Fresh RN - Shift Schedule

~PedsRN~, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2015

It will depend on you and what you like. Some nurses work three in a row and then take a nice break, then three more in a row. Some work 5 to 6 in a row and then take a NIIIIICE long stretch off .Some like two on, one off, one on, two off. It will really depend on how you cope and what you like. :)

Working nights, I liked to do all my shifts together so just I could remain nocturnal.

LV3677 · Nov 5, 2015

I'm like PedsRN, get 'em all out of the way. I used to do 7 on (combination of 12 and 8 hour shifts depending on the day) , 7 off. Wonderful.

SquishyRN, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2015

I've found that among the new nurses on my unit, it has been easier to adjust doing 2-3 shifts at a time with a couple of days in between to recharge. As the new nurses become less stressed as time goes on, it becomes easier to do the long stretches. Being on nights, most people on my unit (including myself) prefer the long stretches.

OkieSunRN · Nov 6, 2015

I am a new nurse. I don't do self scheduling on my unit, but I'm pretty happy with my current schedule. I work 2 on 3 off, 2 on, 2 off. So my rotation is nights Mon, tue, Sat, Sun, Wed, Thur. So I work every other weekend. And regularly get three days off.

But most places who self schedule have routines that the nurses work out. You'll figure it out. :-)

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Nov 6, 2015

Play with it for awhile and see what works for you, are you working nights?

If you are nights, it is going to depend on your body adjusting to sleep schedules as well

For example i used to work

3 on 8 off 3 on 2 off 3 on 2 off 3 on 8 off

Because I had to work every 3rd weekend on the times when I had 2 off I stayed up until 3 or 4Am so I didn't really switch back, but I hated that my Sunday's were always sleep deprived, either I was getting off work or going to work that night, so it would take 3 weeks to really be off on a Sunday, which for me is family time, so I played with my schedule again

And now on my weekend rather than 3 in a row, I do 4 on

So

4 on 1or 2 off, 2 on, 3 or 4 off, 3 on 7 off

I still get a long stretch off, and I get a 3 or 4 day stretch off as well

emmy27 · Nov 6, 2015

On nights on a floor as a new grad, I preferred as many nights in a row as possible- once per schedule I had five in a row (three on one week immediately followed by two in the next). I got in to the swing of my sleeping schedule that way, often had the same assignment night to night, and then had a nice long break to recover in between. I travelled a lot then, too.

As a day shift ER nurse, I much much prefer working one day and then having at least one day off- I get so much more sleep if I'm not trying to cram it in between 12s and there's no benefit to the assignments. I also have a more optimistic outlook when I know it's just the rest of the shift and then I can sleep as long as a I want, rather than facing two more shifts after the one I'm on.

It's all down to lifestyle and personal preference, really. If you aren't night shift, I would recommend not working threes in a row as a new grad where possible- I think we underestimate what an impact exhaustion can have on our capabilities and our state of mind. But if it doesn't seem to bother you and you sleep really well between shifts, or if you're night shift and constantly having to switch back and forth anyway, stacking shifts can be very convenient!

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 6, 2015

I prefer to work most of my shifts in a row, then have a couple of days off. I don't like 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off... Nor do I like to have monster stretches (7+) of either shifts or days off. The former burns me out; the latter makes me restless after 3 days.

Try a different pattern each scheduling period to see what works for you. You can always change how you schedule yourself.

One thing to keep in mind when making your schedule: be sure you follow your facility's P&P regarding weekend/holiday scheduling. Be sure you're picking up your required weekend and holiday shifts. Failing to do that can get you in trouble with HR...plus won't make you any friends among your coworkers when they see the new grad working only weekday shifts.

Best of luck!

NurseStorm, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2015

I don't like to work any more than 3 12 hour shifts in a row. 3 is hard enough on the body and mind sometimes Clearly by this post a lot of it is personal preference so you may have to play around with it a bit, if that is allowed. Starting out with either 2 shifts in a row or 3 shifts in a row is a pretty safe bet in my opinion. Especially when new and needing experience its nice to not have the shifts spaced so far apart.