb higher in their careers can also study more and gain additional qualifications without having to compromise time at work or lose time with their family. It’s an ideal way to do as much as you can in your career and still have time to do what you want to do at home, and it’s no wonder that online learning has become so popular now.
Pro – There’s No Traveling Required
Some careers, particularly those that are in sales or business – require a lot of traveling. The employees will necessarily be away from home for potentially long periods of time, and this can be disruptive to the family dynamic. Nursing doesn’t require this. Although traveling can be a lot of fun and you’ll get to see places you wouldn’t otherwise have seen, once you have a family, things are a lot different and it’s often far better to be at home more. Since nursing doesn’t require any traveling, it can work out perfectly for those looking for a great career so they can be with their families.
Nurses will usually go to the same workplace every time they go to work, and since it is possible to find work in a local hospital (because nurses are always required), your commuting time might even be very short. All of this means that you can spend more time with your family and still carry out your work, and that is the best you can ask for.
Pro – You Can Work ‘Per Diem’
The translation from the Latin ‘per diem’ is ‘by the day’ and this is another option open to qualified nurses who want even more flexibility in their lives. Working per diem means that you signup to an agency or specific hospital and when they need additional staff, you will be asked to work.
The downside is that you may not have work for a few days when you want it, and you might be asked to work at times that aren’t convenient, but the upside is that you won’t be working all the time, you won’t always be working at the same hospital (making your days different), and you’ll be making more money since per diem nurses can charge more. Plus, if you are asked to work on a day when you already had plans, you can always say no.
Pro – You Can Leave Your Work at Work
When you are a nurse, you won’t be expected to work at home. You won’t need a home office, for example, and you won’t have to take any work home with you at the end of your shift. This is becoming increasingly rare these days, as the working week is often found to be melding into off time for many workers. If they have a home office it can be tempting to try to clear some work at the weekend or the evening, for example, and trying to take a vacation day is hard because the thought that they could just see what’s happening in the office. This can cause a strain on family life, and mean that you are working a lot of unpaid hours.
Since nursing is a hands-on profession, there will be no work that can be done at home, and once you leave the hospital at the end of your shift, you are entirely free to do whatever it is you want to do until you go back for your next shift.
Con – Nursing Is Hard Work
It probably won’t come as any surprise to you, but nursing is hard work and that means you will be tired after a day helping patients, and especially tired after three or four days of work. This truly challenging work is full-on from the moment you step into your hospital department to the moment you leave, and that means that by the time you get home, you may not want to play with your children, you may not have the energy to help them with their homework, and reading a bedtime story is out of the question.
Adding motherhood to this already difficult role just makes everything so much harder. Nursing and being a mother are two of the most difficult jobs there are, so combining them is always going to be a challenge.
The good news is, with a healthy diet, exercise, and taking time for yourself when you need it, you can avoid burnout, but that can be hard to explain to a small child who is clamoring for your attention.
Con – The Shifts Are Long
Although we’ve mentioned that one of the benefits of working is the flexible nature of the hours you’re required to work, allowing you more time at home with your children, you should also bear in mind that the days you do work will be long days; the shifts themselves are usually around 12 hours, and then you’ll need to factor in your commuting time on top of that.
This means that on the days you work, you may not see your children at all; you’ll be gone before they get up for school, and they will be in bed by the time you get home. This can be very hard on a mother, and they might prefer working a standard 9 to 5 job if it means they can be there for their children at the start and end of each day.
Con – There Will Be Night Shifts
Everyone is different, and whereas some nurses will love the night shift as it gives them more time to do chores and see friends – or be with their family – during the day. Some nurses dislike it a lot, as it causes problems with the circadian rhythm, and means that the body is unsure when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to be awake, and this can make burnout an even more real problem. When the shifts rotate between day and night, it can be even worse.
For nurses who are mothers, night shifts can be particularly hard because, as mentioned, both jobs are difficult, and trying to do either one on little sleep is never going to work out perfectly, and you could become completely exhausted.
Con – There Will Be Weekend Working
Even though you have to work every weekday when you have a ‘normal’ 9 to 5 kind of job in an office or a store somewhere, you’ll usually be able to have your weekends free, meaning you can enjoy time with your family when they aren’t at school – you can go out to more places and do more things together.
When you’re a nurse, part of your shift pattern will cover weekends, and although you won’t have to work every weekend, you’ll certainly have some on your shift rota. When you are off in the week and your children are school-aged, you won’t see them too much, although you will be there when they get home from school, and this can be great too.
It’s clear that there are a lot of things to consider when you are determining when you can be – or want to be – a nurse and a mother. The pros and cons are something that you will need to think carefully about, and then discuss with your family too since, although it will ultimately be your decision, it does involve them too.
