Question about Nurses Schedules

dudette10, MSN, RN · Jun 19, 2012

Possible, but not probable. In looking at the list of acute care nursing positions in my area, about 75% of them are straight nights or PM/nights rotations. The other 25% are a mix of day positions without experience (which get taken down quickly) or they require experience.

Day or PM positions are often internally filled for current employee nurse changing permanent shifts, freeing up nights for new hires, which explains the job postings.

If you can come to terms with doing overnights at least at the beginning of your career (one to two years), then you won't be disappointed about your shift opportunities when you start your career. Only a handful of my classmates who went to acute care are now on day shift with internal openings that weren't posted publicly. The rest of us are on nights.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2012

There is no nursing shortage. Many new grads cannot find work for 14 months or more post graduation. Having the most requested **** right out of school...unlikely.

The Big Lie

Without a doubt, the main source of frustration experienced by recently graduated and licensed but still unemployed nurses is what could be called "the big lie."In other words, the television commercials that encourage young people to become nurses -- and then abandon them for months (or years) without employment; and the educators who tell them that the associate's degree is perfectly adequate to guarantee employment, that they will have their pick of jobs when they graduate, and that there is plenty of time to get a BSN later on. Who knows whether it is greed, ignorance, or wishful thinking that underlies the fairy tales told to nursing students about their future job prospects? Whatever the motivation, the disillusionment of our new grads is palpable. The jobs they expected after all of their hard work just haven't materialized, and some grads are getting pretty desperate.

Will Work for Experience

The strongest motivator for the working population is money, but for some newly licensed registered nurses, getting valuable clinical experience seems to be taking precedence over the paycheck. Without that experience, the financial future of these nurses will remain precarious because they will be unable to find jobs.

"I am willing to take a 50% pay cut or even work for free so I can get the darned experience," said one frustrated new graduate who has been unable to break out of the unending cycle of "no job without experience, and no experience without a job."

She was not alone. Other readers wrote:

"I would be more than willing to work for a lower rate of pay or even for free to get that experience. It is so frustrating. I am willing to work any day, any shift."

"I offered to work for nothing for a short period and a reduced wage after that in the hospital where I had my externship. They won't take me for free."

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champagnesupeRNova · Jun 19, 2012

If you do go for nursing, just have the mentality that you're going to be working night shift for at least 2 years. Better to prepare yourself now than have anxiety later. It would be rare if you got a day-shift job right out of school.

VICEDRN, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2012

you don't have the right attitude for nursing. I can tell you that right now. Perhaps you can change with some thought but think nights, weekends, HALF of the holidays. Even day shift is getting up at 430 in the morning and working till 8pm at night in the acute care setting...

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2012

I don't know about St. Louis but in my area there is NO WAY a new grad could get a position that did not require overnights. My area is also big on rotating shifts (day, evening, night, weekend, anything under the sun, nurses do it) and ALL new hires at these hospitals are hired into rotating positions. If you're lucky that means you work 2 or 3 weeks of days and 2 or 3 weeks of nights; if you're not lucky that means you work Sunday night, Tuesday day, Wednesday evening, Friday day. No, that's not an exaggeration and yes, I've seen it happen.

allnurses Guide · Jun 19, 2012

Most new grads have to start on night shift.

NoviceRN10 · Jun 19, 2012

They hire new grads on dayshift at my hospital. I don't think it is that rare? Not everyone wants dayshift because of the pace and the lower wage.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Jun 19, 2012

I worked pm shift after landing my first rn job. I was looking at pm's but there were day nurses right out of school as well. I think just getting through nursing school is a good goal. Worry about the rest later.

jojonurse13 · Jun 20, 2012

Thanks for your responses. I see posts on job boards for day shift a lot and it usually doesn't say the amount of experience required so I wasn't sure. It would def make sense for those day positions to go to more exp nurses but then I've heard that a lot of nurses like nights because of the shift differential...confusing :) I guess I will try and work on managing my sleep problems before I pursue this field just in case..QUOTE=jojonurse13;6616458]Hi all! I am at a crossroads here. I graduated with a bachelors degree a few years ago in business and psychology. I contemplated many times while in college doing nursing but was talked out of it by family/friends (I dont have any family members or friends that are currently nurses so its hard for me to get true input on what the field is like) Now after working in the business world for a few years, I am starting to regret my decision to not pursue nursing. I find medicine/health issues facinating and want to be able to help others and feel proud of my work. I have looked into pursuing an accelerated nursing program that takes a year, but before i begin i have a concern I wanted to ask you nurses about! I am really worried about the nurse schedule. I have had sleep problems the last few years of my life, and really dont think i could physically/emotionally handle working the night shift. I have been able to manage it lately but dont think I could ever sleep during the day! Do all new nurses have to start off on nights or rotating or is there some flexibility? If I were flexible with days, evenings, weekends, do you think it would be possible for me to find a job out of school that doesnt require overnight hours? Im in st. louis and there are lots of hospitals here so I was hoping that might help!Thanks!!

loriangel14, RN · Jun 20, 2012

I am really surprised by these posts.Where I am you don't generally work nights unless you want to.I am working with about 8 new grads and none of them are on nights.

NicuGal, MSN, RN · Jun 20, 2012

Almost all of our open positions are on nights. As day and evening positions open up, night people who want to move do. Many units also do 50% rotation days/nights.