Can new grads get a 7a-3p shift?

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Hi guys!

I was thinking about nursing school, but I am also concerned about those night shifts. As a new nurse, would I realistically be able to get a 7a- to 3p shift so I could be home at night?

Alternatively, isn't there a shift where I could just work weekends and still be paid the same as if I'd worked all week?

Thanks

Specializes in Acute rehab/geriatrics/cardiac rehab.

Hi - I'm a new grad. When I tried to get days, they told me they would only hire me for evenings at the hospital I'm at, and switch me to days if a day position opened up. I didn't want to only work evenings due to I would have to leave the house before my teenagers came home. I imagined days of seeing them only in the morning. The hospital ended up allowing me to alternate. Yes, I do days one week 7 - 3:30 and evenings another week. 3 - 11:30. And I discovered I actually enjoy the evenings better than days. The day shift is challenging (actually the day shift can be a madhouse). Evenings can also be challenging but there is a point where most, (not all), but most of the folks are finally falling asleep. I have fewer meds to hand out.

If it wasn't for the fact I have kids, I would probably be doing evenings all the time.

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Every place around here hires new grads for daylight but there is a catch. You have to rotate to either evening or nights. Even our most senior nurse does one week of evenings a month. NO ONE gets steady days except for management, my boss is here from eight till eight almost every day.

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Sheesh, talk about nurses eating thier young! IMO all you "seasoned" or should I say "cynical" nurses should be ashamed of yourselves. :angryfire The poor girl just asked a question and it seems if SOME of you are pouncing on her for not already knowing the answer. So what if she wants day shift! So what if she is blissfully unaware of how much foot work goes into the job! I imagine that is why she asked, and with the responses she's gotten she may be less inclined to ever ask anything again. And what is with all these references to ER? Did she every once say in any of her posts - I THINK I WANT TO BE A NURSE CAUSE I LIKE SAW IT ON ER AND IT SEEMED LIKE SOOO COOOL!!!! (i read all 3 of her posts and no she didnt) I am a student nurse myself and I pray to God that after 10 years I don't respond to someone with honest simple questions about nursing with the same condesending crap that SOME of you are dishing out. Give the girl some credit, she already graduated from law school for crying out loud she probably has the moxy for nursing as well!!Seems to me she just does'nt know much about the profession, but she is trying to find out. How sad she gets to see this holier than thou part of nursing that makes me sick. Didn't we all start out with the little itch "I wonder if I could be a nurse?" not even fully knowing what that meant yet. The most benificial advice that was given was to shadow a nurse and that day shift would be really hectic for a new grad. I am not so sure what the "princess nurse/diarrhea" story had to do with the posters question but it probably demoralized her to be put in a catagory with someone like that for asking about day shift and amount of time on her feet. Somewhat Sorry to vent , Somewhat not! I am currently home from clinical with the flu and thought I'd hop on allnurses to cheer myself up and this thread just finished me off! :banghead: So to akissbytheseine WELCOME TO THE "CARING" PROFESSION!

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I was able to get a day position as a new grad, but I think the main reason was because I had worked there as a student nurse for 2 years already. My advice is to "get your foot in the door" somewhere if you really really want a day shift position. YES it was hard, YES the docs were demanding, but I LOVED it. I learned SOOO much on days. There were so many more opportunities for me on days...I got to watch docs perform many bedside procedures, I got to accompany my patients to procedures/tests (while on orientation), I got to collaborate with other disciplines (physical therapy, social work, case management, etc). The list goes on and on. I think if you start out on days and can handle all the demands of meals, baths, meds, families, docs, transport, etc. - you can handle anything! Yes, you can get some of this on nights, but after working nights at a new hospital, I found that the sheer number of opportunities were not there.

