Free shift pattern calendars and schedules

Nurse Shift Schedule

Plan 12-hour day and night shifts for four weeks and see each nurse's hours per week against a target you set.

Nurse Shift Schedule is a free, editable, printable work-schedule sheet that runs in your browser. It is a grid with one row per person and one column per day, and each cell holds a shift code such as D for day or N for night. The sheet shows each person’s shift count, paid hours and days off, plus a count of how many people work each shift on each day. It also warns you about overlapping shifts, unreadable times and codes that are not in the shift table. No account or sign-up is needed.

The default sheet is a worked example with 6 nurses over 28 days, from Oct 5, 2026 to Nov 1, 2026. It totals 805 paid hours across 70 shifts. Replace it with your own names, dates and codes.

Nurse shift schedule example

How to use the Nurse Shift Schedule

  1. Choose a period: one week (7 days), two weeks (14 days), a number of days, or a calendar month. Week-like periods start on the date you pick.
  2. Set the start date for the sheet. A month always shows the whole calendar month.
  3. Replace the title “Nurse shift schedule, Oct 5, 2026 – Nov 1, 2026” with your own title.
  4. Type a name for each person in the rows, one row per person.
  5. Type a shift code into each cell. Codes are not case sensitive and can be up to 12 characters. D, N, O and V are defined in the default shift table.
  6. To fill many cells at once, open the Quick fill box and enter a pattern such as “D D N N O O O”. You can apply it along one row or every row, optionally starting each row one step later. You can also copy the first week onto the following weeks or clear cells.
  7. To paint cells by hand, tap a code chip, then tap the cells you want to fill.
  8. Check the totals in each row and the count row at the bottom. Fix any red codes or warnings before you use the schedule.

Quick fill and the code chips save the most time on sheets with a repeating pattern. Reset returns the sheet to the example.

How are paid hours calculated on a nurse shift schedule?

Paid hours for one shift equal the end time minus the start time, minus the unpaid break in minutes. The result is never below 0. If the end time is earlier than the start time, the shift is treated as running past midnight. The page only performs this arithmetic on the values you type. It does not apply any legal or pay rule.

Take the default Day code D, which runs 07:00 to 19:00 with a 30-minute unpaid break. That is 12 hours minus 0.5 hours, which gives 11.5 paid hours. The Night code N runs 19:00 to 07:00, so it crosses midnight, and it also gives 11.5 paid hours. Off (O) and Vacation (V) have no times, so each counts 0 hours.

The example totals follow from this. Nurses 1 to 4 and Nurse 6 each have 138 hours, which is 12 shifts at 11.5 hours. Nurse 5 has 115 hours, which is 10 shifts. Across the sheet, 70 shifts at 11.5 hours give 805 paid hours.

How do I fill in the cells quickly?

Click a cell and type a code, or use the arrow keys and Enter to move from cell to cell; the code list offers the codes defined in the shift table. On a phone, tap a code chip and then tap the cells to paint them. Quick fill repeats a pattern such as “D D N N O O O” along a row, optionally starting each row one step later, and can copy the first week onto the following weeks. A dash in the pattern leaves a cell blank.

What is in the CSV file?

Download CSV saves the grid with one row per person: the name, the codes for each date, and the totals. The header row uses dates in yyyy-mm-dd form. The file opens in any spreadsheet program. Nothing is sent anywhere; the file is made in your browser.

How does the staffing count work?

The count row at the bottom shows, for each date, how many people have each code. Use it to see at a glance whether a day has enough people on a shift. The page does not decide what is enough: you read the counts and judge for yourself.

Worked examples

InputResult
6 rows, 28 days, Oct 5, 2026 – Nov 1, 2026805 paid hours in total, 70 shifts
6 rows, 7 days, Oct 5, 2026 – Oct 11, 2026207 paid hours in total, 18 shifts

Calculated by the tool above; open it with the same values to see each step.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I type a code that is not in the shift table?

The cell turns red, the code counts as 0 hours, and it is listed in a warning. Add the code to the shift table or correct the spelling to fix it.

Does the tool apply my hospital’s hour or overtime rules?

No. The weekly hours limit (starting at 36) and the consecutive-days limit (starting at 3) are numbers you type. The page marks any week or row that goes past them, but it does not know any rule that applies to your workplace.

Is this tool free, and is anything I type uploaded?

Yes, it is free and needs no account or sign-up. Everything is calculated in your browser, and nothing you type is uploaded.

Can I print it or share it?

Yes. Print / save as PDF prints the page as you see it; choose Save as PDF in the print dialog to keep a file. Copy link copies a page address that stores your inputs, so the same schedule can be reopened later or sent to someone else.

Can I change the shift times?

Yes. The shift table lets you edit the code, name, start, end and unpaid break of each shift, and add your own codes. Paid hours are recalculated from the times you type.