r/nursing • u/OGQueenofUSA • Jun 20 '25
Nursing Hacks 29 shifts in a row
I have a job but I sometimes try to make extra money on the side,I saw a tiktok where a nurse was working 29 shifts in a row and at the end she had a extra $14,000, a friend just got a roommate, another friend picks up PRN shifts at another hospital instead of doing over time I'm wondering what are some cool ways you guys.
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u/Monster-_- Jun 20 '25
I picked nursing specifically because I didn't want to work more than I needed to to afford to live...
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u/atiekay8 Jun 21 '25
Our economy laughed
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u/Monster-_- Jun 21 '25
I'm crunching the numbers and $40/hr is plenty reasonable for DINKs to live a comfortable life. Not extravagant, but weekly date nights and yearly vacations would be well within our budget without overtime.
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u/Aria_K_ RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Jun 21 '25
That's what Mr Dink and I are all about!!!
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u/Oohhhboyhowdy BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Agreed! This hustle culture is weird. I didn’t get an advanced degree to work multiple jobs.
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u/rachelleeann17 BSN, RN - ER 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Yep. People talk about how $35/hr is “bad pay,” but I always just assume that’s coming from a HCOL area. My $35/hr at 37.5 hrs/week plus my husband’s half-income (roughly $20k/year) is more than enough. We own our home and two cars, we go on 2-3 vacations/year, we have a comfortable savings account, we’re paying off our student debt, we’re investing in our retirements… perks of living in a LCOL area.
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u/Peaceisdeath RN - ICU 🍕 Jun 22 '25
I’ve been trying to do this but the numbers don’t make sense: how to max retirement numbers (401k and Roth), buy a house, and still have enough for a vacation or two a year? I see nurses that make 80-100$ an hr and still cannot achieve the “American dream” even with the dual income no kids
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u/Monster-_- Jun 22 '25
I don't mean to shit on you, but the "American Dream" isn't going to happen if you aren't a nepo baby. I don't care to buy a house, and our take home after rent/bills is about $3k a month. That's 750 a week for food, gas, going out, whatever. That's not bad at all. I'm not planning on retiring or owning a home, I'm living until I can't, then dying in peace.
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u/rnatx BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I can still afford to live - just not alone and not taking extravagant adventures anymore. 🥲
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u/Prior_Particular9417 RN - NICU 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Yeah I make more than enough for our family to live very comfortably. Luckily we have 2 income but if something happened to one of them I still wouldn't need overtime.
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u/Sierra-117- Nursing Student 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Same, plus 3 day workweek. Having 4 days off is amazing. I would literally die if I had to work 5 days a week every week all year. Only downside is you have to work holidays, but oh well.
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u/PantsDownDontShoot ICU CCRN 🍕 Jun 20 '25
During Covid I routinely did 29 in a row. The money and the PTSD were fucking LIT. 😭
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u/Sea_Fox_3476 Jun 20 '25
Still ignoring the ptsd in my new home 😂
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u/PantsDownDontShoot ICU CCRN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Push it down.
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u/ShesASatellite RN - ICU 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Literally, and I don't hide it: "I got a home, a (fancy diesel engine car), and a lifetime of trauma from all those crisis shifts, please leave me alone so I have peace kthxbye."
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u/Cmdr-Artemisia DNP 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Paid for a wedding and a house down payment in cash, NY/NJ area. I still cry myself to sleep sometimes but the house is much nicer to cry in.
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u/Cam27022 EMT-P, RN BSN ER/OR/Endo Jun 21 '25
I did what I had to do for the same reason at the same time, but man I don’t think I could do it twice.
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u/Bamboomoose BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
It’s become a mantra for me when I’m talking myself out of a panic attack now, you’re safe now and you will never have to do that again. I don’t know how we made it through the first timmeeee
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u/HeyCc1 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Jun 22 '25
Would not do it again. My longest streak was 21 days in a row. On medsurg, 2nd wave Covid. My house is REALLY nice. My car is to. The PTSD is ass, but my therapist is great. I might be more mentally stable now than I was before? Because I’m still in therapy lol…
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u/Adistrength BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Your ptsd is gone? Shit my goes brrrr just looking at who I'm working with lol
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u/Varuka_Pepper343 BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
mine is drooling at the new variant 🙃
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u/HauntMe1973 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Jun 20 '25
One of my coworkers works 2 full time positions at 2 different hospital. 6 shifts a week, every week.