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Pinkiepie!!! calm down girl. I read only one or two posts that were snippy. THe others are saying hey this is what goes on where I work or this is what happened to me when I graudate. I think this is called offering advice. Why is it horrible and nasty to say hey it is hard to get a day shift right out of school or to say you might have to put in some time on nights before you get moved to days. She asked for advice and this what she is getting. getting told to shadow some nurses is advice, getting told to look for a day position is advice, getting told you might get days after you work a while is advice. Also, two people have referred to TV. only one referred to ER and that was me. this is what I said "Believe me I go to school with some girls (princess alert) that i think have watched one to many episodes of of general hospital. at least if they are watching ER it is a little more realistic" first off, this is not about the OP in anyway. I believe it is about some girls I go to school with. In your post you said you read all 3 of her posts. well maybe you need to read the other posts again. These posts are in response to someone wanting advice. Seasoned, not "cynical", nurses and CNAs are responding with their advice and experiences. If you percieve this as nasty, you are going to have a tough time.

Kris

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I know for a fact that day shift (7-3pm) is the toughest shift for CNAs in nursing homes. They have breakfast and lunch, you have to get 10 patients up and washed for the day, they have doctors appointments, salon appointments, activities, rounds, etc. It's very hectic, and it's not the best shift for a new CNA who wasn't the fastest in skills. I was recommended by my CNA instructor to go on 3rd or 2nd shift.

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I know for a fact that day shift (7-3pm) is the toughest shift for CNAs in nursing homes. They have breakfast and lunch, you have to get 10 patients up and washed for the day, they have doctors appointments, salon appointments, activities, rounds, etc. It's very hectic, and it's not the best shift for a new CNA who wasn't the fastest in skills. I was recommended by my CNA instructor to go on 3rd or 2nd shift.

I know exactely what your are talking about. That is SO TRUE! Its hard to work day shift as both a nurse and CNA. As a nurse you have doctors rounding and new orders to deal with, plus getting them their AM and NOON meds, making sure they are off to surgery or X-ray, and its just one of the most hecteck times. And for CNA you like KitKat says, wash and get up all your patients, deal with the AM and NOON meals plus AM and NOON vitals and so on. I really tried to AVOID day shift cause of all that. Course the plus side of being busy is that your time flys by but I think evening shift is the best, that is if you don't have a big family life and want to be home for dinner and stuff. But evening shift is more layed back, only one meal, not as many med times and things are getting settled down for night shift.

So, I guess its not only a matter of what time the shifts are but whats happening at those shifts that is a big big factor. So, good luck and I think you should go for it, become a nurse and see what happens.

Curleysue :)

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Pinkiepie!!! calm down girl. I read only one or two posts that were snippy. THe others are saying hey this is what goes on where I work or this is what happened to me when I graudate. I think this is called offering advice. Why is it horrible and nasty to say hey it is hard to get a day shift right out of school or to say you might have to put in some time on nights before you get moved to days. She asked for advice and this what she is getting. getting told to shadow some nurses is advice, getting told to look for a day position is advice, getting told you might get days after you work a while is advice. Also, two people have referred to TV. only one referred to ER and that was me. this is what I said "Believe me I go to school with some girls (princess alert) that i think have watched one to many episodes of of general hospital. at least if they are watching ER it is a little more realistic" first off, this is not about the OP in anyway. I believe it is about some girls I go to school with. In your post you said you read all 3 of her posts. well maybe you need to read the other posts again. These posts are in response to someone wanting advice. Seasoned, not "cynical", nurses and CNAs are responding with their advice and experiences. If you percieve this as nasty, you are going to have a tough time.

Kris

:yeahthat:

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Yes, it is absolutely possible to get a job working days as a new nurse.

Exactly - this opinion seems to be overlooked - there are many of us who have found it easy to work day shift . . . I've read all the posts and I would say that it probably depends on where you are. It is very easy to find a day shift in Northern CA.

And I have to mention again free standing surgery centers. The ones owned by the physicians. Nice bonuses. No holidays or weekends. You can work part-time and make as much as some full-time hospital nurses.

