Question about shifts

[WldChrry]

I know that alot of nurses work three 12 hour shifts with 4 days off. My question is, do you usually work all of the three days in a row, and then have four days in a row off, or do you work the three days split up throughout the week?

[RNperdiem, RN]

My unit does self- scheduling, so people generally have some input into how they schedule themselves.

When I worked full time, I worked one week of 3 12 hour shifts alternating with 4 12 hour shifts. I rarely worked more than two days in a row.

I found that working more than 2 shifts in a row left me tired on my day off and my house would be a mess from having been totally neglected for that long.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

We self schedule as well. I try to work three in a row so I can flip my schedule back to days for my days off and be up and about in the sun :)

Tait

[miss81, BSN, RN]

We rotate days to nights (sucks). We work three shifts 1 week and four the next. Goes like this: work 3 days (off 2), work 2 nights (off 2 ) work 2 days (off 3) then switch the days and nights and Repeat... terrible!

[WldChrry]

Miss81, how do you ever get adjusted to a sleeping schedule?!

[mappers]

I work days and like working two days then one off, then one day. We have set schedules and work the same days every week. I'm Tue, Wed, Fri. Our floor has enough WOW people that we don't need to rotate weekend days. (I'm lucky, I know.) I worked three in a row before when on orientation and didn't like the fact that nothing got done between Sunday and Thursday at home. With two kids and a husband, that was a problem.

PS If I worked nights, I think I'd want three in a row so I could flip myself around for four days.

[husker_rn, RN]

We self schedule; some like their days split up. I work Thurs-Fri-Sat nocs and love my schedule.

[mich321]

I work nights, and we have a 6-week block schedule (repeats itself every 6 weeks). Sometimes I work three in a row, sometimes 2 on/1 off/1 on. So for a few weeks it seems like I work all the time, but then every 3-4 weeks it works out that I have 6 days off in a row. I LOVE it!

[miss81, BSN, RN]

Miss81, how do you ever get adjusted to a sleeping schedule?!

It's really hard! You sleep in or your days off and are really tired the first day back at work! But I have been doing it for 6 or 7 years now and I am pretty used to it. I recently worked permanent nights and hated it more actually. I felt like a vampire, never getting any sun at all (i love my sleep)! I'm not one of those ppl who can work nights and still get up early on my days off! My husband is a nurse as well and he hated the perm nights too. We would get up just in time to seen the moon and days when we did get up early we felt like we were in a fog! I don't think I can do this for the rest of my life tho'...

[NeoNurseTX, RN]

miss81, that is a funky schedule!

i work weekends PT so i'm sat/sun night then i'm off m-f!