Toward the end of my nursing school we had to work as interns at the local hospital.
Thankfully I was able to schedule my shifts during the middle of the night and this made it easier to get the kids back and forth to school, handle appointments during the day and get some much needed rest while the kids were in class.
My husband could stay home with them during the night and it allowed us to avoid hiring a sitter too. My shifts were fairly quiet because the patients were sleeping most of the time and we just had to do routine rounds to check blood pressure and give medications. It allowed me time to do homework too and I loved that. My only issue with that shift was the fact that the hospital policy with heating and cooling was different during the night. They would lower the temperature on the floors to save money on energy. They figured that most people were sleeping under warm blankets anyway so it was a perfect way to cut expenses. This may have been true but it made those of us working very uncomfortable. We weren’t allowed to use any sort of portable heating devices so I was forced to wear long underwear under my uniform. I would also walk around with a cup of hot coffee or tea in my hands to keep those warm. I was glad when I finished my internship and I decided not to apply for a permanent position at that facility. I wanted a hospital that took care of its employees as well as its patients.