What do other hospitals do regard to scheduling staff for weekends?

HikingNurse8789 · Sep 6, 2016

This isn't necessarily directed at you OP but I also find it crazy those in healthcare expect to not work weekends and holidays. I also fail to see why it is such a big deal if your doing every second/third weekend or holiday. I have three kids and still manage to attend games, functions, etc. Of course there are things I miss but I knew that going into it. Maybe because I have only ever worked in healthcare since 19 but the whole no weekends/no holiday thing is just silly. Its just another day!

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Sep 6, 2016

I've never heard of staff getting to dictate about whether or not they work weekends! It's a,ways been a rotating situation in facilities I've worked in, either every other or every third weekend

Hello,
At the floor I work at, a lot of people are unwilling to work weekends, me included. I normally work beginning of the weeks and had agreed to work up to half of the Sundays as needed. But due to many who absolutely do not want to work Sundays, I recently ended up working most of the Sundays, and the new schedule shows me being scheduled to work every Sunday. I feel very stuck. The assistant manager and the new scheduler both know I am reluctant to work weekends but don't mind doing it once in a while as my contribution as a staff member. I've already sacrificed a lot having to forfeit many Saturday night activities and now feel like I'm being taken advantage of. I've had other people work in other facilities telling me such scheduling is not fair and that weekends should be rotated. Is that the case in most facilities or am I complaining too much?

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Sep 7, 2016

Every other weekend where I work....we have set schedules.

If you pick up a third weekend it's time and a half.

every hospital I've worked in in California required a minimum of 4 weekend days and depending on your shift is how they defined it. You only working 2 Sunday's is really lucky IMO. I know nurses who have been with a hospital 30 years who have a bigger weekend obligation than you,

Harveyslake · Sep 7, 2016

My ICU has a fully staffed weekend program. They work all the weekends. The weekday staff never have to involuntarily work weekends. Of course, evening and night shift during the week are always short staffed so we do suffer at times especially when the major Holidays are during the week. No free lunch,.....ever!

Nursebarebari · Sep 7, 2016

As per our union contract, we work every other weekend. We take turns getting off on the weekends that we are over staff. Night shift has total of 26 RNs, 8 RNs per shift so if 50% work on weekend there will be 12.5 RNs per weekend shift. Because of that each of us get extra one weekend off every other month. If few nurses are getting all weekends off, we will take that to the union.

AlwaysLearning247, BSN · Sep 7, 2016

Every nursing job I have had has required each staff nurse to do every other weekend. I don't mind it at all.

gonzo1, ASN, RN · Sep 7, 2016

Our weekends are Fri, Sat, Sun. We have to work 4 weekend days per month. We mostly do self scheduling. I'm lucky enough to fulfil my obligation by working every Fri. So my schedule is Wed, Thur, Fri. It's the best schedule I've ever had.

Some nurses work Sun, Mon, Tues. Of course there are nurses who try to sneak out of working any weekends, but eventually they are caught and made to do it.

Holidays are every other year off. So if I work Thanksgiving this year, I will most likely get it off next year.

DNPTOBE19 · Sep 7, 2016

My hospital rotates and has several baylor positions to reduce the amount of weekends worked by regular, full-time staff. The baylor nurses are paid for three shifts for working two shifts on Saturday and Sunday.

Neurotic Student · Sep 8, 2016

We submit our schedule for the next month. We are required to work 2 weekends of each month, but I heard it's not strictly enforced for us because we have enough people working weekends. I'm one of those that work every weekend. I like the freedom of submitting my schedule for each month because I can rearrange the my work days if I needed a weekend off, so it's not like I'm forever doomed to weekends. The only thing is that I need to know like a month ahead if I need that weekend off.

Kysam · Sep 8, 2016

Oh my! If you work in a hospital open 24/7 and you don't want to work weekends, then who is going to take care of me, if God forbid, I get sick on Saturday?? We hire all nurses for every other weekend. We have a weekend program that some nurses work, extra money etc. if we have extra staff on weekends, the senior nurses get off first. One of the few rewards for seniority. I'd like to have a dollar for all the nurses I have heard say they are leaving the hospital so they don't have to work shift, weekends or holidays!!

Gina41674 · Sep 8, 2016

At the facility where I work, we also do every other weekend, and for those that call out, then you end up with a make-up weekend.

hicksh · Sep 8, 2016

Does your hospital have a union? We have a union contract and our contract states that bedside nurses have to work every other weekend. If we are short on a weekend and our management asks us or forces us to work 2 weekends in a row then they have to pay us consecutive weekend pay which is time and a half. If you want to trade days or you volunteer to work every weekend you have to sign a waiver and waive the consecutive weekend pay. My suggestion is, is that you and the nurses should look into unionizing.