What is it like being a hospital pharmacist?

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Chrish

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I am a retail guy through and through. I never considered hospital in my career and hated the clinical rotations (tbh they weren’t that good may be that’s why).

I am just wondering these days how different would it being a hospital pharmacist from retail? Do you guys face a lot of pressure from upstairs? How’s the job security? Are you guys overall happy? Is work mentally stimulating or not much different from being a trained monkey?

My impression from rotation was the culture can be toxic since people have too much free time on their hand compared to retail.
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I went from 10 years at retail to inpatient hospital. For one, I get to sit down and that right there is worth a lot. My knees/feet don't hurt constantly all day long. I don't feel like I get much pressure from the floors, it just gets a little annoying sometimes when a doc will put a couple orders in and literally two minutes later I have the nurse calling, asking for me to verify it. I actually do use the degree now, more so than the trained monkey behind the computer screen.

I also get actual lunch breaks and I go to the bathroom whenever I want. It's great.
 
Yeah the first things I noticed and appreciated were that you get to sit, you get lunch, and you can use the bathroom whenever you want unless it's busy. Physically, you feel so much healthier. There are times where it gets busy but nothing like retail. Generally everyone is nice and enjoys being there. The techs are much more intelligent and responsible, no "sick" calls everyday. They're generally very good since they have to make IVs. I did get nervous when there's a code or a levophed was needed STAT.

When you get a new admission, the queue can get spammed with 20+ orders that the nurses want verified right away. But there are also times where there is literally nothing to do, you get to chill and chat. We all ate breakfast and lunch together. There was time to grab a coffee at the cafeteria. Each hospital is different of course but that was my experience at a small hospital.

Nurses can sometimes be mean but in general they're pretty nice, much better than dealing with angry customers and drug addicts. Sometimes doctors will call and basically tell you a whole patient case over the phone (you know how fast they speak) and it's hard to keep up and they'll want a dosing recommendation right away. So you still have to stay alert and on top of your game. The phones can ring off the hook and you actually have to pick them up right away cause it's usually important.

All in all its much better than retail, much better quality of life. Always lots to learn. I dreaded going to work for every retail shift but I actually looked forward to going to the hospital.
 
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mentos said:
All in all its much better than retail, much better quality of life. Always lots to learn. I dreaded going to work for every retail shift but I actually looked forward to going to the hospital.
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Even on my worst day in the hospital, I always laugh with the other pharmacists and say, "it could be worse - I could still be at Kroger!"
 
I have worked both - a couple of years in retail, been at my current hospital job for ~15 years.
Honestly, in my mind, there is no competition in regards to which one I enjoy more. I used to moonlight for CVS and always said I did it to remind me of why I took a paycut to go to my hospital. Ironically now I make a lot more than a retail pharmacist (~160k a year) + 8 weeks PDO.
I don't work in the actual pharmacy, I work on the floor 100% of the time. I actually like my job, and I don't have a residency, but I would never get my job today without one. So it really depends on if you are in an operational (drug distribution/verification) or a clinical job.

What I do in a 10 hour shift (night shift in the ED/ICU) - 450-500 bed hospital
order verification
average 10-15 consults - mostly vanc, but also heparin/aminoglycosides)
code response - varies dramatically - but average a couple a night
lots of random RN calls, vast majority are not hard, and RN's are respectful.
Lots of MD interaction - I side 10 feet from our ED docs. Have a great relationship with them and the hospitalists, ICU MD's - but then again I ahve known most of them for 10+ years.
i also am under no illusion that I am in the majority - I got lucky with good timing and hard work.
 
I worked retail since high school and three years as a licensed pharmacist. I then switched to hospital two years ago and one of the few things I noticed was a break room with a TV that you can actually sit down and use.

I kept my job at retail PRN and couldn't do it after a few months because every time I did, it felt like low-IQ monkey work. It was so annoying to ring someones toilet paper out on a register and then the next day I'm dosing antibiotics, profile reviewing people in the hospital and making recommendations on acute problems.

The hospital is mentally stimulating for sure. I get an unusual case maybe once a week to two weeks that doesn't quite follow the guidelines but would be better for the patient. No real pressure from upstairs...the nurses can be kind, sometimes a bit flustered but overall nice. A lot of them come to pharmacy first for answers before asking our MDs (which in turn makes me ask the MDs for them but the MDs are helpful too).

As for toxicity, it's 100% management for us. We have incompetent and uninformed managers that do not communicate. They make a stink out of everything unusual. My coworkers express good team work probably because our common enemy are our managers. If they didn't have a chicken up their ass everyday we'd be golden.