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u/ruggergrl13 Jun 21 '25
Damn they can't just get overtime at one. If I am working that much I atleast want time and half.
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u/missminicooper LDRP-BSN RN Jun 21 '25
I have a coworker that was doing that, working 6 nights a week between 2 full time jobs. I don’t understand why she would do that and not just pick up the abundant OT we have on the unit. She could have easily worked 6 nights a week without question on our floor. We lost a bunch of staff at the same time and it took a while to get travelers to fill in the holes.
Since then she’s left us and the other job had a unit close so her position was cut.
No way I’d work 6 days a week, but especially between 2 jobs.
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u/jmanjman67 BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I worked two FT in the past and changing surroundings mid week definitely made it easier than doing 6 days of the same grind.
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u/missminicooper LDRP-BSN RN Jun 21 '25
Right, that’s the only thing I think that kept her doing it. Like I don’t want to work more than I have to at this job, but I also, in general, don’t want to work more than I have to.
Before nursing I worked 2 part time jobs because I didn’t have a choice and it was nice to have different scenery and responsibilities. My second job was seasonal and it paid more.
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u/HauntMe1973 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Jun 21 '25
We don’t have a lot of OT available, this way they’re guaranteed their 6 shifts
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u/TakeARideintheVan RN - Pediatrics 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I work with a nurse that does this! Two nightshift positions. 1 day off a week to do her errands.
I would die.
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u/Seraphynas IVF Nurse Jun 21 '25
Yup. I know a nurse who put 2 kids through college doing exactly that.
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u/sleeprobot RN, IR Jun 21 '25
A CRNA at my hospital did that and then payed for CRNA school without any loans. Honestly I was pretty impressed like good for her!
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u/HauntMe1973 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I could never, I don’t even want to work my FT 3 nights a week lol
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u/CJ_MR RN - OR 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Damn, 72h per week and no overtime? Hell no. Why burn the candle at both ends for straight time?
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u/HauntMe1973 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Jun 21 '25
OT is a rarity around here on med/surg floors. They’re all overstaffed (we typically have 6-8 nurses scheduled and only run with 5) so we float to other floors that are shorthanded thusly eliminating the need for OT
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u/SlytherinVampQueen BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I usually work 4 shifts a week. Very rarely do I do 5. When I do 5 I feel I have no time for anything. I respect the hustle, but wonder how some of these people do it.
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u/Admirable60s RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Have you thought about working 5 one week and 3 the next? You will make more every paycheck this way if you are OT over 40 hours
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u/GrayStan BSN, RN Jun 21 '25
I fail to see how this is better than just working the better paying job and picking up 2 extra shifts a week. That’s 5 day weeks but if you’re getting time and a half it would come out very close to the same amount of money for one less day a week. If you just absolutely dying to work 6 days a week, take another PRN and work one shift a week there and you’re actually making more since you’re getting OT on the full time position. Unless you’re at a magical hospital that doesn’t post OT shifts? All the hospitals I know of literally don’t have a single day where there aren’t at least a few units to pick up a shift on
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u/Evabelieva1 Graduate Nurse 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I think some people do 1 position FT with benefits then another one PRN to get higher hourly pay...but still, it sounds terrible to me.
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u/HauntMe1973 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Jun 21 '25
We rarely have OT at our hospital, they overstaff the floors then float us when others are shorthanded. Common ploy in our area
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u/GrayStan BSN, RN Jun 21 '25
Hmm makes sense. None of our units have enough nurses in the first place to overstaff so we definitely have plenty of OT to go around lol
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u/eliblie RN - IMC/ED Jun 21 '25
How does their shifts not run into each other? Like clocking in and out times?
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u/HauntMe1973 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Jun 21 '25
They work nights at both jobs, the get tuesdays off every week
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u/hazeyviews RN / EMT - ER Jun 22 '25
I’m going to be doing two full times. Full time nights ED, and then full time days remote work. I’m thinking it’s doable because I knew a nurse who did full times nights ED and then full time days as a school nurse
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u/xX_Transplant_Xx RN - ICU 🍕 Jun 22 '25
I never understood this. If you’re willing to work that many shifts, wouldn’t it make sense to make it an overtime shift at one hospital?
