7 on 7 off schedule Pros/Cons

[ApplyIce98]

Hey everyone! PGY-1 Pharmacy Resident here. I'm about 2 months out from finishing my residency and wanted to know more about what it's like working a 7 on 7 off schedule! I have heard that it's really what you make out of it, but I just wanted to know if anyone had any experiences or insight that they would like to share!

NOTE:
- Something I am worried about is how working a 7 on 7 off schedule would affect my social life and the ability to have a family down the road.
- I'm also worried about how working a 7 on 7 off schedule would affect me financially and the possibility of building a secure financial future.
- Lastly, I'm also interested in hearing about how working the overnight shift during your "On" week affects you during your "Off" week where you're probably staying awake during the day!

A little bit about me for reference!
- I'm 24, single, and have no current family obligations
- I do want to travel as I have not left the country since I was born
- I would like to maintain a general fitness schedule
- I have lots of hobbies that I would like to get back to. Wondering if that would be easier with a 7 on 7 off or a 9-5 work schedule.
- I currently have a small social network, and I'm wondering that if I'm traveling all the time how that would help or hurt me making more friends

You don't have to answer all of these questions! Any insight you have is already super helpful!

Thank you in advance!

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[Splenda88]

And that is exactly why I don't work days, BUT at some point, when overnights become detrimental to your overall health, most will have to work days.

When I ask the nocturnists at my place how they've been able to work night shifts for so many years. They laugh and ask me how I have been able to work day shifts. They think they have a better deal than the people who work days because they don't have to deal with administrative BS that go on during the day while making 17% more than the day shift.

 

[RxPreceptor]

I think some people are just naturally wired for night shifts. Pretty much always been someone who easily/effortlessly wakes up at 4am my entire life and a light sleeper

Super easy for myself to go back and forth between days and nights after a decade of doing overnights…I literally just nap twice, 3-4 hours

 

[mentos]

I didn't know half of you worked nightshift all this time.

 

[RXDOC1986]

I didn't know half of you worked nightshift all this time.

Yes, as outlined above, there are a great many perks to working nights, number one, is maintaining a 7 on / 7 off schedule. Then, more pay, less management, and so on. As much as people like to say, no one is truly (100%) adapted to working nights, sleeping days. You have the Circadian Rhythm, scientifically proven. There is social life, family obligations. Everything working against the "Nocturnist", definitely not ideal for anybody.
I know a pharmacist at my old Hospital, he graduated from my school in 1988, drove to this hospital, applied for a new overnight shift. He is still at the same job today. No plans to go anywhere, or retire for many years to come. He is married, now with grown children. That's as close to a overnight specialist as I have seen. In the 7 years I was there, he never took PTO, accrued about 300hrs/year. Cashed it out every year, for an additional $20-25K (don't know his pay rate) annually.

 

[njac]

Our hospital got around this by starting the 7 on rotation on Wednesday. So it's 3 days on 1 week, then 4 days on the other week.

The weds-tues is also superior because it aligns with friends/family with “normal” schedules and you can travel with their 3 day weekends.

 

[nickw2401]

And for some you accrue PTO, but it is contingent on your partner covering your shifts...

thats not how it works....someone from day or 2nd will cover and then have a week off.

 

[nickw2401]

In the hospital world, if you aren't in management, you're gonna be working every other weekend anyway. Becuase of that, 7 on/7 off is much better than the 8 hour day schedule of Monday-Friday (pick one day off) then work the weekend, then Monday-Friday (pick one day off) and off that weekend. And usually it is impossible to get a 3 day weekend on this schedule by taking off the Friday before your weekend off or the Monday after your weekend off. One of the schedules they are suggesting to me is Monday-Thursday, off Friday, work the weekend, off Monday, Tuesday-Friday. It's terrible IMO.no...

no...if you work days at most hospitals you will be working every 3rd weekend.

 

[RXDOC1986]

The weds-tues is also superior because it aligns with friends/family with “normal” schedules and you can travel with their 3 day weekends.

UNLESS, every holiday, every Monday Holiday, falls on your week to work. Not too many 3-day weekends left.
Last few years, and this year Memorial Day, Labor Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas fell on my week to work! This would be for 7 years, until they migrate to the other 7on/7off days.