Other than that, I wouldn't go back to retail even if I lost my job. I would do any other job than retail (except for maybe prostitution, albeit considered).
 
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Internal med clinical specialist here, having worked for 2 different hospitals (purely clinical position now, hybrid position previously). It really depends on the hospital. At my current position, I definitely have enough time for lunch. Sometimes work gets busy when discharges have to happen quickly, and it's been busier lately since we all partially telework (and some pharmacists are more productive than others while teleworking), so whoever is onsite generally has to do a lot of work. As a clinical specialist at the VA, I also have lots of project/committee work as well as adjudication of prior auths. I sometimes staff on the weekends...it gets busy, but again, not to the same level as when I was an intern at Rite Aid. My last job was crazy...all sorts of shifts, no time for lunch, etc... and I left as soon as I could find a decent clinical job that wouldn't look as a "step down" on my CV.
 
bacillus1 said:
Internal med clinical specialist here, having worked for 2 different hospitals (purely clinical position now, hybrid position previously). It really depends on the hospital. At my current position, I definitely have enough time for lunch. Sometimes work gets busy when discharges have to happen quickly, and it's been busier lately since we all partially telework (and some pharmacists are more productive than others while teleworking), so whoever is onsite generally has to do a lot of work. As a clinical specialist at the VA, I also have lots of project/committee work as well as adjudication of prior auths. I sometimes staff on the weekends...it gets busy, but again, not to the same level as when I was an intern at Rite Aid. My last job was crazy...all sorts of shifts, no time for lunch, etc... and I left as soon as I could find a decent clinical job that wouldn't look as a "step down" on my CV.
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I work at the VA as well and my experience has been the total opposite.
 
Retails will eventually destroy your soul. Maybe not today or tomorrow but it will crack you.
 
It's great. I constantly learn new things and work to the top of my training more days than not. Some days I don't eat lunch, but that's the nature working in an ED. The varying hours can suck but at least I don't have to do rounds. Yes, this required residency training, but that was the opportunity cost back then and a requirement now.

The "pressure from upstairs" is really a department issue- C-suites see hospital pharmacy as drug and labor expenditure (and guess which one is easier to control). As a profession, we do really poor job demonstrating our worth. Some organizations are better at this than others- the ones that furloughed employees during the surge see pharmacy as an expensive ancillary service and not a necessary "clinical service".
 
bacillus1 said:
Internal med clinical specialist here, having worked for 2 different hospitals (purely clinical position now, hybrid position previously). It really depends on the hospital. At my current position, I definitely have enough time for lunch. Sometimes work gets busy when discharges have to happen quickly, and it's been busier lately since we all partially telework (and some pharmacists are more productive than others while teleworking), so whoever is onsite generally has to do a lot of work. As a clinical specialist at the VA, I also have lots of project/committee work as well as adjudication of prior auths. I sometimes staff on the weekends...it gets busy, but again, not to the same level as when I was an intern at Rite Aid. My last job was crazy...all sorts of shifts, no time for lunch, etc... and I left as soon as I could find a decent clinical job that wouldn't look as a "step down" on my CV.
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I recently took a "step down" within my own institution - but I also applied for a couple of other jobs are other hospitals (which I was more than qualified for) but didn't get them. I actually had one person ask me "would you be happy with this job? and another called my director asking why someone in my position is wanting a staff position. Gotta love being "overqualified"
 
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mentos said:
I can't believe no one has mentioned this

NO INSURANCE!!! to deal with.
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Honestly I kinda forgot about this - this is one thing I just don't miss at all.
Sure, I have to deal with drunk,high, altered patients yelling and swearing, and get to smell piss and poop, but rarely do I get involved. Poor RN's have to deal with that.
I get to wear scrubs every day, like going to work in my pajamas!
I pretty much always get lunch, I work through my lunch, and sometimes get interrupted.

Operational jobs generally are fairly chill. Basically check product, often deal with Rn's/Tubes loosing things, which is annoying but happens.
 
Love the hospital. I think I'm one of the lucky ones (extremely fortunate) in that I grew up in a hospital system, went to a program that pushed clinical pharmacy, was a pharmacy tech at a hospital, got a residency that was also very clinical pharmacist heavy/driven where the pharmacists are highly respected and got a job that is entirely clinical full time.

