Does anyone rotate day/night schedule?

[Sandwitch883RN]

I am thinking of applying at a hospital that requires day/night rotation. I'm not sure but I think the rotation is q 2 weeks. Does anyone do this type of schedule? I'm wondering how hard to switch from days to nights will be and how disruptive it will be to my family. I've worked full time straight nights for a year and completely hated it then worked full time straight days for 6 months....liked days soooo much better. I'm now prn and work days. There is no part or full time position where i work now so im prn for the time being (which does have some great advantages!!) The rotating schedule is at another hospital about 45 min. from where I live. Any thoughts, tips, suggestions on working rotating schedules?

[krisjazzer13]

Hello there! I am currently on a rotating day/night schedule that changes q2-4 weeks (varies, but normally q3 weeks to keep everyone sane). I was kind of in the same boat as you previously, as I worked straight nights for 6 months, was miserable, switched to days for about a year and was loving it, then switched hospitals and here I am w/the rotating...to be honest, I really like it! I thought I would absolutely hate it, but since day shift is pull-your-hair-out hectic, switching to nights for a few weeks is a welcome change! The shift changing balances everything out and it does take a few days to adjust (usually about 2 or so), but then I get into a groove and it is nice to work w/all of the staff instead of being separated into 'days' and 'nights'. I do not have any children yet, so I cannot comment on managing a family, but people seem to work it out just fine @ my hospital- best of luck!:wink2:

[Jules A, MSN]

At my prn job I do a variety of shifts and usually in any given month I will do 4-6 overnight shifts. It is a little rough to get organized with sleeping but not too bad and like krisjazzer13 said I really like the change of pace. Good luck.

[RN1982]

I rotate days/nights. I usually do 2 months of days and a month of nights but I can sign up for an additional month of nights if I want and usually there is a need to night shift nurses. I like both because one shift is a break from another.

[PiPhi2004]

I do rotating days/nights. There are some weeks I do both in the same week! There are good points and bad I think. I think you learn a lot about what goes on during different shifts, you get a break from the straight night/day monotony. I personally would LOVE to work days but can't, so getting to work 2 weeks of days is better, to me, than straight nights. You get a chance to know all other staff members because they rotate like you, so I think it has a closeness because it isnt day shift vs night shift, you are all in this together.

Cons: The sleep schedule is miserable. It takes a long time to get used to. Paychecks fluctuate immensely with the difference in pay from days/nights (they do for me anyway). You will probably dislike one shift more than the other.

It is definately doable, but it has its ups and downs.

[RN1982]

Rotating every other week is stupid and wearing on the body. I would made management aware when I hired into my new job that I wasn't doing that if they were going to make me rotate every other week. Thank god the standard is 2months days/ 1month nights.

[hollyberry678]

Wow, when I started days/nights, they would schedule you for say 2 nights, off a day (to sleep), then on nights...no week by week thing, a days by days thing, awful! I kept getting headaches. Now I am on one shift only!

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Most of my unit does at least 2 differenet shifts. I like it for many reasons already mentioned - its nice to go from the hetic pace of days to a quieter shift and you get to work with diffent people. I also think there is less of "night vs day" when you work both shift. We do have some people that work straight nights who try to invoke the "nights vs days" thing. People who work both know that both shifts can be equally busy and hetic and both shifts presnet their own unique challenges.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i rotate. i can fill in my own schedule as long as i meet certain parameters -- a certain number of weekend shifts, my holidays. and a certain number of night shifts. i prefer to work all my nights then all my days so i only have to rotate once. but some folks will work two days followed by a night shift every week. one woman rotates days to nights to days every week -- she says it's hard on her husband to have to get their two young children up, fed, dressed and ready for daycare every morning, they take turns. he does it one week and she does it the next.

i'm finding that when it's time for my night shift, i'm ready for a break from the hustle and bustle of day shift. and when it's time for me to go back to day shift, it's nice to be able to sleep at night again. each shift is a nice break from the other!