Can you work straights days?

[IcySageNurse]

So here's the deal:

I started in a hospital straight out of nursing school. Left after a VERY short amount of time (like 4 weeks) because I couldn't deal with 12 hour shifts, weekends, etc. I then moved to working into a primary care office, where I've worked since (with normal M-F, 9-5 hours). I recently moved to a new area and have to find a new job, and I'm looking to go back into the hospital. For my future goals, I need the hands on experience of bedside nursing, and I just didn't really learn a ton in a primary care office. I haven't started an IV, managed patients, etc. since practically nursing school (about a year ago). So how do I get into the hospital?

I feel like I don't qualify as a "new grad" and can't apply for those sorts of positions due to my experience...yet I also don't have enough acute care experience to apply to anything else in a hospital! It's almost like I've fallen through the cracks! How can I get back in??

[wooh, BSN, RN]

So won't work nights. Won't clean poop. Won't work weekends. Won't work 12 hour shifts.

How about you list what you will do, and we'll try to find a job that fits those parameters that you can get with almost zilch experience.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

At my hospital everyone starts with the schedule you described and stays on it. There is only a few permanent night positions. The rest are day evening with night rotations. Some senior day/evening people rarely rotate. The shifts are 2 eights 2 twelves. a few highly sought after 3 twelves. everyone works weekends fri-sun everyother and holidays. no exceptions unless you get someone to work for you:

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

We do 3-12s I am in a new grad program and rotate 2 weeks days, 2 weeks nights. I hate it. I think I could get used to nights if I did them all the time. After orientation is over (less than a month!!!!) I am going to BEG for some sort of regular schedule. I will work weekend nights to have some regularity.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

The idea of someone with your lack of experience being hired into straight days is very slim. If you actually want to get back into the acute care setting then you need to be willing to work nights, rotate, work weekends, and holidays. This is part of what comes with the territory. Sounds to me like you want to cushy hours of a clinic but with the responsibilities of the hospital, which isn't going to happen

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Short answer: yes, you could work straight days.

Long answer: Probably not right out of nursing school, as many facilties have waiting lists for day shifts and they're not going to risk ticking off their staff to hand a new grad a plum schedule like that...not impossible, but far from probable. And probably not in acute care as hospitals are 24/7/365 and patients don't just show up from 0900-1700.

If you're willing to go and work in clinics, doctor's offices, outpatient programs, schools, day surgery, community programs and other non-acute places, then you may just get your straight days.

It's all down to what you are willing to compromise on. If you want the acute care hospital experience, you'll have to accept that it won't always be day shift. If you want the schedule, you have to accept that it won't always be in acute care. You won't get to have it all, at least not right out of the gate.

So take some time to figure out what you REALLY want, as based on this thread as well as your other threads...you don't seem entirely sure of what that is yet. And that's OK...but in the end, only you can decide if what you are looking for can be found in nursing.

Good luck.

[monkeybug]

because they are never able to fill nights.

That is just awful, though. Many hospitals ensure night shift workers by 1) offering shift differential pay, so there is financial incentive to working nights and (2) hiring all new nurses in on night shift, and offering day shifts as they come open by seniority. I cannot imagine working rotating shifts. It seems dangerous to patients.

[loriangel14, RN]

There are only a couple of straight day lines where I work and they are both occupied by the most senior staff.They still do their share of weekends and holidays. Everyone else has a rotating schedule.A new grad wouldn't get straight days ever.

The OP seems to have a lot of demands for a new grad.

[LaceyRN12]

I never heard of having to be rotated to both days and nights...

I guess I was lucky I was hired to days. I mean, they did ask me what I preferred. I said, "I prefer days, but I can also do nights." They still gave me my preference for days.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I never heard of having to be rotated to both days and nights...

Rotating schedules are fairly common nowadays because it helps fill a staffing need. Though a lot of places will do it to minimize/avoid paying the shift differential.

[loriangel14, RN]

We work a mixture of 8s and 12s so some rotations are D-E.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

Well, it seems to me if you want a poop-free job with no nights or weekends, you better stick to the doctor's office. Why on earth are you trying to get back into the hospital? Hospitals are FULL of sick, incontinent people who need 24/7 care. It's not full of ambulatory/continent people who go home at 5.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

There was something in there about his long term goals needing to be backed up with hospital experience. Don't tell me.... wait for it ..... it's coming to me... yesssss... it's.... CRNA school! Or maybe NP school. Either way, somebody must have given him some reaaaaallllllly bad information about what hospital experience involves. Or what he went to nursing school for. Or something. Because there are a lot of big-time disconnects here.

OP, at this point all you can do is reassess your priorities: for shift work, for actual bedside patient care, or for changing your long-term goal.

They way you're setting it up for yourself, you are doomed to disappointment and failure.

So. What'll it be?