Night Shift Patterns

Re: Night Shift Patterns

eveleen — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:26:48 GMT

Yeh its a bit rubbish, but I have done it for 2 years now so use to it. Hopefully when I am qualified I will get offered something different .

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:17:22 GMT

Our nights start with work at 1.30pm, finish 10pm, then in the buliding and attend to in patients until 9am the next day.. no phones(the vet has those). We are off the following day, and paid an hourly rate for overnight, with option to sleep. I have just done Sat/ Sun night.. start at 5pm, finish 10am on the sunday, then back at 5pm, till 9am today. If I do weekend days, I automatically do following Wed night shift, and am off thurs, fri sat sun. Our night shifts average about 1 every 2 weeks. some weeks you have none at all depending on the rota.

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:12:41 GMT

[quote user="eveleen"]

I work at least one night duty a week which I start at 1pm and finish at 2pm the following day. I finish work at 12am until 7am but I am still in the practice to answer the phones & see to any patients if needed (I get paid if any clients need to come in ooh- although this is a small amount). I also work 1 in 6 friday night's, and I still work my normal night duty this week so 2 in the week (starting at 1 and finishing at 1.30 on the saturday). And also 1 in 6 weekends where I start work at 8am saturday and finish 8am on the monday... I also have to stay in the practice for the whole weekend for this shift & I still do my normal night duty so work 3 nights this week.

[/quote]

Jeez thats taking the piss a bit is it not!?

Re: Night Shift Patterns

eveleen — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:36:26 GMT

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Mandy James — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:39:57 GMT

Claire Bear, how many days did you work? Was this 7 on 7 off?

Also, I have another question for everyone. What was the cash incentive for these patterns? Did you get a pay increase, a shift allowance or a bonus for cases seen?

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Vicky RVN — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:50:42 GMT

Perhaps we only say it in our minds, not in real life?!

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Mandy James — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:41:41 GMT

Oh yes, we get plenty of stupid calls.

3a.m. 'please can you give me your post code, I need to put it into my satnav, I've got an appt tomorrow at 11.30'..................

Not quite sure which part of the word 'emergency' they don't understand.

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Vicky RVN — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:04:55 GMT

Oh god Sal poor you!!! But bet it felt good waking him up when he was sleeping off his hangover

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Sal the 1st — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:56:47 GMT

how I remember those daft o'clock phone calls!

my worst ever night on call I had the same drunk call me about half dozen times at annoying intervals first worried that his cat had worms and later on crying down the phone because the cat was dying of worms. I gave advice each time - namely bring the cat in in the morning and we can arrange for the vet to see it (it really didnt sound like it was dying ). when I went downstairs to work rang the client on the number he had given earlier that morning to see how the cat was as he had missed his appointment - he denied he had ever called us and didnt even own a cat - but he did sound like he had a cracking hangover!

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Vicky RVN — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:36:53 GMT

Old shifts included phones and calling vet out if required for emergencies...8am then night then finish 5pm the following day. 3 hourly checks on inpatients...rather tiring if there were inpatients. Did 5 a month. If there were went to bed...but then Joe Bloggs would phone at 3am because Fluffy was limping and had been all day...you know the ones But now have VetsNow, so only in for inpatients, start at 10am then night finishing 3pm the next day. Go home at 7pm then back in at 8am if no inpatients. Have 3 nurses doing the week nights, so two four week rotas with 6 nights followed by one with 8 nights. Much prefer the new way!

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Mandy James — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:30:23 GMT

Thanks for all of your replies, they are really helpful!!!

Some shifts sound incredibly long, but others are do-able!

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Jen — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:32:53 GMT

I used to do 10am-noon the follwing day for our night shifts. Usually that was at least once a week. Tended to finnish rounds about 11pm and get up at 6.30am to start again. We were often up in the night regularly checking drips, taking the phones etc etc. Called in the vets as and when. No days off in leu of it either. Exhausting to say the least!

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Claire Cameron — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:50:19 GMT

We used to do 7pm until 9am, sole charge with vet on call

Re: Night Shift Patterns

abi Mahon — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:25:41 GMT

We do one night duty a week, starting at 4pm and finishing at 9am. We have that day off. We have the phones and are allowed to sleep, but dont really get that much! There are two vets on call, but they are at home and we call them as and when. At weekends we either work 9am-6pm on sat and sun or 5.30pm-9.30am.

I hope that helps a little, its an ok pattern, alot better then it use to be, when we use to start at 10m and not finih until 9am the following day! Nighmare!

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Caro Laithwaite VN — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:49:04 GMT

PM do 4 on 4 off 22:00-08:00
There is also a 17:30-03:30
A vet is on duty 24hrs day. They can sleep if able the nurses are all waking shifts.

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Sal the 1st — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:23:37 GMT

had a vet until midnight ish and then called out if needed after that - unless they were already downstairs (which happened quite a bit).

the other shift I did do in the early days was 2 on 2 off - all through the year except when the other nurse was on holiday then it was every night till they came back (and likewise for them when I was on holiday ) this was on call rather than working downstairs all the time but it did include 'telephones' for the whole evening. As we were working the days 9-7 as well it was pretty knackering and not something I would ever contemplate now - but I did it for nearly 5 years!

it was a two practice two nurse two vet situation - one practice did the on call for 2 days and the other did the next 2 days. wasnt too bad if you werent busy but was really nasty if you were.

too old and not daft enough to do it now - but at the time wasnt unhappy with the arrangement (it was a good practice and that makes all the difference)

Re: Night Shift Patterns

S-J — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:20:08 GMT

we have 7 on 7 off, but 2 shifts 6.30-1am, 1-8.30am but we are pretty busy most of the time

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Mandy James — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:18:55 GMT

Thanks Sal, were you sole charge or did you have a vet on site too?

Re: Night Shift Patterns

Sal the 1st — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:16:25 GMT

3 0n 4 off week 2

4 on 3 off week 1 6pm - 9am - with chance to sleep

4 on 4 off 8 pm- 8am - no sleep

I preferred the first one