I tried working 3-11 shift as an LPN when my children
Posted By: Wannie on 2007-03-12
In Reply to: Torn between two jobs - MT 2 RN
were teenagers. Never again would I do that (even though they're grown now) unless it was an absolute necessity. I never saw my children or my husband. I didn't get into transcription at home until they had both finished high school. I only wish I had known there were jobs like this when my children were little. I missed so much by not being available for them at home. Best wishes to you which ever way you choose to go. 
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Are you PT, 3rd shift, negligent to your children, or just plain dillusional? SM
I worked FT with a newborn and had a hospital surgical account. My top priority was to see that all of the preoperative H&Ps were transcribed by 7:00 a.m. I never knew if I would be waking up to 14 or 40, so I would start my day already sleep deprived at 4:00 a.m.
One of my all time worst work at home memories was when I was on my last stat report around 6:50 a.m. and I could hear my little angle crying because was hungry and of course wanted her bottle. I just sat there for a few seconds and tried to determine which of the two top priorities in my life I should take care of. Could I run to the baby and put my job in jeopardy or sit there and pretend not to hear her. I was a new mom by the way. So what I did was try to stay focused, riddled with guilt, then proceeded to transcribe the rest of the report through so many tears, I could hardly see my monitor. THAT was THE worst day of my at-home transcription career.
I don't care what anyone says, without the structured setting of an office environment, working at home is very hard. Just ask yourself how many people, family, friends, or otherwise have called you during your workday that wouldn't dare call you in an office OUTSIDE the home.
My goofy sister called me from her job when I was employee status and had the nerve to ask me to round up her horse that had gotten out and put it up. I told her I would have to clock out just the same as she would. Needless to say, the horse enjoyed a day of freedom.
My daughter is 11 now so my life as an MT is 1000 easier. However, when she was ages 1 to 4, in order to keep her home with me working FT, would have been cruel, negligent, and not to mention dangerous. So I found a wonderful private setter to keep her for 3 to 4 hours a day and she actually loved the interaction with the other two children. In fact, they are all still close friends to this day.
Point is...you cannot be structured in a nonstructured environment. This is why flexibility is SO important.
I agree...working at home with children is possible just very hard...
I have a 9-year-old and an 18-month-old and I wake up early in the morning before the kids wake up and work and then work some more during my daughter's nap...there are days I want to pull my hair out but my children don't suffer and neither does my job...thank goodness my company is flexible otherwise I couldn't do it...
By working an eight hour shift?
working night shift.
I recently read an ad about a company hiring MT and giving a sign on bonus to work the graveyard shift. I thought about applying. I did a few graveyard shifts when I was a nurse’s aide though they were not consistent, just here and there. It was rough, but it was easier for me to recover because I did not have kids back then nor the responsibilities I have now.
If I did it consistently, is it easy to adjust? How do you adjust? Do you have to drink a lot of coffee? lol. Is there usually more work available at night then say M-F, 8 to 5.
TIA
Working 11-7 shift as LPN in nursing home.
Would not want to go back there!!!!!!
to poster below who is talking about working an 8 hour shift
I just read your posts and they are really bothersome. Why just because someone asks how to achieve 1000 lines in 3 or 4 hours would you flame them like that? Why would you assume that person would want to work less than 8 hours just because they asked that question?
Most people, especially MTs, want to make the most of their time whether it be 3 hours or 8 hours. Most MTs want to be productive since that is how we make our living. Why wouldn't anyone with a brain want to increase their line count from 1000 lines in 8 hours to 2000 lines in 8 hours if they could?
I think it is a shame that so many get mad and become rude to others because they are doing more than them. They are sharing their advice on how to become quicker and I wish that you would just let them do it for the rest of us!
I mean, if you want to work 8 hours and make squat go ahead. The rest of us would like to bring in the cash and double our speed and work the same amount of time thank you!
Should clarify, I was an IC for a company working a split shift. nm
d
working 3rd shift and weekends sometimes gives you bonus incentive pay. nm
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Need input from all you "night owls" working graveyard shift!
I am considering working nights, since it seems that's where the pay is higher. Do you go to bed in morning after your shift ends, or do you stay awake for a couple of hours, and go to bed, say 10 or 11 am. How many hours during the day do you sleep; or do you just take a nap in the morning, and go to bed around 6 or 7 p.m. and sleep until it's time for your shift to start? Input on getting a balance, and staying awake during shift. I worked that shift for a while in the past, but never could balance it out. It seems I was always sleeping and had no time to do anything else, other than sleep and work. Thanks
I prefer working a shorter shift 6 to 7 days a week. SM
I work hard when I work to put out a lot of lines per hour, which is very tiring. Also, my company has a work flow/volume problem, and this allows me to schedule my hours for those times when work is most likely to be available.
