question: AIM AND OBJECTIVE: To explore nurses’ experiences regarding shift patterns while providing front‐line care for COVID‐19 patients in isolation wards of hospitals in Shanghai and Wuhan during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Our findings will help to optimize shift work scheduling, use the existing nursing workforce more efficiently, and improve nursing quality. BACKGROUND: Nurses are one of the main professionals fighting against COVID‐19. Providing care for COVID‐19 patients is challenging. In isolation wards, the workload has increased, and the workflow and shift patterns are completely different from the usual. More importantly, there is a shortage of nurses. Therefore, it is essential and urgent to arrange nurses’ shifts correctly and use the existing workforce resources efficiently. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive study of 14 nurses in Chinese hospitals was conducted. METHODS: Semi‐structured interviews were used based on the phenomenological research method; data was analyzed using Colaizzi’s method of data analysis. This study aligns with the COREQ checklist. RESULTS: Four themes were extracted: assess the competency of nurses to assign nursing work scientifically and reasonably, reorganize nursing workflow to optimize shift patterns, communicate between managers and front‐line nurses to humanize shift patterns, and nurses’ various feelings and views on shift patterns. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to arrange shift patterns scientifically and allocate workforce rationally to optimize nursing workforce allocation, reduce nurses’ workload, improve nursing quality, and promote physical and mental health among nurses during the COVID‐19 pandemic. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study emphasized nurses’ experiences on shift patterns in isolation wards, providing useful information to manage shift patterns. Nursing managers should arrange shifts scientifically, allocate nursing workforce rationally, formulate emergency plans, and establish emergency response rosters during the COVID‐19 pandemic.