I'm crit care but will soon be transitioning to fully ED which is my real passion. Kinda piggybacking on what everyone else says but I get to use my brain every day which is awesome and I'm constantly learning something new. I feel like I can work with anyone, so a lot of the doctors will ask my opinion about regimens and therapies which actually makes me feel useful. I get to chat with the nurses, catch things that need fixing and work on multi-disciplinary teams. I'm currently working on doing teaching rounds with the nurses each week and implementing some in-services for on-site education.

Also yes: no insurance issues, I get to eat lunch, go to the bathroom when I want to, check my phone once in a while, and my pharmacy crew respects each other and helps each other out.

I could not see myself doing retail because that **** is hard. For real. I don't know how ya'll do it if you do. I remember my APPE at CVS I had an amazing preceptor who was incredible but never got to eat after working 10-12 hr shifts, was lucky to get to go to the bathroom and was often screamed at by patients. And regardless of this he was always pleasant. 🙁
 
I used to work PRN in retail for some extra cash but I decided to call it quits after scanning out another bag of candy and explaining to the customer how I'm not responsible for what their co-pay on their medication is...

my feet, back and bladder thank me for sticking to just hospital now.
 
Different view. I work prn at the hospital and had several chances to switch to full time. I haven't done it yet because I still prefer my retail position. Retail pharmacy is better for me because of the higher pay, fast pace, and interaction with customers. I'm happy to have my prn hospital gig for the clinical experience and extra money but most days there almost put me to sleep from boredom. I'll probably switch in 5-10 years once retail becomes unbearable.
 
Dred Pirate said:
Honestly I kinda forgot about this - this is one thing I just don't miss at all.
Sure, I have to deal with drunk,high, altered patients yelling and swearing, and get to smell piss and poop, but rarely do I get involved. Poor RN's have to deal with that.
I get to wear scrubs every day, like going to work in my pajamas!
I pretty much always get lunch, I work through my lunch, and sometimes get interrupted.

Operational jobs generally are fairly chill. Basically check product, often deal with Rn's/Tubes loosing things, which is annoying but happens.
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Ah yes I forgot about wearing scrubs too! So comfortable. I completely forgot about wearing uncomfortable dress clothes and tie for retail. I hated wearing a tie, dress pants and belt! It got so hot in the summer and CVS was too cheap to turn on the AC.
 
Hospital pharmacy is the promised land of milk and honey. lol in all seriousness it has its pros and cons just like everything else. To answer the original questions: I'm not really worried for my job but I'm a staff pharmacist, a lot of times they'll cut out management if they want to shake things up (but I have heard of staff pharmacists being let go with other health systems just for budget reasons so it really depends on the health system you work for). Work can be very stimulating depending on who is admitted and which doctors are on. Some docs don't want any suggestions and never ask for recommendations so those are pretty robot days.
I think you hit the nail on the head for one of the worst aspects of hospital pharmacy: departmental drama/interdepartmental fighting. I'm a pretty laid back person so I get pretty sick of the completely pointless drama. I also really like working as a team for the hospital and hate the us vs. them mentality that happens at most facilities. Although I understand why it happens after working with some of these nurses. I've only been working a year and have had at least 3 different situations where I probably should have written the nurse up (I work in BFE so its not like they'd fire them so I never followed through). I still haven't quite found that balance of not being walked all over by the nurses but also not making them cry, and honestly I haven't known too many pharmacists that aren't at one end of that spectrum or the other. But I digress.
I worked retail as a tech in what I'm told were the final years of the golden age of pharmacy and to be honest.....it sucked then too lol. But as has been mentioned on this thread, there are some who prefer retail to hospital. It really just depends on your personality and which location you work at.
 
Work night shift 7 on/7 off at a small hospital system, combined about 300 beds, the other campuses don't have an overnight pharmacist present so I'm verifying for those campuses patient's too. They have have most of the drugs loaded in their pyxis machines, occasionally I'll have to fill it and then have security drive a med to the other location. I feel bad sometimes asking security to drive 15 miles there and back just to deliver a tube of Nystatin cream.

It's just me and a tech from midnight to 6am-7am, I start around 9-11pm. It's usually busy from 9-1230am and then it's 5 hours of quiet mixed in with a few minutes of chaos from now and then.

What I usually do: check orders on the computer, fill labels that aren't stocked in Pyxis, make IVs, dispense narcotics to the floors, check the technicians Pyxis restock, check the fill list/cassette for whatever meds aren't stocked in Pyxis, draw up liquid doses that can't be dispensed in premade unit dose cups.