Regarding having a life, in a 24-hour day, subtracting say 8 hours for sleep leaves 16 hours, and subtracting 6 hours for work leaves 10 hours every day for "life," a luxuriance of time if you don't have young children or other heavy responsibilities filling them with other work.
The trick (sometimes it is a trick!) is be firm with yourself, and others, and get the work out of the way briskly and on schedule, such as those early-morning or evening and split schedules, and not drag it out through the entire day, sandwiched in between TV shows, phone chats, family duties, and so on.
Working full time at home with small children is hard but part time works great
is almost impossible. You will either have to work when your spouse is home or for only a few hours during the day and then more when they are asleep. I work part time at home and my kids (2&5 now) have done very, very well. They are great kids, very well behaved, don't get into much. I stop working to check on them/give them some attention every hour or so while I work (5 hours each afternoon or so) and they get all my attention in the morning and at night. It has worked out beautifully for us.
I do this job with young children around and neither my job nor children have suffered...
It can be done...
hit left Shift key 3 times, then right Shift key 3 times -
nm
You get more working the evening or night shifts and working w/o benefits. And producing like a mad
,
Both of my children, now 23 and 24,
bought their own cars and neither of them had a new car. I don't think it hurt them, either. They both were proud of the fact that they did buy their own cars and I was proud of them, too.
Wow that's a lot! We have 4 children and
we probably will not spend that much on all 4 of them. Glad you can afford it.
May you and your children have the
Merriest Christmas ever! As the Christmas carol sings "God is NOT dead nor doth He sleep." I am so happy your children will have Santa Claus this Christmas, and that you feel loved!! That's what Christmas is all about. I thank you... Merry Blessed Christmas to ALL!
I have 5 children and have had many a
I agree, something for myself would have been neat. My absolute favorite thing was when someone brought me something special, like something they made or had made for my baby. Those are really the things I remember when thinking back on my showers, and the things I still have today.
32/F, three children
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And what did your children get?
x
I definitely think having children has something
Does she have other children who can help
relieve some of the care? Does her insurance pay for ANY nursing care? I know what you mean. We were all on shifts as well. Is there a GOOD home she could go to? Even one that isn't a nursing home per se, but adult foster care? My grandmother lived in one. It was very nice and had less than 10 residents and people with various types of needs lived there. My aunts and uncles decided to do this (it was self pay) because they figured if she lived with any one child, that the responsibility probably wouldn't end up being shared by all, and this way they were all responsible for her even though she lived separately from them. Is there a hospice/nursing agency that can offer free or cheap respite care? How about through their church? Even if they could get an evening or a few hours away together, that's a start. They need to preserve their marriage too.
think of your own children if you have any....sm
Would you want them to have to care for you? All I want for my children is to be happy. I would never want to put that burden on them and, believe me, it is a burden regardless of how you feel about your parents. Caring for an ILL elderly parent can be a nightmare. Caring for an elderly parent is totally different. I've had to do both and, BTW, so did my parents. My mother, when in her 50's, now 92, made me promise to never try to have her live with me. I have done the same with my children. I do everything I can to help her including bringing her to my home to care for her when she is ill or has had recovery from surgeries. I don't think the "Waltons" is a realistic plan in this day and age. If you want to destroy your marriage and stress your children, move your parents into your home.
If you have children under a certain age...
...you can be excused for years from jury duty by submitting a copy of their birth certificates to the court.
Currently, I'm a single parent with 2 kids in elementary school. I have been excused from jury duty twice now; once when I lived in PA and both kids were just babies and again recently excused from serving or being called to serve here in NY for a few more years by submitting a copy of the birth certificate.
The courts will not force a primary caregiver with minor child(ren) to serve as long as you provide them a copy of the birth certificate.
I would think this also applies to anyone who is a sole caregiver of a chronically ill or elderly family member, but you would have to call your courthouse to find out for sure.
We are not children and by that I mean...
we don't have to go crying to the moderator whenever we feel someone is being mean. I think MT30+'s biggest sin is she's just blunt. Personally, I appreciate straight forward people. I don't have time to pick through all the fat to get to the meat. And, of course, I am one of the blunt people.
I think some need to simply grow up. You can't spend your life kissing your perceived boo boos and tattling on the "bullies." Momma always said the only way to get rid of a bully, is to stand your ground and take your lumps. And don't hold a grudge. Just move on.
