Hey All...
I'm a 'night tech'. Been doing it for 7 of my 10 years as a tech. All night shift duties are performed by one pharmacist and one tech between the hours of 7pm and 7am. For about the last 20 years or so, the pharmacists have been working 7 on 7 off. They love it! Of course, the guys who work the shift are older, their kids are grown and gone, etc... I looked at all the stuff you folks are lookin' at. You know... 'You only work 26 weeks a year', etc, etc... It looks really good on paper.
I worked 4 on 3 off for about 5 years. This was just fine for me. At one point, the grass looked 'greener' if ya know whatta mean... After switching to 7 on 7 off, I realized how absolutely grueling it is to work those kinds hours in a family situation. Although you're working nights, unfortunately, family life doesn't stop when you get home. There are still doctors appointments, taking the kids to and from school, shopping... You know... All of the stuff that's done on the schedule the rest of the world operates on.
Now for the good stuff.
If you're younger and single... Or if you're older with the kids grown and gone, I would recommend it as the 7 on 7 off schedule provides a LOT of personal time and freedom.
Point Number One... When you take one week of vacation, you get THREE weeks off.
Point Number Two... If you're a PharmD you can, more often than not, afford to take trips to exotic foreign lands or visit family whenever you like.
Point Number Three... You'll be able to plan you life years in advance because you know exactly which weeks you will be 'on' and 'off'. The negative aspect of this point is the fact that... Well... You can get stuck working all of the holidays for years at a time. 🙁
Point Number Four... Working 12 hour shifts provides 4 hours of overtime each night, double-time for anything over 12 and a shift differential between 5% and 10%. No kidding... The night guys I work with make more the the director. I, as a lowly, slimy and unworthy tech, make about double what the other techs make.
Point Number Five... There aren't a lot of 'suits' running around on the night shift.
Point Number Six... Chances are... If you work nights, the staffing will be limited and provide for more efficient ops for the pharmacy. If you've only got two to three people working nights, you'll know every order, every drug prepped and who recieved it.
Point Number Seven... Although the workload on nights is often near overwhelming (at least for us), there are many nights (like tonight. Hehe) that are quite slow and... Well... Pleasant. 🙂
Point Number Eight... Staff meetings are usually held in the middle of the day. No need to attend those messy little gatherings. 🙂
I could go on forever about the advantages and disadvantages of the shifts. The bottom line is, if you're in a position in life that allows for living the life of a vampire... Go for it. If you've got a young family, I wouldn't recommend it. In the latter case, I would stick to 3 on 4 off, 4 on 3 off. It's what works best for my family and I anyway.
Best of luck and continued success to you all!
Much Love and Respect
Os