 

[RXDOC1986]

thats not how it works....someone from day or 2nd will cover and then have a week off.

Every hospital has different set of rules, called "how best to mess with our 7/7 employees, ie make them pay"
The exception: At one hospital, you could (in theory) take your 2weeks PTO off and roll it into a 5 weeks off!
At this hospital, they found a good way to support and screw with 7/7 pharmacists, we have 3 pharmacists overnight, doing the work of 2! It is very hard to get any dayshift, part time, or PRN folks to do nights. Therefore if one of us is off, we just make do with two pharmacists. Also, they have a really stupid rule, like the one above, for weekends off, you have to swap with a night pharmacist from the other week. Making it VERY hard to take your work weekend off, ever. And weekends are when we need coverage the least. Even my manager thinks its a stupid rule, since it only affects the 7/7 staff, which is the six of us working nights. All the daytime folk can take off as many days as they have PTO.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

thats not how it works....someone from day or 2nd will cover and then have a week off.

no...if you work days at most hospitals you will be working every 3rd weekend.

Both of your assumptions depend on your staffing model, policies, job coding, and leadership.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Here is what any prospective overnight 7-on/7-off applicant should be asking the hiring team (I don't work it myself, but I hire them):

• Pay (is your base pay higher than M-F staff, do you get a differential, are you hourly or salaried?)
• PTO (how does it work, who covers you. Ask how many hours of PTO current and previous staff were using on average)
• Tech support- how many techs do you have overnight- what happens when someone calls out?
• Unique night shift responsibilities- are you responding to codes? Are you doing CS inventory?
• Why did the previous person leave? Have any previous hires moved to days/evenings?

 

[RXDOC1986]

Here is what any prospective overnight 7-on/7-off applicant should be asking the hiring team (I don't work it myself, but I hire them):

• Pay (is your base pay higher than M-F staff, do you get a differential, are you hourly or salaried?)
• PTO (how does it work, who covers you. Ask how many hours of PTO current and previous staff were using on average)
• Tech support- how many techs do you have overnight- what happens when someone calls out?
• Unique night shift responsibilities- are you responding to codes? Are you doing CS inventory?
• Why did the previous person leave? Have any previous hires moved to days/evenings?

All the above, legitimate concerns, in an ideal world.
In the real world, which prospective employee, having won the job lottery, and being called up, against 70 other resumes, is going to grill the hiring manager?
Which hiring manager will truthfully respond to all of the above, other than the HR policy questions, which you can look up. Discussing other pharmacist salaries? Definitely not happening.
And, PTO leave policy, tech support staffing, it's all good, until it's NOT. We have a neato scheduling software, WhenToWork, where open shifts are offered up to other pharmacist. If nobody wants to take my PTO night shift, well my overnight team, is SOL. And this happens almost weekly.
Here, at our hospital, there are also tech positions that have been open for months, policy is not going to help fill them.
Again, manager might even answer a few of the questions above, but as you well know, chit happens, later on, things change.

 

[storyhill2]

I started my first few years working regular day/evening/weekend rotation at a small hospital 8 hr shifts a few weekends here and there. Then I did 7 years of 7 on 7 off night shift at a hospital as the only pharmacist. Now I am at 5 years as an evening shift ED pharmcist 7 on 7 off. I specifically looked for this as a new job because I like the rhythm. I have 6 kids and it works great if you homeschool. I am able to help my wife with the teaching in the mornings and then I go to work in the afternoon. On my week off I can help even more. The other advantage have been talked about. I did find that night shift did leave me always hungering for sleep but it seemed fine when I did it because you only switch back once a week. I wouldn't want to go back to that though. I also work at a infusion pharmacy as needed doing mostly chemo during my off week but I can turn down any shifts so it works well. There is a lot of time to be with family. It would be hard to go back to my early career hours which most people do. I also can work as much extra as I want pretty much. Sometimes if I need more money for something I just sign up for a bunch of extra shifts. It works great. I don't do that too often anymore as I am not in debt now but it's still nice to have the option.