Ditto....granted I am not working much these days, but am currently trying out a new way of working
when I do work which seems to be helping. I am timing myself and keeping a log of how long it takes to to type however many minutes. I am averaging anywhere from 13-18 minutes of dictation an hour now doing this. Granted the time fluctuates between who I am typing, and if I have to look up names, addresses, etc., just depends on the division I am doing at the time. But work that used to take me 3 hours to do is now taking me under 2 hours, I am also trying to put in more macros as I go along, which slows me down initially but pays off in the long run of course. I was working "all the time" before but took forever to get done since I was not applying myself. This new "attitude" has helped me a lot. My goal, in the Fall, is to do 90 minutes a day consistently at 6 hours, and then maybe get up to 120 minutes a day at 8 hours, still while having at least half of the day free (do 60 minutes at night, and the other 60 by Noon). Thereby doing 1200-1400 lines a day. I have never really buckled down and done more than 8000 lines per pay period, so it will be a nice change. Maybe you can do something like that and have a specific knock off time as was suggested below. 
Working holidays? Out shopping in stores where someone IS working
that holiday you refuse to work? Grocery stores, food joints & seems any store is open on holidays and you expect them to be fully staffed, so why shouldn't we?
Yes, I took off for the first time on Christmas day, in 18 years and it was great, but I worked Christmas eve and this whole past weekend.
Someone has to do it!
children and nitwits
You still don't get it. No matter how old they get, they are still your children but I no longer have the right to make their decisions for them. If your comprehension was good enough, you would have known that as they left my home and started their own lives, I had no further voice in what they did, but until that day, I did have a voice in what they did as far as consequences of bad decisions is concerned. If I am paying for the roof over your head and the food on the table, I do have a say. And being 18 does not make you an adult, nor does 30 or 80. When your child can make good sound decisions about their life and how their decisions impact on others, then you've done a good job. Your silly little cartoon characters in your messagee show that you do not have a command of the English language and I am done with this discussion because it is too complicated for you to understand. I think you probably had your nose and ears pierced too many times and too deeply.
Not everyone is here to "love" your children. SM
I dont expect day care to "love" my children. Geez. I expect them to care for them and watch them when I cannot be there.
I do have to say, however that the day care my kids are in is a close-knit community. The staff is very friendly and really get involved with each kid individually to some extent. Everybody knows everybody, even though it is a fairly large day care. There is a younger toddler room, an older toddler room, an intermediate room, and a pre-K room. As well as a big room for before-school and after-school programs for the bigger kids.
All of the kids in my children's classes are really close. We all celebrate B-days together and even get invited to Christmas parties and all kinds of nice things. They throw lots of events around the holidays. They even have a mom's night out at the day care once a year. It is like a little community. They have lots of safety speakers coming in and educated the kids on what to do during an emergency. I dont see why my kids would not benefit from being a part of something like this.
It is a great thing to be a part of. They treat you like family. I do understand that not all day cares are the same. I went on a lot of tours of local day cares and I picked this one because I could pick up on the vibe that this was not your oridinary day care. They are just such great people. I can honestly say that I love them all. I love the friends that my kids made and I have grown to love their families and also the teachers. They are all truly a wonderful bunch.
So I don't care for my children because I
choose to work my job. Because I choose to be done with work at 5 and not have to work all night as my children play at my feet. Your absolutely right! That makes me a horrible mother. I mean wanting to give them the social graces, the ability to interact with other children and spend the evening with them without my computer in their face--what a bad mommy I am!
I was trying to be nice. Even to children like you
I was only asking an honest question.
I didn't realize there were children posting on this board.
My son is only 15, but he is fortunate enough to have parents that want to help him so that he will not end up being an eternal bitter child, such as those whose parents obviously haven't bothered to realize that there was a possibilty of their child becoming a total waste of time.
And speaking of wasting time, I'm doing just that. And you should be going upstairs to check on your parents.
I believe it is important for children too..
That does still does not mean that since you made a mistake in your life that you are not entitled to the same rights as everyone else. Could've, should've, would've. We can point fingers and tell people what they should have done, but the fact is, they have rights like everyone else. Of course you tend to do better financially when you do things in the right order. Life does not always work like you want it to though. I myself got pregnant while on BC with a man I had been with for 4 years. I had my son before I got married. We got married when he was less than a month old. He was our only witness. We have since had another child. I have never been on assistance, but I am lucky enough that we have been able to work out our problems and keep our marriage intact. If I could do it all over again, I would have waited, of course. We have struggled quite a bit by having kids so young. Life just doesn't always work out how you want it to though. I want my daughter to get married first and then have children, as do all mothers. Those are things I will teach her too.
