working weekends

Hoozdo, ADN · Jan 14, 2006

I knew when I chose this job, and chose to go to nursing school, that nurses work weekends. And holidays. You can't lock the place up on Friday night and tell everyone not to fall or get hungry. And if they quit, where are they going to go? It's a small town. Go to one of the other two NH where they'll work weekends? Or the hospital where they'll work weekends. It just cracks me up.

Many jobs where weekends are required have a weekend pay differential. I just started a job on Monday that pays a 25% shift differential for weekends. Another popular program is Baylor pay - work 16 hours on Saturday and Sunday and get paid for 36. It's a bold new world out there for nurses willing to work weekends. Personally, I am going to scramble to get those weekend shifts :wink2:

lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN · Jan 14, 2006

Yeah, well we work for El Cheapo Inc. I'm going to suggest a differential, but it took a year and a half to get the nurses a night diff. The CNAs got one, but not nurses. Go figure. All in all it's a good company. Just run by tightwads.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 14, 2006

I think if everyone rotates weekends that the fair thing to do. I understand that if someone hasn't had to work weekends and suddenly their schedule is changed that they would be angry.

Whenever there is change such as this there are always people angry and even who quit.

Personally, if I had a schedule where I worked every weekend and other nurses didn't, I'd make complaints too.

My job requires I work every other weekend. I knew that when I was hired.

suebird3 · Jan 14, 2006

i just was talking with someone about this subject. i work every other weekend at my ltc facility. this happens to be my weekend off. when i worked agency, several places had nurses and aides work 2 weekends and off one. one nurses wgo retired worked every weekend, but then she had thursday and friday off....her husband was off those two days.

like the op said, health care doesn't shut down on friday night.

suebird

lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN · Jan 14, 2006

I think the reason I am amused by the whole thing is my RN friend throwing a gargantuan tantrum and getting all her aides worked up. If you saw that crazy red hair bobbing around yelling, you'd be cracking up too.

mandana · Jan 14, 2006

Well really, it depends on what you agreed to when you were hired. Say you're a single mother of 4 school aged kids and you agreed to work M-F from 6-6. Well, then the only time you're going to see your kids is the weekend, if someone switches your schedule all of a sudden, that's a huge stress on a family. The two days off during the week won't help anything because the kids will be in school.

It's no different than choosing to work nights so that you could attend school during the day and someone switching that up on you and all of a sudden - you have a huge conflict in your life.

Yes, nursing requires working at times that aren't always convenient - holidays, weekends, nights. But if you agree to one thing, it really is problematic when someone changes it up on you.

Amanda

TazziRN, RN · Jan 14, 2006

It's a shame that there are some nurses who refuse to work weekends in a 24/7 profession. Some facilities even make staff rotate shifts, so that everone takesturns working nights and pm's. At our place we alternate weekends and holidays so that it's fair to everyone. If staff choose to work every weekend that's fine, but no one can refuse to work a weekend.

lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN · Jan 14, 2006

It WOULD be unfair to switch up the schedules except that upon hire, all employees are told that schedules are subject to change and that staffing will be done to meet the needs of the residents.