I had absolutely no idea what nursing entailed when I started back to school at 38 . .. .I didn't know allnurses.com existed either. I would have probably asked the same kind of questions - and I'm far from a princess. :rolleyes:

steph

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Hi guys!

I was thinking about nursing school, but I am also concerned about those night shifts. As a new nurse, would I realistically be able to get a 7a- to 3p shift so I could be home at night?

Alternatively, isn't there a shift where I could just work weekends and still be paid the same as if I'd worked all week?

Thanks

Many major university hospital operating rooms offer on job training to new grads. You can often get a 7a - 3p shift without a problem. Check it out.

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Here in WV, some of the facilities make deals with new grads so they can shortly work on shifts they prefer, sadly these deals often cost a more senior nurse time on an alternate shift, not of her choosing. When this happens one time too many the senior nurse walks or transfers to another units. I think new grads deserve a good orientation, a good basic review of the floor and the skills expected of them on a regular basis, but I do not think they should be given deals for shifts and the more senior nurses required to change their schedules for the new grad. Sorry, been there one time too many.

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I know exactely what your are talking about. That is SO TRUE! Its hard to work day shift as both a nurse and CNA. As a nurse you have doctors rounding and new orders to deal with, plus getting them their AM and NOON meds, making sure they are off to surgery or X-ray, and its just one of the most hecteck times. And for CNA you like KitKat says, wash and get up all your patients, deal with the AM and NOON meals plus AM and NOON vitals and so on. I really tried to AVOID day shift cause of all that. Course the plus side of being busy is that your time flys by but I think evening shift is the best, that is if you don't have a big family life and want to be home for dinner and stuff. But evening shift is more layed back, only one meal, not as many med times and things are getting settled down for night shift.

So, I guess its not only a matter of what time the shifts are but whats happening at those shifts that is a big big factor. So, good luck and I think you should go for it, become a nurse and see what happens.

Curleysue :)

Hey there. I've worked for a pool agency as a CNA last summer and fall and I've worked twice on day shift. It was HELL! I've worked with awful aides and nurses who don't understand teamwork. I've gotten *****ed at by the aide when I asked her to assist me with a hoyer lift patient. She snapped, "I'm busy, do it yourself!" Hoyers are always at least two people assists. I finally found a nurse to help me, but I wasn't risking on losing my cna license. My CNA instructor always said, "Drop a patient, you lose your license and you'll never have a job in nursing again." Then I went in one of the patient's room and his feeding tube alarm sounded so I fetched the nurse and she snapped, "Why don't you turn it off? Can't you see I'm busy?" But she rolled her eyes and turned it off after I told her that I was an aide and it was out of my scope of practice. Hey, she went to nursing school to turn off the alarms and determine the problem. It's her job, not mine. Plus she wasn't busy; she was sitting on her *** and filing her nails.

I had 15 patients to get up for the day and it was hell. Plus I picked up after one lazyass, rude cna. I did 2 of her patients she ignored, caz I got their bells, and they haven't had a bath or depend changes since grave shift left. Being a pool aide, they just give you the assignment sheet without even a tour. I don't know how I did my job, but I did. I'll never do days again. I've mostly done 2nd and 3rd shifts on pool. I don't do pool anymore; since they've never gave me assignments anymore. Oncall sucks; sometimes they'll never call no matter how many times you bug them.

I do volunteer at a hospital in the mornings on the nursing floors, and I love it. I'm working on getting a CNA job there. I'm gaining a ton of experience. I'd love to do 2nd or 3rd shift; maybe 1st. But 1st shift is very hectic at a hospital too. You have discharges, breakfast and lunch, and the visitors. Grave can be hard too in LTC. Sometimes you can have the whole wing to yourself as an aide, and you have the bells going off nonstop during rounds.

But it's easier in a way caz you have no meals, showers, baths, etc. and they sleep. It's mostly pericare on rounds, check on them, vitals, and paperwork. But the hardest is when you're by yourself in a wing and have the bells go off nonstop. :uhoh21:

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