Hi my question is a R.N. schedule flexible

Hi Jacob! I am currently a registered nurse working in an emergency department (ED). One of the best things about becoming a nurse is the ability to have a flexible schedule. Your schedule will most likely depend on what kind of setting you want to work in and sometimes how much experience you have.

For example, when I started off as a new-graduate nurse in the emergency department, I was "tracked out". This basically means that you work a "track" that follows a pattern, usually a 2 week pattern. So most of the time the track is Monday/Tuesday/Friday/Saturday and going into the next week is Sunday/Wednesday/Thursday. So you basically work every other weekend. Tracks are nice because it allows you to plan your vacations far in advance because you always know what days you will be working.

Once I had worked in that setting for about 1 year, I asked to be "part-time". This allowed me to only have to work 2 days a week. However, I worked in an extremely busy ED so that allowed me to pick up as many available shifts as I wanted. Being part-time was great because it allowed me to pick up whatever days I wanted and make my own schedule. I am also a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE), so I am the nurse that collects the "rape kit". Being a SANE comes with being on-call so often times I would pick up call shifts on my days off and make extra money that way.

However, I will add that being a nurse is HARD work. Having a flexible schedule helps alleviate the stress of the job but your heart has to truly be in nursing.