rotating shifts....is this the norm?

Nurses General Nursing

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I work 5 days per week and was hired as day/night rotation. This is a typical weekly schedule for me:

Monday: 7am-3:30om

Tuesday: 7am-3:30 pm

Wednesday: 11pm-7:15 am

Thursday: "Off" (sleeping all day though since I get home 7:15 am Thursday morning from my Wed. night shift)

Friday: 7am-3:30 pm

This is happening every week. I knew I'd have to rotate, but this seems a little much. It's really throwing me off. Other schedules have looked like: night, off, D,D, D, off, off, night, off, D, D, D, D, D.

Thanks for any insight!

Specializes in Med Surg.

For a number of years while I was still in the real world I worked 12 hour shifts that were six weeks of days and six weeks of nights. We worked 3 on and 4 off then 4 on and 3 off. We changed ends of the week every 12 weeks. Sounds complicated but it was really quite simple and easier to get used to than my current schedule or any of these that I read about here. I wish nursing would go to something like this.

Specializes in CVICU, Obs/Gyn, Derm, NICU.

I consider self rostering to be the biggest boon to nursing.

In the old days - those awful prescribed shift patterns were the worst. I had no proper social life as the roster interfered with team sports , special interest classes and general family life.

This way we have a life away from nursing and if we have to mix it up a little to do our mandatory # of nights ..... then that's the price to pay.

Ofcourse if someone wants to work a prescribed pattern ...then they can as well.

Retention was in the toilet until self rostering came along

Specializes in psych, geriatrics.

That sounds brutal! Heartless and cruel, bad for your health. You're a real trooper, I don't know what to say, I can't imagine doing that schedule regularly. I detect a manager without a soul, or perhaps with no sense..... Good luck

Used to have to work 2 7-3 shifts, 2 3-11 shifts, and 4 11-7 shifts in a 2 week period for a year. I was thankful to get assigned to 2nd permanently shift after a year of this.

We do rotating shift...I currently rotate D/E week by week (which sucks) but the schedule this month has me working off,D,D, off,E,E, off, D,D,D, off,E. Basically rotating shift multiple times through the week. I am usually able to stay on one shift a week but one of our girls left and now its fill-in. It just plain sucks...its better than nights but I'm still up till 4 or 5 in the morning :(

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