How to Create the Perfect Schedule

One of the reasons I personally chose nursing as a career path as compared to other health care professions is due to the lifestyle and flexibility that the career allows for. Nurses are required to work three 12 hour hour shifts to be considered full time. That means that 4 days out of the week you are off work. That leaves a lot of time for adventures, side work and much needed relaxation!

First things first, day shift or night shift? This is the ultimate question and there is no right or wrong answer. I am going to list the pros and cons of each shift below for you to decide. I personally work night shift at the moment.

Night Shift:

Pros- Extra pay (often 3-6$ an hour more), no administration or staff meetings, not AS busy as day shift (still can get crazy though), and more autonomy/ time to research and make decisions (I like this as a new grad as I have time to really comprehend my patients care and disease processes).

Cons- Sleeeeeeeep. Night shift sleep is difficult. You must be able to sleep during the day and then transition from day to night every week. Your body eventually does learn to adapt but it's a rough process and not ideal long term. Night shift also has less resources. This means doing things independently or with your coworkers. Daily tasks become hard. Eating patterns are hard to perfect and it is difficult to make appointments and do errands because you are sleeping during the day.

Day Shift:

Pros- Sleep. Your body's rhythm remains the same which makes the job more tolerable at points. More resources. All hospital personnel are working during the day which means all of the resources needed.

Cons- It is insanely busy. Constant medications, procedures, traveling with patients, admissions and discharges.

So, whatever one feels better for you and your pace / lifestyle is going to be the right choice!

I personally work 3 nights in a row every week. I like this so I have 4 full days off and so I can manipulate my schedule to my liking. For example, last week I went to London and worked Sunday, Monday Tuesday and then the following Thursday Friday Saturday leaving me a full week in London! I do this once a month and have been home to Chicago multiple times, Maui Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Wisconsin and now London with taking little to no paid time off! I am doing this to have a entire week off for Christmas as well (and New Year's too!) My biggest piece of advice is to put in your schedule in as soon as it opens on your unit's online scheduling system.

My lifestyle is very busy but I make time for everything I deem important. I like to travel, visit family and friends and have days to relax and take care of myself and work on things I love (such as this blog!) . I constantly am making sure I have time for myself along and use my job as a means to make an income in which I enjoy but also create a schedule that coincides with what I want my life to be! My best advice is to utilize the motto "work to live, do not live to work".

Now, these are just my thoughts. Use this as an example to play around and create a routine that works for you. Some people love three days in a row some hate that grind. Choose what works for you and if you decide you don't like that routine, switch it up next time.

Good luck, I know you'll do great!:)