preceptorship scheduling dilemma...

[ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN]

ok. so i have preceptorship coming up in june! (yay, that means im almost done!) the way ours works is if you work on a unit in the hospital you are guaranteed your choice of preceptor on that floor above anyone else in the class that requests it. i work on an ortho med/surg floor, so i dont expect people to be clamoring for spots on my floor anyway, but ive decided i want to do my preceptorship there because i like the floor, i like ortho, and med/surg experience is good for almost anywhere...

anyway, so far i know of two nurses on my floor that have volunteered to be preceptors. i like them both and think either of them would be a great preceptor and i would learn tons from them, but im trying to decide which schedule i want to commit to for 6 weeks..

option number one: she works the weekend program. so she works two 12 hour day shifts (7a-7p) every saturday and sunday, plus one 12 hour weekday.

option number two: he works 2 12 hour day shifts and 2 8 hour evening shift (3-11). every other weekend.

i really prefer evening shift. i like the atmosphere, i like the staff. i usually work evenings as a pca, since im in school during the day so im used to it. also, im not really a morning person and function much better after noon...

however, doing the weekend shifts, i would get an extra day off a week. also the weekend nurse is slightly more experienced and has precepted before and the other guy has not. but i would have NO free weekends.

im pretty torn. i still would like to work at least one shift per week as a pca while im doing this, so the weekend thing would probably facilitate that better.. hmm i dont know.. what are your opinions? just looking for some insight here, i have time, i dont think we even put in our requests until middle of may, but im thinking about it now..

thanks in advanced for your replies!

[pghnurse527]

Do you still have class during your preceptorship? If so, I would definitely go with the weekend nurse so that you don't have to worry about it interfering. Our nurses didn't have very predictable schedules, so you essentially had to be there every shift that you didn't have class. I also recommend doing the 12h because you will get your hours done quicker. Everyone is different, but I am SO glad I finished early because I doubt I'd have the motivation to still get up at 430am.

Good luck! I think it's smart for you to choose the floor you already work on. I'm sure it will give you a good edge to landing a job after graduation!

[ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN]

we dont have class during preceptorship (thank god!) so thats not an issue.. and yeah, i figure since i already know where everything is, the patient population, and all the staff, i will have more time to actually learn nursing responsibilities instead of just figuring out how the unit works. and i hope there is a job for me on the unit when i graduate, but im not counting on it..