[Town & Country]

Maybe it's just me.....but can anyone explain to me why a nurse would want to work nine twelve-hour shifts in a row?
This is a staff nurse I'm referring to, and she was telling me how much overtime she has on her checks....something like FORTY HOURS of overtime (I'm assuming they pay every 2 weeks.)

Why on earth would anyone want to do this? What's bad is that by doing these kinds of hours, she is setting a precedent for all the other nurses on the unit - in other words, if she works sixty hours a week management will probably say "well, look at so-and-so, she works sixty hours per week, I guess the other nurses can do it, too!"

There are only a handful of staff nurses left, the rest are agency/travel nurses. There's no difference in this MS floor than any other. I'm wondering if this is the reason they can't keep staff.

They have one or two nurses willing to work constantly, so they expect the others to.....and no person in their right mind is going to want to work those hours, at least IMHO, unless they have some sort of emergency financial crisis.

I just don't understand some people.....LOL.

[VizslaMom]

Yeah, and how much was taken out in taxes? The thought of it scares me...eeeek!

[Tweety]

My peers can work all the overtime they choose too, and many do. That doesn't bother me a bit. I choose to work only 3 12-hour shifts a week (and not in a row either, I can only handle 2 12's in a row. LOL), and that's my story, no matter what management says. Sometimes, when I need the money, and I feel like it I work overtime, when it's my choice. :hatparty:

[angel337]

i work with quite a few nurses that do that. not uncommon where i work. i don't think management expects everyone else to work like that, but i am sure they feel lucky to have her. i work with a nurse that told me she has worked as much as 180hrs a pay period. she says she does it because she truly just likes to work and she likes having big paychecks (of course). she would work 5 16hr shifts and the remainder would be a 8 hour day. she did this between 2 hospitals. the most i have worked in one week was 65 hours and i was exhausted. i don't know how they do it. i like to have a life outside of work

[CraigB-RN]

As an aency nurse I worked for two years averging 6 12 hour shifts a week ( and this was big city ER/ICU's). Would I do that now, Probably not, but I did pay cash for my house and have my daughter college all the way through grad school payed for without loans.

It's all a matter of perspective. And the taxes taken in most cases is an urban myth. There are a couple of break points were you move into a new tax bracket, but as long as your planning for that, then there is no problem.

Now as a DON, I do have to watch my employees, because for some people who aren't able to sleep well during the day, working that many night shifts is an invitation to disaster. Med errors and things like that rise when your tired.

[NurseGuy_in_06]

The obvious reason is money and if it does not endanger the patients I say go for it. Some people, however, subscribe to the theory that they work three days a week because they can't make it on working just two.

[TiffyRN]

I read a couple of other bulletin boards including some for travelers. I know some travelers will not take an assignment unless there is guaranteed minimum of 48hr/week, but they prefer 60hr/week. It is about the money and I don't see there is anything wrong with that. I've worked with people who can't handle three 12's and I've worked with people that regularly worked 48 or more hours a week for weeks on end. I am about to start a run of six 12's in a row (to give me more extended vacation. I've done four or five 12's in a row before but never six, we'll see. . .

[purplemania]

a recent study showed (quoted in Nurseweek magazine) showed that nurses who work evenb 3 twelves in a row are more likely to commit errors due to a lapse in judgement. She is wearing her body out. I doubt she will be able to keep it up long.

[akcarmean]

Does she have any kids or family?? I wouldn't do it I have a life outside of work that needs my attention to no matter how much I like my job. My family comes first. Just me.

[mattsmom81]

Occasionally I will see some nurses do this....huge amounts of OT...it is because they need to. They are workaholics, need to please management,or have huge bills to pay off, they have also have their personal reasons. (one coworker was in a bad marriage)Rarely do they do it without someone suffering or picking up the slack.They either fall asleep on the job, or kids and family are calling the unit all the time because they're lonely, etc.

But management loves a workhorse for the facility don't they? They love martyr nurses.