Parent-Shift Options Lure Inactive RNs

Nursing, particularly hospital nursing, has long been viewed by working moms and dads as an ideal job for giving them the flexibility to pursue a career and to spend time at home with their children. Three-day workweeks (12 hour shifts) have created the possibility of a nurse’s being able to enjoy full time employment along with increased family time.

Recently, an increasing number of hospitals across the country have begun instituting additional flexible work options for RNs. Nurses who have been out of the workforce for several years while rearing their young children are being lured back into the hospital by Parent Shift programs. These programs offer shorter shifts of four to five hours, refresher orientation and preceptors to ease the nurse back into the work environment and no requirements to rotate shifts or work holidays or weekends. The trade-off for the ability to design one’s own work schedule is that the mini-job does not come with a benefits package.

Some parent-shift nurses initially worried that the programs would prove too good to be true. Perhaps the attractive hours would morph into longer and more frequent shifts. Would there be hostility on the part of the regular nursing staff because of the much less demanding parent-shift hours? According to feedback from the parent-shifters, that has not been the case. Work hours have remained as promised and units are happy to have the help, no matter where it comes from.

The nursing shortage being what it is, it’s refreshing to see that hospitals are beginning to accommodate nurses who, if faced with an all or nothing work policy, would likely not return to the bedside. One good thing about a crisis—and the nursing shortage certainly qualifies as one—is that, in seeking solutions, innovation and creativity are forced into play.