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u/HauntMe1973 RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Jun 22 '25
I posted this to other comments but we rarely have OT at our facility due to overstaffing of med/surg units. I’ve heard the other hospital does the same. Overstaff to avoid needing much of a float pool or OT
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u/Strict_Photograph254 Jun 20 '25
Last year I was working 5-6 shifts in a row consistently. Made 230k in total. It was rough.
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u/Embarrassed-Rice-386 Jun 20 '25
What state/location are you in?
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u/Strict_Photograph254 Jun 20 '25
Connecticut
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u/Impressive-Young-952 Jun 21 '25
Me too
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u/Strict_Photograph254 Jun 21 '25
Nice. Which city?
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u/Dassman88 Jun 21 '25
And the address? Also whats the make and model of your vehicle?
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u/healthyymoon Jun 21 '25
Also, what’s your social?
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u/totalyrespecatbleguy RN - SICU 🍕 Jun 21 '25
And mothers maiden name, also your first pets name
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u/Adistrength BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Just give me your fingerprints already. How many questions does it take!?!?
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u/CocoRothko BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 20 '25
Wow! Sounds tough but you did it! What specialty if you don’t mind answering?
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u/kaluapigwithcabbage RN - Psych/Mental Health 🍕 Jun 20 '25
8’s or 12’s?
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u/Strict_Photograph254 Jun 20 '25
12s
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u/Sea_Fox_3476 Jun 20 '25
Hell yea dude. You’re strong and I hope that propelled you further into your financial goals! Cheers from California
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u/Strict_Photograph254 Jun 21 '25
Yeah I was about to save 100k since I was living with my parents at that time. It was tough but worth the grind.
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u/Kimchi86 BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 20 '25
When I started as a LVN in patient, the only time I did t work 6-7 days a week is when I started my bridge two years later. (I did the math, as a LVN for me to make similar money as a new grad RN working 38 hours a week I had to work 54 hours a week).
As a RN, 6-7 days a week for a solid year. Same facility, mixed between in patient and pre op, so it was all overtime.
Now I mostly just do my time and go home. Waiting till my wife gets rich so I can be a house husband and bake bread. Be a PRN Prince.
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u/Jimmy_E_16 RN - MSICU Jun 21 '25
I just did 11 in a row (only 8 hour shifts) last month and have no desire to do it again. At least my paycheck was about 12k at the end of it
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u/warpedoff RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25 edited Jun 21 '25
During covid, i was traveling and worked 21 weeks straight, no days off, i worked every extra shift i could. That was my wall, manager actually made me take time off. It sucked but the money put my finances in a place where I want to be. It was rough, but earning opportunities like that dont come along often, so you have to hop on it if you want the reward.
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u/GreenGiant417 Jun 21 '25
Yall are crazy I’ve only worked 2 OT shifts ever… and this job still drains me
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u/italianstallion0808 RN - ICU 🍕 Jun 20 '25
If your hospital offers bonuses for picking up, capitalize on it. Tripling my income this year as a new grad
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u/ThatKaleidoscope8736 ✨RN✨ how do you do this at home Jun 20 '25
Be careful to not burn out right away.
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u/urdoingreatsweeti "do you pee on the floor at home" Jun 21 '25
I worked crazy hours in nursing school, sometimes going 2-3 weeks without a day off. At the time I was surprised how much contention my coworkers had for me having multiple jobs...having seen enough people do stupid shit when they're overworked and tired, I get why so many senior nurses side eye the hustle/grind shit.
Idk if my kid were in the hospital I wouldn't really by thrilled hearing their nurse was on their 29th shift. It's one thing to pick up here and there but at a certain point it just becomes irresponsible to your patients/colleagues
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u/master_chiefin777 Jun 20 '25
flight nurse with two other PRN jobs. I’ll work 24’s with 24 off but in between work at the hospital. I end up working around 120 hours a week. should break 250 at the end of the year. little bit of sacrifice for a year but it’ll be worth it
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u/kdawson602 RN Home Health Case Manager 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Starting next Monday, I’ll do 11 in a row but they’re only 8 hour shifts.
Before I was a nurse, I had a full time job and a part time job for 3 years. I still remember having only 1 day off for the first 3 months I dated my husband. I’m still riding the financial benefits of those years.
