How do you work your three days/nights ?

[Hershell]

Okay , so I've been on nights in the hospital for a little over a year now , I'm still trying to figure out how I want to work my three nights

Example :

• Three in a row
  
• Every other day/ night
  
• Two in a row , then one
  

Which schedule do you guys prefer ?

[NurseCard, ADN]

Well you definitely don't want to do every other night. Every other DAY

might work for most people, but every other night?.. on your days

off, you would always be too tired to do anything.

Other than that, what works varies for different people. I like to work

three, then off four, on three, work four... and so on.

[111th, ADN, LPN]

I would do 3 in a row or 2 on, a few days off and then 1.

My hospital just went to block scheduling with one day of manditory OT per pay period. So the schedule is now 3 on, 1 off, 3 on, 3 off, 1 on, 3 off. I work nights and want to rip my hair out. Not what I was expecting or wanting.

[Accolay]

I try to get all my days or nights grouped up = longer time off stretches for me. As mentioned by Card, an on, off, on night schedule will rob you of more days than doing them back to back such as:

the day of your night shift is gone

the day after is gone

you get to stay awake later at night that night

then the next day is gone

then your shift

then the day after is shot.

You get the idea.

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

I personally hate doing three in a row, but I think I'm in the minority. There are very few patient assignments I could handle for that many shifts without a break. It is nice to get longer stretches of days off, but I feel like my recovery time is also longer. I try to only do three together every so often, and usually do two with a couple in between.

[Ackeem, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

3 in a row is the best

[omotee, BSN]

In the hospital am currently working,we do 5 on ,5 off then 2 on ,2 off.

[Aunt Slappy]

I hated three in a row. By the third night I was a cranky ***** with a bad attitude and no one needs that. I was on a "resource team" which was full time but used to fill staffing holes and I was usually able to pick my days as long as I met my weekend requirement (4 weekend shifts a month, and both Friday and Sunday nights counted as weekend). So I usually never did more than 2 in a row. It was better for everyone that way.

Now I work M-F 8s on day shift with weekends and holidays off, 0730-1530 most of the time. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

[humerusRN, BSN]

I couldn't do 3 in a row anymore. I'm old now. I work part time. :) I like to work my two days together so I can have a stretch of time off! The worst for me is the day on day off schedule. Makes me CRANKY!

[NICUismylife, ADN, BSN, RN]

I do 6 on, 8 off. It makes it a lot easier to switch around my sleep schedule and enjoy my days off.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

For nights, I preferred 3 in a row. For days, if it wasn't my weekend, I preferred to either do Mon,Wed, Thurs or Tues, Wed, Fri. If it was my weekend, I preferred to do Wed/Thurs of the weeks before and after it so I worked Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun, Wed, Thurs. Of course, as my manager loved to remind us, our wants actually meant nothing, the self-schedule we filled out was nothing more than a wish list and the schedules we filled out could, and would, be changed to meet the needs of the unit.

[cleback]

In the hospital am currently working,we do 5 on ,5 off then 2 on ,2 off.

Holy heck. 5 on?? 60 hrs in a row would kill me. I can only do up to 3 in a row. 2 is ideal.