The Best Jobs For Nurses With Children

“The great thing about nursing is that you can try different roles to see what suits you… and it's up to each nurse to decide which option works best for their situation! Ultimately, finding the right balance between work and family life is crucial for nurses with children.”

In this insightful article, Olivia shares her recommendations for nursing jobs for those with children, and how to work out what rota structure would suit you.

Nursing is a demanding but rewarding profession, just like parenthood! Nursing in the UK offers many opportunities for career advancement, but it can be very challenging to find family-friendly nursing careers that accommodate work-life balance.

In this post, I will explore some of the best jobs for nurses with children in the UK and compare the pros and cons of shift work vs weekday work (Monday - Friday) work.

Let's start with a list of some family-friendly nursing careers.

Practice Nurse

Practice Nurses work in GP centres. Their job description can include administering vaccinations, completing health checks, facilitating wound care, and health education/ promotion. Practice Nurses usually work Monday - Friday and have “normal” work hours, therefore It’s a great option for nurses with children at home.

District Nurse

District Nurses work in the community. They provide medical care to patients in their homes, including wound care, IV administration and maintenance, catheter and continence care, and palliative care. This job can provide flexible working hours and allows nurses to balance both work and family. It can occasionally require evening and weekend work depending on the job description.

Research Nurse

Research Nurses work in a wide range of clinical trial settings. They also manage and coordinate research studies in hospitals, clinics, and universities. This is a fabulous option for nurses with children! it usually involves working during the week, with minimal weekend or holiday work (hooray). However, it can be stressful for Research Nurses who have more responsibility and manage large clinical trials and/or research studies.

Occupational Health Nurse

Occupational Health Nurses work in a variety of settings, including workplaces and government agencies. They provide healthcare services to employees, general healthcare, drug and alcohol testing, health assessments, vaccinations, and education. Again, depending on the workplace the nurse works in, this is a profession that usually involves weekday hours, with minimal weekend or holiday shifts.

Nursing is a demanding but rewarding profession, just like parenthood... it can be very challenging to find family-friendly nursing careers that accommodate work-life balance.

School Nurse

School Nurses provide healthcare to children and teens, urgent care, vaccinations, health assessments, and education. This involves normal school hours on weekdays and can be a low stress option for nurses with families. Bonus if you love working with children and young people!

Nurse injector (Aesthetics)

Nurse Injectors administer injectable treatments, such as Botox and dermal fillers. Being a Nurse Injector involves working in private cosmetic clinics. This usually means weekday hours and better pay compared to the public sector. It also provides opportunities for nurses to start their own business in the future; this is quite a rare occurrence in the nursing profession!

Injecting jobs are often part-time or flexible, allowing nurses to work around their children.

Dermatology Nurse

Dermatology Nurses work in private or public clinics and hospitals. They treat and manage patients with skin conditions (e.g., psoriasis, eczema, and acne) and they assist dermatologists and surgeons in surgical procedures such as skin cancer removal and biopsies. Most dermatology clinics offer regular weekday hours!

It's also a low stress job compared to other specialties which is an advantage for busy parents who may already be struggling to balance children and work.

Nurse Consultants

Nurse Consulting can be a highly specialised and lucrative career option for nurses with children. Nurse Consultants can run their own business from home or work for large insurance companies and hospitals. Consultants often develop and review policies, provide advice and education to clients around nursing and healthcare, and evaluate how effective certain healthcare interventions are. They can provide their valuable clinical experience and knowledge in a non-clinical environment.

It usually involves weekday hours and can provide flexibility in busy family schedules.

The great thing about nursing is that you can try different roles to see what suits you… and it's up to each nurse to decide which option works best for their situation! Ultimately, finding the right balance between work and family life is crucial for nurses with children.

Shift Work Vs Weekday Work

Next, we're going to take a look at the pros and cons of both shift work and weekday work. This will help you decide what rota pattern you think fit better around your family's needs.

Shift Work Pros:

- Often pays more than weekday work.

- Flexibility in work hours, which can help nurses balance work and family responsibilities.

- Variety in a nurse's work schedule, which can help prevent burnout and boredom.

Shift Work Cons:

- Can interfere with family life, making it difficult to spend time with children and participate in family activities.

- May disrupt sleep schedules, leading to fatigue and decreased job performance.

- Could lead to feelings of isolation and disconnection from friends and family who work during standard business hours.

- Shift work can be exhausting, which isn't ideal for already tired parents.

Weekday Work Pros:

- Offers a regular schedule, making it easier to plan and participate in family activities.

- Can provide more opportunities for social interaction with family and friends who work normal business hours; you can say yes to that weekend brunch with your friends!

- Can lead to a far healthier work-life balance, allowing nurses to focus on their family, social, and personal lives outside of work.

Weekday Work Cons:

- Less flexibility in work hours.

- May offer lower pay compared to shift work in some cases.

- Shorter hours means you may have to work more days per week compared to shift work (for example 5x 8-hour days versus 3x 12-hour days).

Finding Your Balance

As you can see, there are several family-friendly nursing careers available in the UK. All these jobs offer a good work-life balance for nurses with children.

Nursing is historically known to be a rigid profession; however, we have the option to choose what style and type of work fits into our lives. The great thing about nursing is that you can try different roles to see what suits you.

Shift and weekday work both have their pros and cons, and it's up to each nurse to decide which option works best for their situation! Ultimately, finding the right balance between work and family life is crucial for nurses with children. There are hundreds of great jobs for nurses with children, some may even offer childcare discounts or flexible working from home. The world is your oyster!

What other family friendly jobs can you think of? I'd love to hear your answers!

Nursing Jobs

If you’re looking for a change of roles to better fit work around family life, you can search all our jobs here.