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u/DragonSon83 RN - ICU/Burn 🔥 Jun 20 '25
I do home IV infusions during the day, so I can make my schedule for that. Then I had a PRN position through a travel agency at a local micro-hospital chain, with the closest being two miles from my house. I would do some nights there. I’m currently on a full time contract until the end of August, so basically working two full time jobs. I also do a few PRN ICU shifts a month, mostly to keep my skills up, but three shifts there covers my mortgage payment.
I did pick up some OT shifts recently, but I usually only get about half of what I requested. Unfortunately, I got approved for all of the shifts I approved so August is going to suck.
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u/Least-Ambassador-781 RN - Psych/Mental Health 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I better be making more than 14k to work that much. I pick up 1 shift and I make an extra 1500 usually.
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u/TyrionCauthom RN- LTC Jun 21 '25
Nah man. I might pick up 4 hours here and there, but I’m not trying to work any overtime at all. I work my 36h, get paid for 40 because I’m salaried. And I go home and try to enjoy my life
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u/Comfortable_Tip_3942 Jun 21 '25
Oh my goodness I guess I am old 56 year-old male nurse for 15 years. I’m good with 40 hours a week or 36. I am too tired after my shifts working pediatrics
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u/WorldOfRoses RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
Did a local FT assignment, along with my FT job. Called out a few times, and did OT other times. Made about $256k
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u/bigtec1993 Jun 21 '25
The longest I've done is 5 12s in a row and never tf again will I do that unless I really need the money. I think I'd probably break after like day 10 or pass out or something. But I work on a med surg unit where I regularly put in 20k steps a shift and it's always some crazy bulshit coming my way because our staff retention sucks.
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u/schmopes Jun 21 '25
Just a thought, but if someone can physically and mentally work 29 shifts in a row, that person probably isn’t working very hard.
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u/Friendly_Estate1629 LPN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I’m going to work a streak of overtime, dump it into JEPI and have some dividend income down the road
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u/kataani RN - Infection Control 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I would kms before I worked 29 shifts in a row, no matter how broke.
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u/mindo312 RN - OR 🍕 Jun 21 '25
My unit doesn’t allow us to work/be on call for more than 6 days in a row.
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u/beautyinmel MSN, RN Jun 21 '25
Where they working that they get scheduled that many in a row? My facility caps us at 6 in a row since they’ll have to pay for OT starting day 7
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u/HollywoodGreats BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I worked 3 shifts full time and 1-2 shifts at a different hospital. It was worth it not to get overtime just to have the variety. I would have burned out doing the same floor overtime. I did this for 20 years to prepare for retirement.
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u/mothership00 RN - OR 🍕 Jun 22 '25
I’m sorry, but I’ve learned my mental and physical health are priceless.
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u/Fidget808 BSN, RN - OR 🍕 Jun 21 '25
For me, I pick up an extra 10 hour shift for OT + bonus and then extra call. I’m not making $14k extra in a month, but I also have a balance.
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u/liscbj Jun 21 '25
Yikes. I only did 19 in a row once. This was back in the day when anything scheduled over the 40 hour work week was Not overtime like it is now. In other words, you could get your hours in then be off. I did this one summer then went on a three week vacation. The weekends were Ps the rest were 11-7 with some 7-11 in mixed in that were extra.
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u/vbarndt Jun 21 '25
When I was full time weekend nights (Friday-Saturday-Sunday 12 hours) and orienting to my per diem job (M-F 0900-1700) I worked 21 days straight. Some of which were one shift directly into another. Granted the orientation work wasn’t patient care but still flipping back and forth like that was not super fun. Would not recommend 😅 but sometimes you just do what you have to do at the time
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u/psiprez RN - Infection Control 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I knew someone in LTC woth 3 FT jobs at 3 different facilities. AND was in school for her BSN.
How? One job was for each shift. For six days a week, she worked two 8 hr shifts, and had the day off for one job. One the obe day a week when she had no scedjled day off, she simply rotated calling out or scheduling PTO.
Yes, she was always super tired, but somehow made this work for three years.
