Working 5 12's for the 1st year as a new grad..is this a good idea?

[bella201]

Hi guys future nurse here. When I graduate from nursing school I plan to work 5 12hr shifts a week for at least the 1st year to gain experience and hone my skills so that I can become a better confident competent nurse. I know that it takes many years of experience to fully feel and become competent as nurse and that as medical providers we will never stop learning and will never be omniscient. But being that it is the 1st year which is the hardest. I'm thinking that working 5 12's instead of 3 12's would better help in transitioning from student to the actual role of being a nurse and really adapt to what it's really like to be working as a nurse in the real world and in the process really hone my skills and learn new things everyday.

I know 5 12hr shifts are going to b exhausting and that it will vary upon the type of specialty that I'm working in but I don't mind doing that for the 1st 2yrs or so. After that I plan on working 3 12's.

I'll have to see if my place of employment allows nurses to work overtime and to what extent if not than I'll work the 3 12's. I'm not going to limit myself and get picky especially in these tough times.

** Has anybody done this? or plan to? Is this a good idea? Thanks!

[loriangel14, RN]

Plus you have to consider that not all places work 12 hour shifts.

[Morainey, BSN, RN]

[Lennonninja, MSN, APRN, NP]

That would be a *&^%$#@ terrible idea. I've never worked more than 3 12s in a week, and once scheduled myself for 5 night shifts in a row and by the end of it, I felt so brain dead that World War 3 could have started, and I would have had no idea. Don't burn yourself out like this. I didn't even start my RN to BSN program the first year because I felt so overwhelmed that it was all I could do just to make it to work and not cave from the anxiety and stress of being a new nurse.