Why do units rotate shifts?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Adolescent haematology, oncology and BMT.

Oh my goodness, I can't believe what I'm reading. I'm making plans to move stateside but didn't know that's how the shifts are. Here in the UK, each 4 week rota is different. We work a combination of nights, long days and/or earlies and lates. I never work more than 4 - 6 nights on any rota and they're usually split into 2 sets. I think I'd just die if I had to work permanent nights! I can never rest properly so I get irritable, am permanently nauseated, my skin breaks out and my digestive system blocks up (if you know what I mean).

The rationale for working an internal rotation is the same as been mentioned earlier. Everyone gets to work unsocial hours and a good skill mix is ensured for each shift. A huge emphasis is also placed on developing people's skills within the clinical specialty. And since promotion and pay rises are based on meeting various competencies, people working permanent nights or days would never get exposure to the experinces that would allow them to become knowledgeable in all aspects of that speciality.

I quite like this way of working because I never get bored. It is flexible though and we're all given time to put in requests for what we want to work on the next rota depending on what plans we've made. We also have "preferences" so e.g. some people prefer to work all their nights at once while others prefer them split; some prefer to work their long days at weekends only because they find the weekdays too exhausting etc. So those who have kids and other long standing commitments are able to pretty much set their rota around their personal lives. There are enough different preferences for us to fit in around each other so in the end the unit is well covered provided there aren't any staff shortages....but that's a whole other thread!

Iggy123

26 Posts

Haha welcome to Canada - MOST hospitals I've worked in do 2 D, 3 off, 2 N, 2 off, 3 Day...etc. its horrible! so basically you flip flop between days, nights and random days off. It feels like you always are working because if your off for three days your preparing to rotate to nights...in the last province I worked in every hospital was like this. The new province I live in now at least does 2D2N and then 5 OFF...much easier even though alot of nurses hate it but I love it compared to the regular schedule that seems to be prevalent in hospitals here!

It would be nicer if we got 6 week rotating schedules but on the most part, we get rotating within the same week!

loriangel14, RN

6,931 Posts

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

My next 2 weeks consist of E,E,N,off,E,D,D,D,D,2 off,N,N,E,

Fiona59

8,343 Posts

Yup, some people just don't know when they got it good.'

Lorie, they seriously have you do an E then flip right onto Days? That's a contract violation out here and they would have to pay you double time for that first day shift. Might want to check your contract!

Iggy123

26 Posts

fiona, wait...i just did a 2 - 10 shift then had to be back the next day for a 12 hour day shift...is that double time? i wasnt paid for it and didnt even know that!

Fiona59

8,343 Posts

fiona, wait...i just did a 2 - 10 shift then had to be back the next day for a 12 hour day shift...is that double time? i wasnt paid for it and didnt even know that!

check your union contract. My contract specifies the number of hours off I need between shifts (15.5 hours because I work 7.75 hour shifts). If management schedules me to work (like Lori's) I am entitled to the OT for the short turn around. However, if I agree to pick up a shift and short turn around at my call then I'm not entitled to the OT rate. Now, I tell the staffing clerk "this is a short shift turn around, is OT authorized?" They know pretty fast, if you are needed.

Are you full time? Because if you are, any shift you pick up is OT but you still need to submit the OT slip. They are usually kept with all the other forms on most units.

OT doesn't kick in automatically, you have to fill up the OT slip and really know your contract.

shiccy

379 Posts

In our hospital we don't have shift rotations. Night shift is nights, Day shift is days. This being said, there's a HUGE amount of animosity against night shift from days, even those that just moved from nights and had the same feelings of animosity.

I think swing shifts or shift rotations would take care of this bigoted view of things.

An example of the sh** we have to deal with on nights is this:

We are a vented unit with 40 patients. If they are total care patients, we give the baths on nights. We get the AM accuchecks on nights, we give prilosec and synthroid on nights, we get lab draws and line draws on nights. We get weights on nights, etc. They keep pushing more and more on our shift and pulling more away from day shift. Oh and if they forget to clear pumps for I&O's, writing the plan of care evaluations out, evaluating fall risks or Braden's scales (some of the very few things they're responsible for) WE have to evaluate these for them (read: we pick up THEIR slack on a constant basis)

Oh and they are making *DARN* certain that day shift is fully staff, by pulling RN's and NA's from nights, but are taking their sweet old time replacing the night shift RN's.

Little appreciated, little valued, shot down every chance day shift desires.

danamobile

64 Posts

Specializes in GSICU, med/surg.

I think its hard to rotate shifts, I've worked on a 6 week schedule, half days half nights and didn't mind it (as a young new nurse) then in the ICU, we had 4-days on, 2 days, 2 nights, then 4-5 days off, rinse repeat. I HATED IT!!! Switching from nights to days every week was the worst thing ever endured!! I know finding staff for evenings/nights is always a problem, but there are always people that just love working straight eve/nights too, as there will be for days-- but there are always more wanting days than the latter, its the mid day 3-11(or similar) range that is hardest to fill. Rotating makes a fairness, instead of having potential employers look elsewhere. Check your union rules, I know where I am, we can ask for a change to our rotations and cannot be unreasonably denied (Unfortunately during our shortage of nursing that is being ignored right now, nothing is legitimate) but I won't get into that.

I found in the ICU I was able to trade enough of my day shifts to nearly work permanent nights, which was so much better than switching (and I loved nights then)--wow how things have changed after 5 years of nursing!! (I prefer not working at all now ;) ha ha j/k :))

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Shift rotation must be a regional thing. I don't know of any hospitals in Houston that do this. In all my career in Texas, I have never worked in a hospital that required shift rotation. In many instances, nights were better staffed than days, especially in those organizations that have very attractive shift diffs.

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