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u/cw627540 MSN, APRN 🍕 Jun 21 '25
My max was 33 days straight. My second longest streak was 26 days. They were rough but I made it though. It was a mix of 8,12, and 16 hour shifts
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u/macydavis17 Jun 21 '25
i did 12 days in a row in the ED last summer because i was taking quite a bit of vacation time. It sucked but the check was lit
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u/Fun-Marsupial-2547 RN - OR 🍕 Jun 21 '25
I pick up call. Sometimes I make $5/hour just to sit at home
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u/Witty-Molasses-8825 Jun 21 '25
What are the benefits to having a prn job over doing overtime at one job?
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u/princessanisuperman Jun 21 '25
A friend in central valley works 1 fulltime job 1 PRN both psych facility and one WFH.. I havent ask how she does it or if she ever gets tired.
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u/PlainJaneNotSoPlain Jun 22 '25
Fuck that. Just absolutely NO. Fuck that.
I would fuckin accidently manslaughter the first human that acted the least bit perturbed with me.
I know my limits.
3 shifts in a row.
4 shifts in a row, ONLY if I'm going on vacation the next day & I maxed a credit card.
That's fuckin it.
No. I'm a damn beautifully empathetic nurse, I LOVE HUMANS. No matter how much they irk me. I try to help ANYONE that I can.
But there is a MAX to being that loving to patients.
I need a day of sittin couch-locked and doom scrolling in my tiny farmhouse, which is my sanctuary. I need peace. That's what refills my cup. And my family, just being home with them, brings me a healthy amount of dopamine.
I apologize. I haven't even read your post. I'll go read it now.
But NO.
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u/rosebuddafly4 Jun 22 '25
It’s not worth working like that anymore now that rates dropped last year. Before you could do 29 shifts and make over $30k. Now it’s just $14k? Absolutely not. I have friends that work 6-7 days a week regularly though. 12-hour shifts. The pandemic made a lot of nurses used to it. I couldn’t do more than 5 a week though lol.
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u/GenevieveLeah Jun 20 '25
Just double-check your tax liability
There is a sweet spot
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u/Shortyy24 Jun 20 '25
Can you explain more?
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u/Coffee_In_Nebula Jun 20 '25
Say you get taxed 5% making 25k or less a year, and then 25k-49k you get taxed 10%, and then 50k or above it’s 15%. For every dollar you make that’s over 25k up to 49k you get taxed at 10%, and every dollar you make over 50k you get taxed at 20%. It’s why overtime means you don’t see a lot of that money due to the increased tax brackets.
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u/Shortyy24 Jun 21 '25
Excuse me, I’m literally the worst at understanding taxes. What you said makes sense. But for example, how does overtime = increased tax brackets if it’s midway through the year and I’m still between 25k - 49k?
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u/_KeenObserver Seroquel Sommelier Jun 21 '25
Most payroll departments will tax your paycheck at a rate as if you were to make that amount every paycheck. So, if normally your paycheck puts you in one tax bracket, but with OT it puts you in another (assuming you were to make that amount every paycheck), you will have more deducted for taxes on that paycheck. However, assuming you make less than the pay period with OT projected you to make, there will be an adjustment when you file your taxes and you’ll get that money back. (Either by an increased return, or by decreasing what you would otherwise owe).
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Jun 20 '25
It’s good advice. Sometimes the extra money is just enough to nudge you into a higher federal income tax bracket. I learned this the hard way.
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u/_KeenObserver Seroquel Sommelier Jun 21 '25
Yes, but, for context, only for every dollar earned within the tax bracket (and not the previous dollars earned in lower tax brackets). If you were trying to convey that, I apologize, but a lot of people have that misunderstanding, and the perception disincentivizes a lot of people from picking up OT.
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Jun 21 '25
I get your point, but we actually lost deductions filing jointly and owed taxes because of my extra income that year. Everyone’s situation is unique, but it’s a good idea to do some rough calculations if the extra income is significant.
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u/Dry-Cockroach1148 Jun 21 '25
If they only had an extra 14k they aren’t playing the system right.
Usually in those scenarios where they will let someone work 29 shifts in a row there is a major staffing need. Major need often results in increased overtime incentives—better to hold out for those incentives and then pick up those extra shifts.
In the end you work less and make more.
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u/Gwywnnydd BSN, RN 🍕 Jun 20 '25
One of the units at my hospital has shifts for a break nurse. It’s a 6 hour shift, swan in at 11, take over a patient assignment for 30-45 minutes, repeat for every nurse on shift, remember to take your own lunch break, and go home at 6. It’s seriously a princess shift.