- Being a mom and nurse can create unique challenges.
- There are ways to balance work and family demands in ways that meet everybody's needs.
- Good employers will find ways to accommodate staff without compromising on care.
Especially if you work in long nursing shifts rather than a 9-5 Monday through Friday week, it can be challenging to balance motherhood and nursing. Most child care programs are designed to meet the needs of 9-5 workers and very few offer drop-in care for times when you need to work an unexpected shift. Similarly, school schedules often assume that parents and guardians are available for conferences or school events during evenings and weekends.
However, you and your employer can work together to make sure that you can meet all your obligations. This guide has advice and perspectives from working nurses who are mothers of young children. Learn how you can use these ideas to manage your work-life-family balance.
Balancing a Nursing Career and Parenthood
Monica L. Diehl, MSN, RN, who is a chief nursing officer and mother to three boys found working regular nursing shifts worked well for her when her children were very young. She worked nights and only three days a week, which allowed her to be home with her family. However, that didn't last and soon being a mom and nurse created problems.
She says, "As my children got older, I was missing holidays, missing events, I was exhausted from my work schedule and not able to take care of myself." Diehl worked with her employer to find a way to make things work. "I was able to go back to school. I found a position with no holidays, no weekends, and no night shifts. This is why nursing is such a great career choice. There are so many ways to adapt within the umbrella of a nursing career — so many avenues."
Especially now, with the ongoing shortage of nurses, employers are often willing to make whatever accommodations they can to retain valued nurses. These might include finding a new role with a standard schedule, offering flexible scheduling, providing on-site child care or working with local providers to ensure access to child care, or otherwise helping staff to manage parenthood/guardianship and work responsibilities.
Challenges of Being a Mom and Nurse
Jeinny Garcia, RN, a clinical systems manager and mother of two, points out, "It's challenging — especially since healthcare doesn't have normal hours." These challenges for being a mom or guardian and a nurse include:
Benefits of Being a Mom and Nurse
While being a mom and nurse brings challenges, it also brings some unique advantages. Diehl says, "Nursing is a career that will grow with you. Healthcare is nimble. It adapts. Other careers will not offer that flexibility or opportunities for growth."
Garcia notes the importance of finding a caring employer and cites her own workplace: "The culture is very supportive. We are here to meet goals as an organization, but there's flexibility and understanding for emergencies."
Career Advancement for Working Nurse Moms
Both Diehl and Garcia noted that their employers invested in their careers, which helped them to advance and grow. Diehl adds, "We look at current employees and we invest in them. We want to see them advance."
Aside from bedside patient care, nurses have a variety of nursing career options open to them. These include jobs that rarely require overtime, evening, or weekend work. In addition, as nurses gain seniority at an employer, they typically get more choice of shifts and scheduling.
Nurses can also work together and with their employer to help all parents and guardians in an organization manage work-life-family balance. This might be informal, such as a shared list of good babysitters, or formal, like establishing on-site child care.
Garcia says, "Being a mom, I want to pursue greater opportunities for my kids." Being a mom and nurse can provide tremendous opportunities, especially if you find an employer who will invest in you and your career.