Night shift scheduling!

[KBRN15]

Hi fellow night shifters! I am a new grad and just came off of orientation. I haven't worked nights in about 3 years since I oriented as a tech, so I can't remember the most efficient way to schedule myself for nights. Do I want to do 3 in a row? 2 off 2 work 1? Rotate on-and-off. I currently have no obligations to make me flip flop between day shift and night shift, so I was just wanting to get everybody's input on how they do their schedules!!

:)

[sugarwahine10]

I do 3 in a row for 12hr night shifts. I would do Mon-Tues-Wed or some variation if you have to work so many weekends in a certain period (like my work) than sometimes do Sat-Sun-Mon. I wouldn't spread it out between days because you end up sleeping most of day on separate days off instead of just most of the one after your 3 days working in a row.

[canigraduate]

My current job sucks so bad that I need time to recover between shifts.

I try to schedule in a two on, two off pattern, but I stay on night shift schedule all the time when I have a night shift job.

Three in a row is killing me lately. I used to just zip right through. Now, my body gets all weird. I get tired, achy, whiny, and I have palpitations. It's kind of embarrasshing.

[n.igmatic1]

On the floor where I currently work, I work 3 in a row. But they aren't "set" days. I may work Thurs, Fri, Sat one week; Wed, Thurs, Fri the next week; Mon, Tues, Wed, the following week; and Sun, Mon, Tues after that; or any variation therein. The only thing I always knew was that I would work Thurs, Fri, Sat every 4th week. It made it hard to have a life and take care of a family on the weeks where I only had 1 or 2 days between 3 shifts. For the past 8 months, all I wanted to do was sleep on my days off. The Assistant manager always tried to make sure we got a stretch of 6-8 days off in a row sometime during the month, but by that time rolled around I could have been an extra on The Walking Dead. I apparently am not one who thrives on nights.

[BlueDawnRN, BSN]

Try out different things and see what works for you. Some like to work them all together and others like to spread them out. Everyone's different. I personally like to do either 2 or 3 in a row (usually 3) because it's easier for me to have some of the same patients from one night to another. You have to make sure you're well prepared at home though (lots of food cooked, house clean, laundry done) since you'll only have time to eat and sleep between shifts.

[NYCRN21]

My favorite schedule to work is two nights on, one night off, two nights on and then usually I end up having 5 days off. That night that I'm off, I stick to a night schedule and just use the time to catch up on tv shows, laundry, household stuff and just hang out at home. I don't feel tired going back to work the next night either since I stayed on the night schedule, and usually I know at least some of the patients on my unit since I was only off for one night. Sometimes I do three in a row, but only over the weekends when we are a little bit slower (I'm only 23 but I still feel wiped out by 3 nights in a row!) It all depends what works best for you, I had a really hard time adjusting to a night schedule. But once you figure out what works best for you, it'll be fine! Good luck! :)

[skylark, BSN, RN]

For me our schedule is just not comfortable in my own opinion.. We have a long week and a short week. Long weeks we work everyday from Monday to Sunday except Wednesday and Thursday. Then the following week, which is our short week,we are off everyday and work Wednesday and Thursday. So it kinda flips. We're not allowed to make our own schedule.

Ngysun...

I had the same schedule but found that I was constantly stopping and starting, and that the 2 week schedule was impossible with outside commitments, with different nights off each week.

I now work every Monday and Tuesday, and a long weekend, Fri/Sat/Sun every other week.

So I KNOW that I am always off Wed/Thurs, and that make it easier to plan, and almost become like the normal people : )

btw, in the UK I worked4 on 3 off if it was 12 hours, or 5 on 2 off if it was 8 hours.

[Katie71275]

Where I work, we self schedule. I work mainly weekends, so I do Friday/Sat/Sun. I do that because it's more money. Otherwise yes, I do prefer 3 days in a row, b/c I feel like I get more time off. If I were doing every other day, I wouldn't be able to have a normal schedule with my family.

[NGYSUN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Where I work, we self schedule. I work mainly weekends, so I do Friday/Sat/Sun. I do that because it's more money. Otherwise yes, I do prefer 3 days in a row, b/c I feel like I get more time off. If I were doing every other day, I wouldn't be able to have a normal schedule with my family.

I wish we could self schedule. But, we don't. It's even difficult getting a day off for probably personal reasons... Instead, when people request for a day off.., our NM is known to respond "Find your own coverage"....😟😟.. For real...therefore staff just call in when they feel their request isn't going to be granted.. This always leaves the shift short staffed... Sad, but true!!

Ngysun...