How to Cooperate with your Colleagues' Schedules Oh the age dilemma in the field of health care workers, there is always one person that feels they deserve special consideration when it comes to off time. But--in reality, not every person operates in the world of being fair, so someone has to take command and make decisions to ensure fairness is practiced in the workplace. No one wants to be taken advantage of, and it's not a good idea to let that happen. It has a tendency to repeat again, and again. However, the common courtesy of helping out a colleague or your supervisor is totally acceptable, and quite appreciated. Related: 5 Ways to Lift Your Geriatric Patient’s Spirits Situations to Consider There are times to consider the situation, outside of the rules for scheduling and off times. Say you have no plans for the weekend, and a coworker just found out their spouse is returning from overseas on leave. They will only have 4 days together, and 2 of those days will be void due to the schedule of the working nurse. So, should you offer to switch some off days with your coworker? You are under no obligation to do so; however it will not have a big impact on you if you do, and it goes without saying it’s the nice thing to do. In this case, you may want to consider doing your coworker a favor. The human resource department of a hospital is not going to view situations as “favors”, they are going to go by facts, so it’s up to the individual whether they want to accommodate their coworker. It really is up to the discretion of each employee whether or not they make adjustments for colleagues, although there are considerations that should have an impact. Will the switch result in you working too many hours straight?
Adjusting to Schedule Changes As a nurse, working in a hospital, there is going to come a point that you are not content with your current work schedule. This is a situation that you need to handle with reasonable consideration. Every nurse works a schedule that they would rather not work, so accept that you are no different and have to put in your time as well on those less than desirable shifts. As you develop seniority at your job, you will have opportunities to select more desirable shifts. The fact is, when you work at a hospital, you will be required to be flexible on the shifts or days that you work. Keep in mind, a hospital requires nurses on duty 24/7, someone has to be there. More importantly, the patients need care 24/7, and a nurse needs to be there
available for them. When you accept a job at a hospital, you accept certain conditions, and one of them is to be flexible with schedules. Related: Healthy Coping Techniques to Keep You Focused After a Patient Passes Emergency Situations with Colleagues Life happens. People may get sick, or children may get sick and parents cannot work and leave them in daycare. Situations such as these require team collaboration, the team members that work with the person that cannot make their shift, may be expected to help with a solution to cover for their coworker. A good healthcare team works together, and covers for one another when emergencies arise. Many hospitals have a field of extra nurses that are basically available to work wherever there is a need. They may be available to cover emergency shift openings as needed; your supervisor or Human Resource manager should be able to tell you if there are fill in nurses at your facility. Being Flexible As a nurse, if you opt to work in a hospital setting, you know that you are not going to have weekday only hours. Just keep in mind, the longer you put in your time and are flexible with your schedule, the sooner you will gain seniority and select a more preferred shift. There may be rules In place at the facility you work at regarding coverage for coworkers, so verify the shift coverage before you actually cover the shift of a coworker. If you learn that another nurse is running late for their shift, if you are available and can cover, offer to do so, it will save your supervisor from having to search to find coverage. Holidays, or any day, with nurses often covering a 24 hour facility 7 days a week, there are going to be some scheduling conflicts. Be cautious when trading work shifts or covering for a coworker, as it can become expected and anticipated in the future. Do what you can to help coworkers out, however be cautious with covering shifts and trading shifts. You value your friendship with your coworkers, and you would not want anything to jeopardize that relationship. Related: International Nurses Association Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter