Working Overnights

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Sparda29

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Let's say you are a director of pharmacy and you hired a pharmacist to work the overnight shift. A month or two goes by and a day shift or evening shift position opens up. The overnight pharmacist comes to you and asks for the position. How pissed are you?

Reason why I ask is because I interviewed for an overnight staff Rph at a hospital and they wanted to know how committed I'd be to an overnight position. They mentioned that the previous overnighter quit after 5 months and they also asked if this was simply a stepping stone to a day shift job for me. (Obviously it is a stepping stone to a day shift for me.)

Also: are they legally allowed to say you cannot have the day shift? Let's say they keep you on the overnight shift and just open up interviews for the day shift instead of giving you the day shift and opening up interviews for the overnight.

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They will likely be pissed because it is a lot harder to fill the overnight position. That being said, it isn't automatic that they will give you days. They may require you to interview for the position and could hire someone else "more qualified." If you really want to the day shift then go for it if it opens up.
 
In my facility the job title of the overnight RPh is "Pharmacist Nights". And you cannot apply for a job transfer for 2 years (unless management approves it).
 
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There's absolutely no reason for them to give you the day job. We had night positions at my old job that were fixed nights- barring some desperate need, you weren't moving to days. There is no legal reason an employer would ever be forced to consider you, and doubly so with your signaling a commitment to nights.
 
There's absolutely no reason for them to give you the day job. We had night positions at my old job that were fixed nights- barring some desperate need, you weren't moving to days. There is no legal reason an employer would ever be forced to consider you, and doubly so with your signaling a commitment to nights.

Aren't there labor laws or union laws that say that any new open position must be offered internally before being posted for external hires?
 
Damn, sticklers in here.

Boss told me he had zero qualms about me moving to day shift if/when a position opens up.
 
Damn, sticklers in here.

Boss told me he had zero qualms about me moving to day shift if/when a position opens up.

I thought most employers understood that most people do not want to work overnights and most of those who do work it would switch to day time when given the chance.
 
I thought most employers understood that most people do not want to work overnights and most of those who do work it would switch to day time when given the chance.

I think any reasonable/logical employer would assume that... mine brought it up in the interview and said it's rock paper scissors between you and the other overnight guy when a day shift opens. He just wanted it to be fair, and not be involved in choosing who gets it.
 
Aren't there labor laws or union laws that say that any new open position must be offered internally before being posted for external hires?

No such law that I know of, but most places know that promoting from within is a more sound policy in the long run.
 
If you are applying to a night or evening position, you should expect to work nights or evenings.
 
Clearly this employer is telling you upfront they expect their overnight pharmacist to work overnights and that switching to days at their site is not on the table.

If your goal is to use this job as a stepping stone to a day job elsewhere then it probably would work (we already know you're ******ant to burning bridges...)

Are they offering a signing bonus?
 
Always state the truth... Tell them you can do nights for 1.5-2 yrs tops. Most employers will be OK to defer the problem for another 2 yrs. If daytime position opens, you want to be moved into day time.
 
Clearly this employer is telling you upfront they expect their overnight pharmacist to work overnights and that switching to days at their site is not on the table.

If your goal is to use this job as a stepping stone to a day job elsewhere then it probably would work (we already know you're ******ant to burning bridges...)

Are they offering a signing bonus?

They offer usual hospital Rph pay + charge pay (since you're overnight, you're technically in charge of the pharmacy since you're the only pharmacist, so you get whatever extra bonus the director usually gets) + night differential.

I can tell why longevity is an issue for them. Overnight shifts should always be done in a 7 on 7 off manner. These guys do 4 days on 3 days off, 3 days on, 4 days off, or some staggered schedule, which is a pain in the ass for whoever is working (I'm going to want to work at my PRN jobs on my days off and throwing in a day shift or two when you usually work overnights will **** you up). When I asked why they don't do 7 on 7 off, they said it is harder to cover for vacations.

Personally I think it's a ****ing conspiracy to stop people from benefiting from taking a week vacation and getting 3 weeks off.

Something else they told me on the interview that is a little scary is "we don't tolerate absence/calling-out for snow/blizzard reasons".
 
That schedule sucks. The whole reason for working overnights is for the week off. I can't imagine trying to adjust back to night shift every few days. It seems like a lifetime of Zombie mode. Red flags.
 
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That schedule sucks. The whole reason for working overnights is for the week off. I can't imagine trying to adjust back to night shift every few days. It seems like a lifetime of Zombie mode. Red flags.

Agree times a million. I cannot imagine why anyone would want to work a crazy schedule like that.

I have heard (not confirmed) that my present employer Pharmerica does overnights even worse. The overnight pharmacist works 5 8 hour shifts. I guess they have a part time overnighter do the remaining two shifts per week, or perhaps the other staff pharmacists take turns covering them. No idea. But I can't wrap my head around doing 5 overnight shifts a week every week. What a spectacularly terrible schedule. You would be forced to live the overnight life all the time. I have no idea how they recruit for that job.
 
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