Question about 8hr shifts and ability to travel - advice please!!

Published

hi,

i'm a recent graduate who has relocated back to my home state to find RN employment. i have an interview for a Bone Marrow Transplant unit with a very presitgeious hospital and i am very excited!

but this unit has 8hr shifts and i would be on a day/evening rotation (7a-3p, 3p-11p). i am open to working 8hr shifts, however i was anticipating working 3, 12hr's which would allow me to travel more frequently to see my fiance who is in another state.

i will have 3 out of 4 weekends off a month..

my question is: when i am scheduled to work on a weekend, do i then have two days off randomly during the week? how are those days off usually scheduled when i am working a weekend? (do they change each month?)

also, in terms of paid time off, after i put in enough time at the job and am able to request days off, would i be able to take 1 or 2 days off per month in order to have a 3 or 4 day weekend for travel?

i will be extrememly grateful if i land this job, my only concern is being able to travel once a month to see my fiance, as obviously this is a huge part of my life as well and had to be taken into consideration when i decided to relocate to find a job and leave him behind.

any info and advice is greatly appreciated!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

This is something you will need to ask your new job because different facilities have different policies. My friend works 8 hr shifts and she has a set schedule so she can figure out her schedule a year in advance. If she needs a certain day off, she switches a shift with her coworker. If she needs a bunch of shifts off, she asks for vacation.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
my question is: when i am scheduled to work on a weekend, do i then have two days off randomly during the week? how are those days off usually scheduled when i am working a weekend? (do they change each month?)

Yes, if it's a week that you work the weekend, you would have two weekdays off. I've seen it go both ways: people getting the same days off each time, and people getting different days off each time. So either is possible. However, what two days off they'd be is something you'd have to work out with your manager or staffing coordinator.

also, in terms of paid time off, after i put in enough time at the job and am able to request days off, would i be able to take 1 or 2 days off per month in order to have a 3 or 4 day weekend for travel?

In most circumstances, probably. I don't know the terms of your employment, but you should have vacation and PTO available to you after you complete your orientation/probation period. As far as being able to take time off each month, your requests would have to comply with the facility's P&P...and again, the details would have to be something you'd have to work out with your manager/staffing.

However, keep in mind that I do not work at your facility. For the most accurate answers to your questions, you need to talk to either your manager, staffing coordinator or HR.

Good luck with the new job!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pedi.
hi,

i'm a recent graduate who has relocated back to my home state to find RN employment. i have an interview for a Bone Marrow Transplant unit with a very presitgeious hospital and i am very excited!

but this unit has 8hr shifts and i would be on a day/evening rotation (7a-3p, 3p-11p). i am open to working 8hr shifts, however i was anticipating working 3, 12hr's which would allow me to travel more frequently to see my fiance who is in another state.

i will have 3 out of 4 weekends off a month..

my question is: when i am scheduled to work on a weekend, do i then have two days off randomly during the week? how are those days off usually scheduled when i am working a weekend? (do they change each month?)

also, in terms of paid time off, after i put in enough time at the job and am able to request days off, would i be able to take 1 or 2 days off per month in order to have a 3 or 4 day weekend for travel?

i will be extrememly grateful if i land this job, my only concern is being able to travel once a month to see my fiance, as obviously this is a huge part of my life as well and had to be taken into consideration when i decided to relocate to find a job and leave him behind.

any info and advice is greatly appreciated!

How many hours will you be working? 40? And only one weekend a month? So, you would mostly be working Mon-Fri?

I imagine on the week that you work the weekend, since Saturday falls on one week you'd have one day off that week and one day off the next week since Sunday is a different week. So that in and of itself wouldn't really afford you the opportunity to travel. Every facility is different but your schedule might be something like "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, off Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, off Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday."

How PTO works depends on a lot of things. When I worked in the hospital, it was at the discretion of the nurse manager and 1-2 days of PTO every month would not have been allowed. Check with HR and your facility's policies before you accept this job if it's that important to you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

A majority of nursing jobs are 8hr shifts with the nightshift being 12hrs. As a first job, until you have the experience behind you, you can't really be choosy with shifts. Is your fiancé unable to move too? Does his job allow a transfer? Surely there are alternatives that can be investigated

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.
A majority of nursing jobs are 8hr shifts with the nightshift being 12hrs. As a first job until you have the experience behind you, you can't really be choosy with shifts. Is your fiancé unable to move too? Does his job allow a transfer? Surely there are alternatives that can be investigated[/quote']

The "majority" of nursing jobs are not 8 hours, as I have worked at 4 major hospitals (all magnet, 3 of them Level 1 trauma centers), and only one of them really does some 8 hr shifts. Even there, it has only been about 10% of employees doing 8hr shifts and the rest doing 12's.

I do agree that as a new grad you have to take what you can get.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I don't know how it works overseas but here in Australia the public system does earlies as 7am-1pm and lates as 1pm-9pm and a nightshift from 9pm-7am or something close to those times.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pedi.

Those are odd shifts... so days is 6 hours, evenings 8 hrs and nights 10 hours?

In the US, hospitals are typically on 7A-7P/7P-7A 12 hr shifts or 7A-3P/3P-11P/11P-7A 8 hr shifts. I've known some floors/units that also do 11A-11P, 3P-3A or some mix of 8s and 12s.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

thanks for all of your input. if the interview goes well and i decide to take the job i will adapt to the new schedule. i also had an interview in the ICU/CCU and am applying to a ton of jobs back in new york (where my fiance is) so we shall see where i end up. i will be very happy to begin my hospital experience :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Congratulations! On your job offer and very understanding and supportive fiance.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Those are odd shifts... so days is 6 hours, evenings 8 hrs and nights 10 hours?

In the US, hospitals are typically on 7A-7P/7P-7A 12 hr shifts or 7A-3P/3P-11P/11P-7A 8 hr shifts. I've known some floors/units that also do 11A-11P, 3P-3A or some mix of 8s and 12s.

In saying that my mums hospital has 0630-1425 for earlies, 1425-2230 for lates and 2230-0630 for nights.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion