Modified self-scheduling has to go (IMHO)

germanshep · Oct 6, 2011

I have a 6 week cycle that repeats every 6 weeks. I hate it. During the 6 weeks, we have to work 3 Fridays and 5 Saturday/Sundays. Sooo basically, I work every weekend. I would love a set schedule, or work all my 3's in a row. We have the ability to switch but no one is very willing to switch their schedules. All the other units in the hospital have self-scheduling.

SouthernCarolinaRN · Oct 6, 2011

We do self scheduling and we all love it. Everyone puts in what they want and then we get a 10 day window before it goes live where management gives a list of days short and overstaffed and allows the staff to fix it. If they dont fix then the management does. 99% of the time the staff fixes it because they dont want management to mess up their days.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Oct 6, 2011

So, go and work on a unit that doesn't self schedule?
Many of us enjoy having flexibility in choosing our work days :)

.............. you are not really choosing in some of these units......you get to "choose" what you want, but it rarely works out and it is a guessing game as to whether you will be working or off.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Oct 6, 2011

We do self scheduling and we all love it. Everyone puts in what they want and then we get a 10 day window before it goes live where management gives a list of days short and overstaffed and allows the staff to fix it. If they dont fix then the management does. 99% of the time the staff fixes it because they dont want management to mess up their days.

That's exactly how my unit worked. Loved it.

All4NursingRN · Oct 6, 2011

I like the self scheduling, I usually get what I request *shrugs*

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 6, 2011

every hospital at which i've worked- both as a tech and now a nurse- does modified self-scheduling. meaning that you put in the days that you want to work (within the scheduling rules) as well as the days you want off and you may or may not get any or all of them. i'm sick and tired of having to work different days every week and not having regular days on/days off- all because different people want various days off each week. why can't nurses just have set schedules (with weekend rotation if they don't already work a weekend day/night) and then plan their lives around those work days? before everyone starts saying "well, nursing isn't a m-f, 9-5 profession," i've worked for ambulance companies (24/7 operations) where employees work the same shifts every day of the week and swap with colleagues if they need to take a day off. furthermore, employees can go to the company scheduler and request a different schedule if they are going to do something like go back to school. i just don't see why hospitals can't have a similar scheduling system. it would be so much easier than having to work different days of the week to accommodate each others' needs for days off. for a single guy like me- it would be much easier to have a regular life outside of work.

i agree with you that modified self-scheduling has got to go, but i don't think set schedules is the way, either. where i work, we're using scheduling software. if we need 13 nurses on a friday dayshift, they open 13 slots. 9 slots on a sunday night, etc. they sold it to the staff by promising us that we wouldn't always get what we wanted, but when we walked away from the computer, we'd have our schedules. instead, we spend an hour signing up for the schedules we want, and then the manager shifts everyone around so that when the schedule is actually published, it has very little resemblance to what you put in.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Oct 6, 2011

We used to do self-scheduling where I work (but not anymore...they made it a company-wide policy to have set schedules from now on) and personally I loved it. I would get the nights that I requested 99% of the time, including the nights I wanted to have off. I prefer to do my nights all in a row instead of having them spread out, and once in awhile they would be spread out during the week but for the most part, our managers were very flexible with the scheduling.

DroogieRN · Oct 6, 2011

Self-shceduling sounds horrible, but when you consider the alternative, it starts to sound really great. My mom works at a hospital that self schedules, and I always said that I would hate it. I'm in nursing school, so naturally I'm curious about job openings and I browse hospital websites. One of the hospitals that I saw had a fixed schedule, nurses worked Monday-Friday 7A-7P or 7P-7A. That's right, five 12 hour shifts every week with only two days off between them. I don't think that's much better than self-scheduling.

I'd be surprised if there is a facility that is paying someone to work 120 hours in a pay period, or that anyone would take such a job if it paid only straight time. More likely, it means it's a weekday or weeknight schedule of three 12-hour-shifts and if that's the case, no weekends -- sounds pretty sweet to me.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Oct 6, 2011

I'd be surprised if there is a facility that is paying someone to work 120 hours in a pay period, or that anyone would take such a job if it paid only straight time. More likely, it means it's a weekday or weeknight schedule of three 12-hour-shifts and if that's the case, no weekends -- sounds pretty sweet to me.

Yeah, that sounded off to me. Forced overtime of 20 hours a week? No time and a half? I don't see how that could possibly be true.

I would NEVER work more than 3 12's a week. I knew a couple who would sign up for extra shifts and get in five 12's, but they were very young and had a lot more energy than I (and no kids, lol). Even without my responsibilities as a Mom, I wouldn't have had the energy to pull of a 60 hour work week as a nurse.

Sparrow23 · Oct 6, 2011

Don't get rid of my self-scheduling! Ever! I love it :) Granted, out system is computerized and we can see as we schedule ourselves which days are filled up and which are understaffed, so we all try to be flexible and fill in. Works perfectly. And we can always easily swap days too. I have another job so I personally do not like working a set schedule week after week. But if I wanted to, I would just sign up for those days early, no problem!

ZooMommyRN, ADN, RN · Oct 7, 2011

we are self schedule but are all on the same page so it's a set schedule, my next job, not so sure how it's going to work but we'll see in December lol

edogs334 · Oct 7, 2011

.............. you are not really choosing in some of these units......you get to "choose" what you want, but it rarely works out and it is a guessing game as to whether you will be working or off.

Which is my exact point. That's why they call it modified self-scheduling, because it isn't really self-scheduling. Management (or whoever they designate to write the schedule for that six week period) ultimately decides who gets which days- which puts the final schedule beyond the employee's control. And it's pot luck as the whether other people can switch with you for the days you want off so you can keep the set schedule you want.