Our unit is reviewing our current scheduling guidelines and weekend requirements. I am trying to get the "good" and "bad" of how other hospitals do it.....so I can compile a list of suggestions and ideas to bring to the table and perhaps improve staff engagement, satisfaction and morale.
Currently, we have weekend requirements based on years in our unit, so our senior nurses work little to no weekends and newer staff works the majority. We also do set schedules, again, based on seniority. Our strongest days are the middle of the week and the weakest are the weekends. Several "newer" nurses (me included with 6 years experience) are wanting a change for the better, for fairness and for equal experience on all shifts.
So what does your unit do that you do and don't like?
We all work 7 on, 7 off, so everybody works two weekends per month. We don't get holidays, or holiday pay, because the philosophy is that you get every other week off. If your work week includes a holiday, then you work it, period, unless you can swap with someone. Nobody complains, because we all feel like we have lots of time off, a whole 7 days off every other week gives you plenty of time for travel, etc. They do include extra pay to make up for this. Personally, I love this schedule.
Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
We all work 7 on, 7 off, so everybody works two weekends per month. We don't get holidays, or holiday pay, because the philosophy is that you get every other week off.
How does that work?
Federally mandated holidays are required to be paid at time and a half.
In Illinois it's illegal to schedule someone for 7 days straight; 7th day is a required "day of rest," although if an employee volunteers to work it, it's allowed.
Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.
Our scheduling requires all staff RNs on my unit work every 3rd weekend (which is balanced - we have 3 teams with a mix of experience) and work at least 2 Fridays and Mondays every 6 weeks.
That sounds very unfair to me also I am familiar with every other weekend point blank period. I once was at a facility where seniority was highly favored and I moved on from that organization.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
In the winter everyone has to do 2 weekends a month. (Winter is our high census month).
I work nights and I don't mind working weekends. Our unit hasn't had a problem with any of it because we have one strong nurse that only works Th,F and Sat. (Th are heavy days on my unit) and so they only need 1-2 more night nurses to cover on those days. Because of that if she does need a weekend off, she will get it. But so far there hasn't really been any problems with our schedule except getting newer people into the Master so they have some consistency with their schedule.
Our holiday rotations and amount our people on our unit worked out perfect too. We each work one summer and one winter holiday a year and has nothing to do with length of time.
Again, any of this can be swapped up though if people are willing.
we dont do seniority, if you are fulltime (36hrs weekly) then you are expected to sign up for 4 weekend shifts per schedule (each schedule is 4 weeks.) the way we do holidays is everyone fills out a sheet in late Sept telling which is their 1st choice off, their 2nd, and their 3rd. The choices are Thanksgiving Eve, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve & New Years Day. if you want to work one of them or all of them (like i do, cause i want the moula) then you put that on the holiday sheet. then they assign the holidays out and that's that. it's worked pretty well. Management doesnt care as long as the shifts are covered, some people find a buddy and split a shift into 2 6hr shifts which can be really nice.
Thank you guys so much for all of your input. It sounds to me like most nurses in this post work every other weekend or 4 shifts/month and several alternate "teams" for holidays.
I am also curious how your units engagement and turnover rates are? We seem to have a higher turnover rate and I'm wondering if weekend requirements are related to this.
Perhaps your facility could do a Baylor Plan to cover weekends? I strictly worked weekends for 4 years because I was being well-compensated to do so. Under the Baylor Plan, a person who works two 12-hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday will be paid for either 32 or 36 hours, even though they only worked 24 hours. In addition, they are considered a full-time employee and eligible for benefits. Also, many people like this arrangement because they have 5 days off in a row during the week.
Believe it or not, but many people would willingly work every weekend if they were to be compensated with wonderful shift differentials or a Baylor Plan.
We have asked for the Baylor Plan and our hospital used to do this, but unfortunately that is not an option anymore
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
We have asked for the Baylor Plan and our hospital used to do this, but unfortunately that is not an option anymore
Many healthcare facilities are phasing out weekend Baylor Plans due to the economic situation, but it is much to their disadvantage. They think they're saving money in the short term, but they're also forever losing the chance for a dedicated group of nurses who would faithfully work every single weekend in exchange for a few perks.
Our facility requires nurses to work both weekend days at least every other weekend. If you wanted to work only one weekend day every weekend (such as work every Saturday) then it was your responsibility to find someone who'd cover the other day (that is, work every Sunday).
If you call out on your scheduled weekend, you are required to make it up on another weekend that month. The only exception was unit managers who weren't required to work weekends but could do so if they wanted to.
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applewhitern, BSN, RN
1,871 Posts
We all work 7 on, 7 off, so everybody works two weekends per month. We don't get holidays, or holiday pay, because the philosophy is that you get every other week off. If your work week includes a holiday, then you work it, period, unless you can swap with someone. Nobody complains, because we all feel like we have lots of time off, a whole 7 days off every other week gives you plenty of time for travel, etc. They do include extra pay to make up for this. Personally, I love this schedule.