A few months ago, we had one night where we went from 1215am to 545am without a single phone call, but then another night (I think when the coronavirus epidemic got really out of hand in NYC), it was nonstop work because I was making pressor drips, rocuronium drips, midazolam drips, fentanyl drips all night long. I didn't even have time to document/log the IVs I was making.

I kept count of what I made that night though, 23 bags of Levophed 16 mg/500 mL , 27 bags of Rocuronium, 22 bags of Midazolam, 16 bags of fentanyl, and then calling other hospitals and begging for them to let me borrow Propofol because we ran out. After that night, they decided to temporarily add another pharmacist to overnight.

Overall, I love the overnight shift. The evening shift I overlap with are cool people. They always make sure to leave me food that was brought in by drug reps earlier, they don't care if I'm running late. As for the morning shift, I let the first morning shift person fill me in on the drama before I head out. I like them individually, but once there are more than 4 pharmacists in the room, it's too much.

Every single issue that comes up turns into a 4 person conversation. Like if the OR calls about a drug that is not in their Pyxis that they need, they'll ask each other about what's going on while the OR nurse is on the phone. Just dispense the damn thing and talk it out later. OR drugs are supposed to be refilled by the overnight tech but the fill list is based on what the Pyxis thinks is loaded. If surgeons aren't removing drugs from Pyxis the proper way (they usually hit quantity 1 and then remove 10).

Day shift is just too much drama, I feel that's how it is at every hospital.

I'm the type of pharmacist who corrects doctor's mistakes without calling (example, doctor entered order for 1000 grams of Vancomycin, obviously they meant 1 gram but thought it was in milligrams). Doing that on evening shift and overnight is fine. But if a day shift pharmacist catches me doing it, I get lectured on it.
 
Sparda29 said:
Work night shift 7 on/7 off at a small hospital system, combined about 300 beds, the other campuses don't have an overnight pharmacist present so I'm verifying for those campuses patient's too. They have have most of the drugs loaded in their pyxis machines, occasionally I'll have to fill it and then have security drive a med to the other location. I feel bad sometimes asking security to drive 15 miles there and back just to deliver a tube of Nystatin cream.

It's just me and a tech from midnight to 6am-7am, I start around 9-11pm. It's usually busy from 9-1230am and then it's 5 hours of quiet mixed in with a few minutes of chaos from now and then.

What I usually do: check orders on the computer, fill labels that aren't stocked in Pyxis, make IVs, dispense narcotics to the floors, check the technicians Pyxis restock, check the fill list/cassette for whatever meds aren't stocked in Pyxis, draw up liquid doses that can't be dispensed in premade unit dose cups.

A few months ago, we had one night where we went from 1215am to 545am without a single phone call, but then another night (I think when the coronavirus epidemic got really out of hand in NYC), it was nonstop work because I was making pressor drips, rocuronium drips, midazolam drips, fentanyl drips all night long. I didn't even have time to document/log the IVs I was making.

I kept count of what I made that night though, 23 bags of Levophed 16 mg/500 mL , 27 bags of Rocuronium, 22 bags of Midazolam, 16 bags of fentanyl, and then calling other hospitals and begging for them to let me borrow Propofol because we ran out. After that night, they decided to temporarily add another pharmacist to overnight.

Overall, I love the overnight shift. The evening shift I overlap with are cool people. They always make sure to leave me food that was brought in by drug reps earlier, they don't care if I'm running late. As for the morning shift, I let the first morning shift person fill me in on the drama before I head out. I like them individually, but once there are more than 4 pharmacists in the room, it's too much.

Every single issue that comes up turns into a 4 person conversation. Like if the OR calls about a drug that is not in their Pyxis that they need, they'll ask each other about what's going on while the OR nurse is on the phone. Just dispense the damn thing and talk it out later. OR drugs are supposed to be refilled by the overnight tech but the fill list is based on what the Pyxis thinks is loaded. If surgeons aren't removing drugs from Pyxis the proper way (they usually hit quantity 1 and then remove 10).

Day shift is just too much drama, I feel that's how it is at every hospital.

I'm the type of pharmacist who corrects doctor's mistakes without calling (example, doctor entered order for 1000 grams of Vancomycin, obviously they meant 1 gram but thought it was in milligrams). Doing that on evening shift and overnight is fine. But if a day shift pharmacist catches me doing it, I get lectured on it.
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LoL that's exactly how I feel about dayshift.
 
