12 hour night shifts

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I work 2 12-hour night shifts per week as a charge nurse for two med-surg units and the ICU. The nurses self-schedule but charge nurses do not. The new schedule just came out and I am working my weekend (Sat-Sun night) and then the following Friday and Monday nights. The scheduler does not understand why I am upset. This essentially puts me on every weekend and we are only required to work every other weekend. Has anyone else had a problem like this and how did you handle it?

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

It really depends on the definition of weekend in your facility. If you don't have one clearly defined- then I suggest you get it defined. Because I don't see where this puts you working every weekend. You have Sat/Sun off - most folks consider that the weekend. *

*And yes, I understand this is night shift- I worked nights for 38 years.

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Specializes in School Nurse, past Med Surge.

At the hospital I used to work at, Friday and Saturday nights were considered the weekend shift. Sunday night was not.

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The weekend starts at midnight on Friday. So when I work Friday night, I am being paid 7 1/2 hours weekend pay, but it does not count as working a weekend. My point is how am I ever supposed to be able to make weekend plans if I work every other Saturday/Sunday, then every other Friday/Monday? If I work Friday night, I don't get home till 8 a.m. on Saturday, then have to sleep. As far as I am concerned, that puts me on every weekend.

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At the hospital I used to work at, Friday and Saturday nights were considered the weekend shift. Sunday night was not.

Same.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
The weekend starts at midnight on Friday.

This would mean that you could never work Friday night on you 'off' weekend, and then, of course, not work Saturday nor Sunday night as well. I worked one place where the weekend for night shift was Friday and Saturday nights. I also worked places where I would work on Friday and Monday nights and having Sat/Sun nights off was considered my off weekend. It's not ideal, but you can't really expect all your weekends off to be 3 day weekend.

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I guess I am in the wrong here, but considering I only work two 12's a week, I thought maybe I wouldn't get weekend pay every week. And since my family is 200 miles away, thought maybe I could visit them once in awhile. Guess not. Oh well. Time to retire. Life's too short.

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I guess I am in the wrong here, but considering I only work two 12's a week, I thought maybe I wouldn't get weekend pay every week. And since my family is 200 miles away, thought maybe I could visit them once in awhile. Guess not. Oh well. Time to retire. Life's too short.

You're not alone. I would not tolerate that schedule for long either.

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Specializes in CCRN.

Have you tried talking to the person that does your schedule? Are the other charge nurses working the same schedule? Perhaps you can work something out as a group with the other charge nurses concerning your schedules?

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

"Something is important because we give it importance", a wise man once told me.

Your importance as I understand it, Rica, is being off on a weekend. Importance is not given to merely being off. There are three days in a row, Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday every week, that are not workdays.

The Mainstream calls the shots, majority rules, and as Joseph Campbell said, "The majority is always wrong".

I chose to get out of mainstream thinking when it didn't jive with my beliefs; when I stopped allowing others to enforce that their way of thinking was more important than my own way of thinking.

Weekends, to me, are not important, even though "TGIF!" is proclaimed by the Masses. "Pshaw!" I say, "More time off is important!"

I have worked MN shifts every weekend for nearly 16 years and am extremely more happy than I was back in the days when I followed the Mainstream.

I'm not saying that my way of thinking is any better or more right for the Masses, but it fits my lifestyle well and is valued by those who believe that weekends are important.

Importance to me is time off and making more money working at my chosen profession.

Just my 2 cent perspective.

The best to you, Rica.

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Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.
I work 2 12-hour night shifts per week as a charge nurse for two med-surg units and the ICU. The nurses self-schedule but charge nurses do not. The new schedule just came out and I am working my weekend (Sat-Sun night) and then the following Friday and Monday nights. The scheduler does not understand why I am upset. This essentially puts me on every weekend and we are only required to work every other weekend. Has anyone else had a problem like this and how did you handle it?

I hear you, that's one of the reasons I'm leaving night shift. For every shift, you basically lose the day off and the day after sleeping. Plus it's taking a toll on my health.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
You're not alone. I would not tolerate that schedule for long either.

That's a good point. Is this supposed to be your schedule all the time, or just this one time?

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