I requested a transfer to day shift (after 2 day nurses suddenly, unexpectedly quit) 6 weeks ago, and keep getting excuse after excuse why I can't.
It's not a matter of wanting to go to days, it's a matter of needing to! And I told my manager that. I tried working nights, really I did, thinking it would get better with time. But after 6 months it has become crystal clear that I am not cut out for nights. Maybe if I didn't have a family (kids in elementary school) it could work, but I'm just not adjusting to it. I am exhausted on my days off, can't even exercise, gained weight... stay stressed out. What else do they need to know to accept that I can't do nights anymore?!
Maybe, if employees who left in previous months had been promptly replaced, there would now be enough FT staff on nights (one of the excuses I get). But we have PRNs who love nights and can fill in until new hires are trained. Another one is that I don't have enough experience yet to work days (huh?) Etc etc
I've worked nights many years ago and did not have any problem switching to days when I requested it. Have any of you encountered this kind of resistance (without a good reason, really), and how did you deal with it? I understand, of course, that it is much harder to find good help willing to work this awful shift (for me, anyway), but if she doesn't relent soon she'll just have to look for yet another nurse
I don't want to quit, really I don't, but I'm feeling that I'm being forced into it. Why do managers force people to do things they don't want to do (anymore), for legitimate reasons after giving it a decent try (6 months should be enough), and how do you reason with them?
And in case you're wondering why I took a night position, well, it was the only opening available in this speciality I love and I really thought I could do it. No false pretenses or agenda.
Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
In this economy, I think you'd be silly to look for a new job. They are hard to come by from what I hear. I'm sure there's someone else who would be THANKFUL for your night position.
I don't agree with that at all. No one is silly to look for another job. Silly would be resigning before something else was lined up.
I like the suggestion of getting a doctor's note because it sounds as though your health is being compromised.
Given that the OP has already applied for the job and has been told the reasons she isn't being given it, at this point a doctor's note would look like she is trying to game the system, IMO. Trying to force the manager's hand seldom leads to the desired result.
I was in a similar position a few years ago. Except I did D/N and wanted D/E. meanwhile night shifts became harder and harder and rotating just made things harder. I was so stressed and was then diagnosed with RA. I *did* get. Note from my doc saying I can't do nights as it was affecting my health. Unfortunatly it is the institution not the unit that is required to honor that. I was told to transfer if I needed to go off nights but I wanted so badly to stay in my area that I drie my health into the ground. Even cutting from 36 to 24 hours didn't help. I eventually went on disability for 6 months. My doctor told me it was not a good idea to go back I it meant working even night rotation. It was not allowed to apply for transfers while out on disability so I needed to forfeit my position, get cleared to go back and only then apply for transfer. Because these things don't happen quickly I went several weeks without pay before I found a suitable position. I hope things work out better for you!
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
getting a doctor's note and "gaming the system" may get you off nights, but it's going to make you very unpopular with your colleagues. every place i've worked, there's been a waiting list to get off night shift. it's either based on seniority or by the date you requested day shift. if you're just now requesting day shift, you may have to wait your turn. i understand that you're miserable on nights, but the people ahead of you on the list may be just as miserable and have been waiting even longer.
There is no one else who wants off nights, the other night nurses seem to love it (none of them have young kids). But I see your point. I guess there is not much more to do than wait.... or leave, which isn't what I want, but I have to see if I can do this much longer.
There is no one else who wants off nights, the other night nurses seem to love it (none of them have young kids). But I see your point. I guess there is not much more to do than wait.... or leave, which isn't what I want, but I have to see if I can do this much longer.Thanks everyone for the advice.
People should not be stuck on night shift just because they don't have young children. They may like night shift, but that doesn't mean that they want to stay on nights forever. There could be many reasons for wanting to move to days.
People should not be stuck on night shift just because they don't have young children. They may like night shift, but that doesn't mean that they want to stay on nights forever. There could be many reasons for wanting to move to days.
She just got through saying that there is no one else who wants off nights.
I'm in a similar situation, OP. I work what is essentially an on-call position with only guaranteed part time hours. I have to give 5 days per week that I am available to come to work, and I am notified two hours before the shift if/when I am needed. Imagine trying to plan a life around that! You have to reserve 5 days per week because there is a chance you might work, but you're not guaranteed that you'll work any of those days. I'm guaranteed three shifts every two weeks, I just don't know which three shifts that will be.
I've worked in this position for over a year. Despite the fact that several full time employees have either left or switched to per diem, my manager and HR refused to let me move to a full time position. I have the most seniority out of all the nurses who work the position that I do. There was no one with more seniority (part time/per diem/nights) that wanted a full time position. Even when HR posted full time positions for our unit, I was told that I lacked the specific type of experience they were looking for. I've been given every excuse in the book as to why I can't move to a full time position.
But the bottom line is this- if the hospital isn't unionized (mine isn't) there is nothing that makes the hospital give senior employees the first choice when it comes to changing shifts or positions. They don't even have to give you a reason- they can do whatever they want because we are "at will employees" and there is no employee regulation of the employer. I accepted this schedule originally because I was a new graduate and the job was in a specialty that I really wanted. The hospital knows that they will have a very hard time filling my current position because of the scheduling requirements, so they are doing everything they can to keep me in it.
I finally decided that I'm tired of fighting for a job that doesn't seem to want me. I'm going out on maternity leave in a month, and searching for another position in the meantime. Unless I'm offered a full time position on my current unit by the end of my maternity leave, I won't be returning.
For you, I think looking for a new job is the best way to go. Why fight to stay when you're meeting so much resistance? Good luck in whatever you decide.
When I worked night shift- the night shift was full of us young moms, that's exactly why we worked nights- to be there for the kids during the days. Yeah, we were tired and dragged our butts to the P/T conf, school functions and sporting events.
I remember clapping at Saturday morning soccer games in my sleep. Thank god for those folding chairs with cup holes (coffee), a nice warm blanket and sunglasses( to hide your actually sleeping and not watching the game.) I learned not to ask "Who won"!!
I remember snoring( loudly) in the movie theater during "Lord of the Rings" and my daughter elbowing me.
I remember having 2 in diapers running around and trying to sleep on the sofa to do the next 12 hr shift. Hubby( now ex-hubby) wouldn't watch the kids so I could sleep for work.
I also remember being so tired and it taking all my days off before i was awake again, only to have to start the work week all over again.
It's a small price you pay for being a working mom. It just became a fact of life that we had to accept. Keep the job, keep the pay vs be home , get sleep and no paycheck. You pick your battles. Ours back then was we needed our paychecks. Life/working/raising kids was no cake walk for us either. We learned to accept the good with the bad- the pluses with the negatives. We realized we had to make sacrifices and did them the best we could.
that she knows of. the manager doesn't always share the list.
i'm trying to imagine my unit keeping something like so-and-so is trying to move to days/nights/swing shift/weekends quiet. or even so-and-so themselves not talking about it.
to the op, i would start looking around. looking for other opportunities doesn't mean you have to quit your job, but it means you might have options and possibilities to decide from. maybe the situation will change at your current job, but in the meantime, i wouldn't count on day shift there.
.thumb.jpg.ebb7e0b8d82ee32bace787d4e1dcfebb.jpg){kind=small}
Orca, ADN, ASN, RN
2,066 Posts
I don't agree with that at all. No one is silly to look for another job. Silly would be resigning before something else was lined up.
Given that the OP has already applied for the job and has been told the reasons she isn't being given it, at this point a doctor's note would look like she is trying to game the system, IMO. Trying to force the manager's hand seldom leads to the desired result.