Sparda29 said:
I'm the type of pharmacist who corrects doctor's mistakes without calling (example, doctor entered order for 1000 grams of Vancomycin, obviously they meant 1 gram but thought it was in milligrams). Doing that on evening shift and overnight is fine. But if a day shift pharmacist catches me doing it, I get lectured on it.
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Same. I hate overhearing conversations from other pharmacists with a doctor asking if they can correct the Percocet-10/325 order from 10 TABLETS to 1 tablet or when they call asking if they can renally adjust a drug that's already in the renal dose adjustment policy. Unnecessary phone calls.
 
rxkrafted said:
Same. I hate overhearing conversations from other pharmacists with a doctor asking if they can correct the Percocet-10/325 order from 10 TABLETS to 1 tablet or when they call asking if they can renally adjust a drug that's already in the renal dose adjustment policy. Unnecessary phone calls.
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How about asking if they really want to give keflex in a PCN allergic patient? A little part of me dies every time I hear that sad, sad conversation.
 
The technical track in VA is quite different than industry or managed care. At the entry level, it means about three hours of work and five hours of consultation a day on various matters for three to four days a week. At the regional level, it's very much dependent on how competent or ignorant management is about the role (the more ignorant, the more likely the position is a sinecure). At the national level at the working ranks, it's the opposite of the entry level (five hours of work and three hours of consultative), and certain positions are well-known to be sinecures due to their incumbents being politically intelligent but incompetent which puts a much higher burden on others. At the management ranks, it's rare if you do much work (usually about 8 hours a week), but you spend the rest of the time having to worry about budgeting, political machinations, and trying to avoid being served at a donkey barbeque.

A reasonably competent hospital level technical track pharmacist has between 24 and 32 hours a week of work (the very best I know in the informatics and technical ranks have less than 16 due to efficiency), VISNs have anywhere from 0 (a VISN in the East) to 50-60 (a Southern VISN), and national CO has extreme variability (someone in the education division notoriously doesn't work unless under personal supervision and someone in informatics rarely works less than 70 and is efficient). If you want the good life, you either stay at the hospital and get good or go to VISN. If you want power or enjoy the game, you make it to CO.

Job security is almost absolute at the field level (even stupid and tyrannical directors are unlikely to antagonize you and those who do face severe consequences from the others). Job security is especially enjoyed at the CO level if you're not dumb enough to get roasted or have low tolerance for sanity checks (certain members of Congress have tried mine past and present). The pay is not comparable to industry or managed care, you expect to make 20% less at the hospital level (about $20k in my area) and 45-60% less at the national level. On the other hand, most moonlight for industry or academia and make up most of the difference without the job security risk or spend the low-stress on family concerns and leisure.
 
Sparda29 said:
I'm the type of pharmacist who corrects doctor's mistakes without calling (example, doctor entered order for 1000 grams of Vancomycin, obviously they meant 1 gram but thought it was in milligrams). Doing that on evening shift and overnight is fine. But if a day shift pharmacist catches me doing it, I get lectured on it.
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are there any hospitals out there that don't allow Rph's to automatically adjust vanc doses? If so, that is so dark ages, but if it is NY - doesn't surprise me I guess from what I have heard from friends that have worked there.

How would they even know you changed it? Do you guys still have paper orders?

We are paid to do things like that - I mean, the other day one of the MD's I work with came in and said "Dred, if I order anything wrong, just go ahead and change it" I said" i already do!"
 
What it’s like being a hospital pharmacist:



Or - if you prefer something a bit more hyperactive:

 
Rockinacoustic said:
If they have a documented anaphylactic reaction then I'm investigating more before I dispense...
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I agree with this. In fact it is guideline to avoid in anaphylaxis. I’m retail I never called the dr first. I would ask patient - “what happens when you take penicillin”. If they say, “I have shortness of breath and end up in the hospital” I will call the dr. The handful of times this has happened, they switched it to something else and I felt like all parties were happy with the service.

If they say, “I got a rash when I was a kid” they will get the Keflex with an advisement to monitor
 
Dred Pirate said:
are there any hospitals out there that don't allow Rph's to automatically adjust vanc doses? If so, that is so dark ages, but if it is NY - doesn't surprise me I guess from what I have heard from friends that have worked there.

How would they even know you changed it? Do you guys still have paper orders?

We are paid to do things like that - I mean, the other day one of the MD's I work with came in and said "Dred, if I order anything wrong, just go ahead and change it" I said" i already do!"
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We don't have pharmacy to dose vanc or anything else for the CPs, though they are allowed to change timing (like BID to Q12H to better reflect the appropriate standard admin times). However, most of the time they don't even do that. The CPSs can dose pretty much anything, but it's a teaching hospital so I geneally go over how to do it with the docs.
 
