Pittsburgh area hospital jobs? Rotating schedules?

[Ccooper]

Hi all! I’m moving to Pittsburgh May/June 2023. I’m a little familiar with some of the hospitals in the area as my partner went to Pitt in undergrad but have some questions if anyone could provide any insight. I know the two main hospitals systems are UPMC and Allegheny health network. I’m leaning more towards Allegheny as I had a few nursing school classmates go on to work at UPMC and all quit within 2 years and had nothing but negative things to say about how UPMC was run. I also like that Allegheny is union. Does anyone have any insight as to why one would be better than the other? Are the pay rates similar? I’m also concerned about rotating schedules that seem to be mentioned on all the job postings for both hospitals. I’ve worked night shift for the past 2 years and it’s starting to really affect my mental health. I’m going to stick it out until we move but I was really wanting to work day shift permanently moving forward. Can anyone explain rotating shifts? Do all nurses have to be placed on a rotating shift? Etc… thanks I’m advance!

[Lust4life, BSN]

Hello! I worked with Allegheny Health Systems years ago and I loved it. Union is great!! When I first started I worked 3 12hr shifts rotating, because I thought I needed to be full time. After a few years I realized that since I didn't need their medical benefits, I could work as casual status and get paid a little more forgoing the benefits. Anything I worked over my authorized hrs was OT and Anything over 24hrs was paid a stipend on top of that. So as long as I could sign up for a couple extra shifts I could end up working less but making more. And extra shifts were abundant! This was like 10 yrs ago so it may be different now. But had I known how to work that system sooner, I would have. You may also want to check out a casual float team position and make even more money and get experience of working different floors.

[khillbrt]

One thing to note with union is that seniority is everything, with regard to choosing days off, vacation, night shift etc. So as a new person, you'll likely have the most nights. Unless you choose a position that is in a clinic or not 24/7 unit.