Sorry, that should be heard Jen did not want children yet. nm
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my children are minorities
my children are interracial, black father, white mother. however, they dont know the first thing about Kwanza. They are raised to believe that Christmas is about the birth of Christ.
For children, it's best to let them decide.
It can be healing or traumatic. I do think I'd have her go to the funeral home once, set it up so she only has to be there a short time, help her understand it's time to say goodbye and let go (whether close or not). I've been through a Catholic funeral and don't think I'd force a child to be there. It's good that neither you or DH are forcing one way or the other. Talk with your daughter and help her decide what's really best. Just don't let her hide from the fact that she needs to say goodbye to grandma, close or not.
26 with 2 small children.
.
GOD BLESS YOU with 5 children!!! *S*...nm
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I am 49, two children (ages 26 and 20). nm
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I have 5 children, two of which have been babies...
It is not always easy, but you do what you want to do. You will make it work if you try and find out what works best for you. Don't put your baby in daycare just to make it easier on yourself. You can work around the baby!
I smile, say "I don't have children, thanks." nm
I don't think anyone said violence against children was okay...
h
WHERE DOES YOU CHILDREN GO TO COLLEGE sm
Maybe our children go to the same college.
I will start
One daughter goes to Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. The other daughter will be going to UMass at Amerst in the fall.
Can I Trade Children - LOL
My daughter is only 12 and it's like pulling teeth to get her to save any money. As soon as she gets some (any amount) it burns a whole in her pocket and boom it's gone. So now I've taken to keeping all the money I give her for her allowance and when she wants something she has to come to me for the money so that way I can make sure she puts some away.
second time. I had 2 children, he had none.
Very good marriage, We have 2 other children now.
I think most people who can't have children
of their own opt for adopting a child from infancy so they too can have the experience of raising a child. Now, if only people who already have children of their own or these celebs with all the money to burn would find room in their hearts for one more and adopt a grown child - wouldn't that be something?
I see mostly celebs getting children from
overseas...that's why they are able to get newborns so easily. A friend of the family recently adopted a baby from overseas. It cost them some money, but they had no problems. Newborns are the most sought after. Unfortunately, it is the older children who are suffering more and need homes. Maybe you should try and find a place for an older child in your home if you want to adopt so badly. Giving up on adoption is giving up on a child, if that is truly something you want to do.
Children with disabilities
I have two children who have mild autism. My husband and I fought the school system for years. The special education department told us, "I can't see your son analyzing novels." He could not multiple, subtract, add, divide, or any simple math that a 9th grader should be able to do. My oldest son is now in 9th grade and has not learned what he should have in public school. After doing much research, we came up with a plan to homeschool our son and he can analyze novels! He is finally learning! We have our work cut out for us as he is many years behind, but he will catch up. We have had such great success with him that we are going to home school our younger son as well. Home schooling is not for everyone. You will know if and when you are ready to home school when you have had enough. It was the best decision we ever made! For us, it was the light at the end of the tunnel!
Actually, many in our area have children
they have sick children all week long, they don't work, so no excuse there. They wait until the weekends to do all their healthcare for ALL their children, sometimes up to 4 to 5 children. They have all week long to get good healthcare at good clinics that do take their insurance or even at the local health department, but they wait until Friday evenings and BOOM....while others sit in the waiting room that are indeed in need of immediate care.
I believe it is, since they are watching your children & (sm)
in the event of an emergency such as an allergy, should you not disclose something it would not benefit anyone. Especially your child. I do ER transcription and have had kids come in to the ER with new onset diabetes, and the nurse knew to check since it was in the family history, so that is something to think about.
My children are grown and now
I am still working at home. Get to be grandma now. Don't forget $3 for a gallon of gas also.
I homeschool my children and I get so very
tired of the "S" word. I think most people feel like we keep them locked in the house all day, doing school for 8 hours a day. They are community sports teams, the kids in the neighborhood, homeschool activities, park days, church, etc. There are some families who isolate themselves, but the majority do not. My kids are extremely social and on weekends we have a line at the door wanting them to come out and play. I told DH we needed to put up a sign on the door that they aren't here so kids will stop knocking. Not only are my kids very social, but they are as comfortable with someone 65 as they are with their own peers. My oldest DS has kids 5 to 6 years younger wanting him to come play because he plays so well with them and they look up to him.
Kids don't have much time to socialize in the public school setting and the socialization isn't always positive.
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