What everyone else said. Hospital is great! You only have to deal with upper management if you are a supervisor or director.....then dealing with them can be a headache. But as a staff pharmacist, you don't have to worry about that.

The only thing not to like about hospital is parking can be a million miles away if you are in a large hospital., and gossip. Gossip is a hospital is neverending, and some pharmacies are especially toxic. The gossip is the hardest thing to get used to. And pay is lower in hospital for every place outside of CA.

Job security....depends on your place, but overall, but not really better than job security for pharmacists anywhere else. Staff positions are generally more secure than clinical or middle management positions.

Work is more stimulating than retail for sure. But like any job, you do it long enough, and you aren't going to see that much different from day to day.
 
bacillus1 said:
We don't have pharmacy to dose vanc or anything else for the CPs, though they are allowed to change timing (like BID to Q12H to better reflect the appropriate standard admin times). However, most of the time they don't even do that. The CPSs can dose pretty much anything, but it's a teaching hospital so I geneally go over how to do it with the docs.
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seriously? at a teaching hospital nonetheless? That would drive me crazy - few/no doctors know how to dose abx, and quite frankly they don't care to learn. I honestly probably renally dose ~30 orders every night - If I had to call the MD each time, it would slow me down beyond belief
 
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One thing I love about retail is the no. of days I get off. I work on average 4 days a week and 3 days I can do whatever I like. I like this freedom vs having to work 5 days in a hospital. Some people love these 8 hour shifts but it ain’t me. The way I see it, whether you work 6 hours or 10 hours, your day will be done. At least that’s how it is for me; I am not productive for reminder of the day after work. So, might as well work longer shift and get the actual day off.

I guess if you do overnight hospital, you can do 7 days off vs on and that will give you flexibility too but then you would have to deal with circadian rhythm disruptions.
 
Chrish said:
One thing I love about retail is the no. of days I get off. I work on average 4 days a week and 3 days I can do whatever I like. I like this freedom vs having to work 5 days in a hospital. Some people love these 8 hour shifts but it ain’t me. The way I see it, whether you work 6 hours or 10 hours, your day will be done. At least that’s how it is for me; I am not productive for reminder of the day after work. So, might as well work longer shift and get the actual day off.

I guess if you do overnight hospital, you can do 7 days off vs on and that will give you flexibility too but then you would have to deal with circadian rhythm disruptions.
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I agree with I would rather work longer hours and fewer days - I do the 7 on 7 off overnights - luckily I can swap over pretty easily - I loose the monday when I get off to just being lazy. My hospital used to have 4 x 10 hour day shifts, and 3 x 12 hour day shifts - which was nice. 4 10's would be my ideal.
 
ValeRx said:
We are working compressed schedule, 10 hour shifts so we do 4 on, 3 off in the hospital.
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Is that dayshift? Do you rotate weekends?

I like 7on7off nights.
 
sloh said:
This thread really highlights how important seemingly trivial concerns actually are: being able to sit, eat, use the bathroom. Good thread!
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Yup all we want are to be treated like humans and not robots.
 
mentos said:
Is that dayshift? Do you rotate weekends?

I like 7on7off nights.
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We have a whole bunch of different things going on at one time. Some people like working five 8s, so they do that either day or mid shift. Some people like working 10s and that's day, evening and night shift. Our night shift is really wonky right now. Weekends are rotated about every 3. Some people also prefer working every weekend due to the shift differential. One person is dedicated third shift, everybody else rotates on a two week basis, about every 10 weeks.
 
mentos said:
Is that dayshift? Do you rotate weekends?

I like 7on7off nights.
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I love the 7on7off life. I don't know how people can work 5 days a week with just 4 weeks off per year.

Sometimes my coworkers ask me what do I do on my weeks off, my answer is "whatever I want". Maybe pick up a shift here and there, go to the beach, study for my private pilot classes, go to the shooting range, go hiking, smoke hookah.
 
Dred Pirate said:
I recently took a "step down" within my own institution - but I also applied for a couple of other jobs are other hospitals (which I was more than qualified for) but didn't get them. I actually had one person ask me "would you be happy with this job? and another called my director asking why someone in my position is wanting a staff position. Gotta love being "overqualified"
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Coming to the VA from a large academic medical center, the VA to me has been a huge step-down.
 
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