How hard is it generally to switch from one shift to another, say from eves to days?

Rabid Response · Feb 16, 2010

If your hospital is anything like mine, I expect it will be very difficult to change shifts at present. Generally, if you want to go to another shift there must first be an opening. At my hospital they have closed all open positions due to their hiring freeze/the economy, and even when someone leaves, they close his/her position. And if a position were to open up, it would have to be open to everybody. In my unit, first preference goes to nurses with the most seniority who are already employed in the unit. Also, it is usually easier to move from days to evenings, days to nights, or evenings to nights at most hospitals. If you are trying to move to day shift, you will probably have tough competition for any open position. But it seems as if your nurse manager told you pretty much the same thing when you emailed her. Did you ask her about switching from evenings to nights, or just to days?

I've been wanting to move from night shift for years, but so has every other nurse who started with me. We will just have to put in our time, like the nurses before us, and hope for a break eventually. In the meantime, I'm happy to have a paying RN position.

ItsTheDude · Feb 16, 2010

yep, got to be an opening usually b4 they'll even consider it. seems to be too much work for management to ask around if someone else wants to switch and just do an internal shift swap.

mustlovepoodles, RN · Feb 17, 2010

At my last hospital the only way you could get on day shift was if someone keeled over dead. I don't mean to dishearten you, but I worked 25 years of nights. Now i'm a school nurse. The pay sucks, but I get to sleep at night, no weekends, no call, less stress, get lunch everyday and clock out at 2:30pm. :up: