Scheduling...

rkitty198, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2011

We have 8hr staff and 12hr staff, I work acute care. We have set schedules, you work on wednesdays and if a holiday lands on it you work, nevermind you worked it years in a row- for example. If you don't like your schedule you wait until someone quits and you take their spot.

Mimi2RN, ASN, RN · Apr 23, 2011

We have people enter the shifts they would prefer, and they are allowed 6 request off days on a 6 week schedule. Weekends, including Sundays must be covered. If staff cannot look at what is happening and adjust their own schedules, then it will be changed by a couple of nurses who finish it up for the manager. If staffing is uneven (more than one person difference on any shift in a given week), then chances are that the manager will fix that, leaving someone really unhappy. That's why we would rather do it ourselves. Sometimes moving a couple of people can make the difference.

OgopogoLPN, LPN, RN · Apr 23, 2011

Preset schedule. When you are awarded your position, you take it knowing what rotation you will be on. Ex 2days, 2 nights, 4 off....or whatever. According to union rules, you need a certain number of consecutive days off in between blocks and a certain number of weekend days off in a rotation.

You put in your holiday requests a number of months ahead of time to your manager and he/she grants them according to seniority.

I could go into the scheduling program at my workplace and print off my schedule for the next 2 years if I wanted. It's already all slotted into place. And if I leave the line I'm in, whomever is awarded my position will get those same shifts.

linearthinker, DNP, RN · Apr 23, 2011

We had set tracks. Don't like the track, don't take the position, cause it wouldn't change. Didn't matter if your regular days fell on a holiday, or if they fell on the holiday last year too. Your track was yours, and you were responsible for it. It worked great b/c there was NO drama. It simply was nonnegotiable unless you got it switched or covered yourself, which was very easy.

mama_d, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2011

We have a computer program online that is used by all the hospitals in our system (all the ones in St. Louis at least...not sure if the facilities in other states use it as well).

The floor scheduler pre-schedules in your weekends and holidays (we rotate holidays), and you go onto the site and pick which shifts you want. To avoid overscheduling, each shift has a certain number of slots available...once the shift is full, no one else can sign up for it. Which does kinda suck, b/c we've got more nurses than slots to fill @ this time, and it only allows the minimum to sign up. It'd be nice if it let one or two extra sign up, so there'd be coverage for if someone calls in. The program also allows you to see who has signed up for shifts, so you can avoid working with people you don't get along with or negotiate trades ahead of time. It's usually open for about a week, then the unit scheduler does her magic and gets it finalized. It's pretty rare that there are complaints.

As far as holidays go, we have nine winter and nine summer. We're split into three groups, each has three holidays per season, and they rotate. So you only work Christmas day every three years, for example. They also try to be fair about them...if you're working Christmas day, you're off on Thanksgiving day and New Years Eve. So theoretically I could tell you whether I'm working Fourth of July in 2030 if you wanted to know.

purse · Apr 23, 2011

Apparently we are suppose to get every other weekend off, except I have worked every weekend since August of 2010!

Poi Dog · Apr 24, 2011

I'm starting to think monkeys do mine.:monkeydance::zzzzz:dzed:

I think monkeys would do a much better job of scheduling than the moron who does ours. Why is this person a moron? First off she puts out an "official" schedule and depending on the direction of the wind, will change it. I am so freaking sick of checking my schedule, looking forward to a day off only to see that the day off is next year. :rolleyes: There is no note on the schedule saying that it is subject to change.

I would so hire a monkey to work my schedule. :smokin: :idea: :lol2: