Can you work fulltime in four days??

annaedRN, RN · Feb 21, 2008

I think it all depends on the facility. We have a weekend nurse that does 2 12 hr shifts. But we all work 5 8-hr days...just to let you know, my day is often shorter than 8 hrs. You have the flexibility to arrange your schedule to some degree and maybe swing home for lunch or finish up with patients early and come home to see your kids get off the bus, etc. So ultimately, the 5 days a week isn't too bad. Good luck to you.

The charting really isn't that bad - especially if you discipline yourself to do some/most/all of the charting in the patient's home..or pull down the road and spend a few minutes doing so. Like anything, the more you do it the easier it gets. Admissions/OASIS assessments are a bit lengthy.

colleennurse, ASN, RN · Feb 21, 2008

It probably depends on the HH agency you work for. I am going to be starting 4 10's next week. And it is pretty flexible. If I start my day at 7am, then yes I plan onit ending at 530ish. however, if I have like a dr appt and I start at 8 then I would end my day at 630ish. Plus it all depends on what the patient needs are, and as a pp said a lot of time you can finish up your charting at home. actually a lot of the nurses I work with do 4 10's. Some work 2 on 1 off 2 on then the weekend. Good luck!

caliotter3 · Feb 23, 2008

Flexibility is the word in hh. You can find a case where you could work 10 hour shifts or other combinations to make you happy. I've seen many strange concoctions of hours and days. Whatever you can work out with the client and with your agency. It's up to you to tell the agency what you want and they will make the effort to accommodate you while at the same time giving the client the care they need.

annaedRN, RN · Feb 23, 2008

It's up to you to tell the agency what you want and they will make the effort to accommodate you while at the same time giving the client the care they need.

I think that it depends on the agency and also if it is visits or shift nursing. I do visits, and while I have alot of flexibility in scheduling how my day plays out ( starting/finishing early or late, doing visits around a doctor appt, etc). I don't have a whole lot of flexibility in my actual overall schedule. FT is routinely 5 days - I guess if really needed a 4 10-hr day may be okayed, but I never checked into it.

I have friends that work for an agency doing shift work and they can schedule themselves whenever they want. No restrictions, no requirements. That being said, if you make yourself available for some of the less desirable shifts/cases, the agency often keeps you in mind when the good ones come along!

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 23, 2008

As others have said ... that depends on your employer. They need coverage for every day of the week (to start new cases, be available for emergencies, etc.) How they choose to schedule their staff to provide that coverage is up to them.

akcarmean, LPN · Feb 25, 2008

I work HH and I work 4 10 hr. days a week for my full 40 hours. It all depends on the agency, the insurance co the pt. has etc.

You would just have to ask around when talking to the agencies before becoming employed with them.