Can you help me with this schedule?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Med/Oncology, Emergency, Surgery.

so, if a facility has you work three 12-hour shifts and you have to work every third weekend and holiday, what does your schedule look like? you obviously aren't working the same days every week, so it's 3 days on, then how many days off before your next 3 days on in order to get you working every third weekend?

thanks for your help.

Specializes in Rehab, critical care.

That just depends on the schedule they give you when you start. You could have 1, 2, 3, or 4 days off in between shifts, and that will probably vary week by week (but your schedule usually is the same every other week, so if you work M,T,W week 1, and S,S, M, week 2, you'll then work M,T,W/S,S,M over and over, but that may be different with your weekend set-up there). Every 3rd weekend? That's interesting...most places are every other weekend. Consider yourself lucky lol.

Best of luck to you!

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

Are 3 consecutive days required? You don't mention that in your post.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

They don't have to schedule you to work 3 days in a row. You can have any combination of days -- just so it adds up to 3 shifts per week.

To visualize it ... Get a calendar and mark every 3rd weekend for a couple of months. Then "play with" the different possibilities that would give you 3 shifts per week. You'll find there is an almost limitless number of possible schedules.

Specializes in Pedi.

I work 36 hrs/week, every 3rd weekend, day/night rotation so my schedule could be something like this:

Week 1: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday (days)

Week 2: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday (days)

Week 3: Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday (days)

Week 4: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday (nights)

Week 5: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday (nights)

Week 6: Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday (nights)

There are no guarantees and, in my facility, working 36 hrs/week does not guarantee you all 12 hour shifts nor does it actually guarantee that you only work 36 hrs/week- as long as you work 216 hrs in a 6 week period, you could be working 48 hrs one week (without OT) and 24 hrs the next. Sometimes I end up with a week off between shifts and sometimes it feels I work every other day for weeks at a time.

Specializes in Med/Oncology, Emergency, Surgery.

I'm interviewing for new grad positions, and they said every third weekend and every third holiday. I didn't think to ask about consecutive shifts. I'm still figuring out the questions to ask. Thank you!

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