8 hour or 12 hour shifts

I have been working 12's for so long I can't remember how the other half lives. I like working them because I only have to be there 3 out of 7. That means I'm off more days than I work. It also means I don't need to take a vacation day to hit the slopes on the off days or go to the supermarket when everybody else in world (or so it seems) is there. The 12's can be taxing granted, but I wouldn't so any other way. (it does take some getting used to, but its worth the trip) But I'm single and I don't have to worry about the kids homework, baths etc. I'm just an aunt who comes into town and has the time to go to lunch with my nephews. (and by the way, those lunch ladies are as mean as ever I just envy them, when they think it's getting tooo loud they just flick the lights and anybody who doesn't sit down has to go to the "office" . Man I wished that would work in the ED)




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I've never worked 12 hour shifts, but I wouldn't mind having more days off. Besides, 4 extra hours isn't a big deal for me since I USE TO WORK 16 HOURS doing doubles and overtime years ago.

12s are pretty common but 8s are not in the past either. Many units in hospitals still use 8 hour shifts. Some do a mix. That would be something you would ask when a nurse manager/HR person is talking to you about a job.

12 hour shifts definately. I have been doing 12's for about 10 yrs. I love the 3 day weekend and I am not so exhausted all the time

When I was working we did 2 12s and 2 8s. And full timers did have the same schedule every 2 weeks.

I have done 12 hour shifts, both rotation and straight days for years. I dont know if i could do hospital work if i worked 8. Just the stress of going back in day after day would get to me i think. With 12's like someone else said, you have some down time in between when noone is around the house. There is more likelyhood that patients will change by the time you get back so its more varied each time you work. The ability to take 12 or 24 hours of vacation time and have a 5-8 day stretch off is nice too, you can have more long stretches off during the year.
Mind you i do work straight days,, if i had to work nights or rotate again, i might consider working 8's only. Not sure, id have to see how it worked for me working 12 hour nights again.

Where I'm at now we do 12's. When I first got hired I wondered how I would do, since I was used to 8's, but now I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have more time to spend at home. Some of us have set days, some don't.

I definitely think 12s are the most common in hospital units, but there are definitely exceptions. Our OR runs with 8 hour shifts, as do all the "day" units like ambultory care, cath lab, etc.

I work nights, so I would never work 8 hours. I need more than 2 days off a week to recover.

I've been working 12s for 22 years now -- would never go back to 8s unless I could somehow cut my percentage so I was doing only 3 8s a week! It's nice to have those extra days off, and with my 50 minute commute, once I drag myself into work that extra four hours is not that big of a deal!
Ruby