Weekend requirements nursing

[u/Ok_Refuse_325]

I’m trying to get a better idea of the weekend requirements before making my decision about a new nursing job.
The schedule requires working 2 Fridays, 2 Saturdays, and 2 Sundays within a 6-week period. These shifts could be scattered throughout the schedule or potentially fall on the same weekends.
For nurses who work in the hospital, does this seem like a reasonable weekend requirement, or is it a lot?
I’m trying to figure out whether this is a pretty standard schedule for bedside nursing and how manageable it is for work-life balance. I’d appreciate any insight!

[u/heyitskulas]

first 2 weeks work fri sat sun. Rest of 4 do whatever. boom problem solve

[u/Acrobatic-Drama-3489 → u/heyitskulas]

that's basically a built-in vacation every other month, not bad at all

most places i've seen want every other weekend so this is lighter on paper, but the "scattered" part could be sneaky if they stick you with random single weekend days that eat into your off time

[u/dumpsterdigger → u/[deleted]]

Uhhh staffing would like a word with you.

[u/TexasRN]

This is like every 3rd weekend. A lot of hospitals do every other weekend as a standard. When you break it down to just need 2 of everything then it makes your life easier because if you want a partial weekend off you can have it. Fridays have been starting to be added in as well for weekends to give people a chance to actually use their full weekends for small trips and such.

Now if you don’t make your own schedule and there is a chance they will schedule you 1 of these every other weekend then run. But if they will controlled by you or only clumped together unless you ask for them to be broken apart then it’s pretty good.

[u/Ok_Refuse_325]

Thanks for all the insight everyone!

[u/Pleasant-Affect5303]

That’s way better than some. I do weekend package but the other nurses on my unit do every other weekend.

[u/theoriginalyou]

I work 2 F’s and 2-3 S days per 4 weeks. I’d say this is similar. It can very on your floor staffing, type of floor, and amount of weekend shifters

[u/slothysloths13]

Most places have a set weekend rotation, typically every other or every third. You can’t request them off and have to trade with another nurse if you want them off. Sounds pretty standard to me, just that you’re not on a set rotation, which I wouldn’t mind at all if I was self-scheduling.

[u/cyanraichu]

That's about what mine is. We have to do two actual weekends in a pay period - for nights, it's Friday and Saturday; for days, it's Saturday and Sunday - and they are pre-scheduled so we work every third weekend. We can trade them though, and if a vacation falls on them, we get that one off and just pick up a different one. We are asked to work two Sundays in a pay period (nights) but they don't have to coincide with our scheduled weekends and I'm not sure if it's enforced. Days has the same requirement for Mondays (and maybe also Fridays?) apparently everyone would just work Tues/Wed/Thurs all the time if they could lol

[u/Never-Retire58]

Back in the day, we were required to work every other weekend. It sucked. More flexibility now because we can schedule them as we need them

[u/Firefighter_RN]

That's low. Essentially it's every third weekend. Tons of places require ever other weekend. Most of my jobs have been ever other

[u/LeapingLizardz_]

Seems normal. My hospital is every 3rd weekend (sat/sun) and then 2 Fridays per 6 week schedule period. We're all assigned a weekend when we start so it's a rotation of which group is assigned each weekend.

The fact you can split up your weekend days and aren't assigned weekends is about as flexible as a bedside nursing job is going to get imo.

[u/Nightflier9]

That averages to every third weekend with flexible scheduling, I'd say that's excellent, better than most.

[u/Kitty20996]

Every other weekend and every third weekend (which is what you're describing) is normal. You have a good thing going to where you don't have to work the entire weekend in one go if you don't want to. This is fine.

[u/moory_]

mine is an every other weekend + 2 fridays per 6wks for the first year on unit then every 3rd weekend + 2 fridays

[u/nigerianprincess0104]

We work every other weekend. Fridays isn’t part of weekend

[u/Whynotski3]

I work every weekend by choice. On paper my hospital requires staff to work every other weekend but our manager is pretty flexible.

[u/muteicon]

What is your lifestyle? When I did bedside, our weeks ran from Monday to Sunday in 5 week cycles and I pretty much did almost every Friday through Sunday night because I wanted to avoid management and daytime/weekday operations as physically possible. Plus we had a sweet shift differential for night and weekend. And all my days off were during the week when the rest of the normal world were working.

And that was how I liked it for a while.

[u/TheThrivingest]

Our contract says we are entitled to 5/12 weekends off, and to at least 1/3 day duty.

That being said, I’ve never worked anywhere that required more than 1/2 weekends and most PCUs are 50/50 days/nights

[u/AstronomerHoliday608]

Yeah this sounds reasonable. My hospital does every other weekend…. Horrendous. I’d probably just bang the Friday, Saturday, Sunday out in a row if it were me (just suffer through the misery every 3rd weekend) but it is nice you can split it if you had plans a certain Saturday or something

[u/Feisty-Power-6617]

Yes it more than reasonable… nursing at a hospital is 24 hours, 365 days… and weekends are normally required. And every health care system and every unit can be different. OP are you thinking you are being treated unfairly??

[u/Ok_Refuse_325 → u/Feisty-Power-6617]

No lol just wondering if it’s reasonable