Am I the only one who hates 12 hour shifts?

Nurses General Nursing Nursing Q/A

Based on some things I've read on this website, I know that I'm not, but I just cannot STAND how 12 hour work days consume my life! There is no time to do anything besides work on those days and prepare for the next work day. I would be so much happier if I could switch to 8s or 10s or even some combo of 8 and 12s... I need to be able to exercise and take care of myself in order to be happy at work!

Mostly I just needed to rant because I know I can't address this yet as a new grad, but has anyone else felt this way and taken action to get a better schedule? Better hours would make work a billion times better!

Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

Seriously, how many of you who want 8s and currently work daytime 12s would be willing to work the 3PM-11PM shift 5 days a week or work rotating days/evening and nights? If the industry went to 8s, then 1/3 of the 7a-7p RNs would have to switch to evening shift to cover staffing needs... simple math. That means 1/3 of the current day shifters go from having dinner with family 4 days a week to dinner with family 2 days a week. The only alternative is everyone rotates days/evenings/nights.

Specializes in Acute Care Pediatrics.

They are really long shifts, I'll give you that - but you can't beat the long stretches of time off. :)

Specializes in neuro/ortho med surge 4.

If I had to rotate shifts I would quit ASAP. Before I became a nurse in one week I worked one 7a-3p, two 3p-11p and two 11p-7am. Talk about miserable. Never knew if I was coming or going.

Specializes in Psych/(L&D/NICU/LDRP)/OR/Med-Surg/CDU.

I worked night shift, 11p-7a for FIVE YEARS. WITH two small (grade school through middle school) kids, a very ill husband who required help with everything except childcare overnight while the boys were asleep, and as the lone charge/staff/licensed personnel at a stand-alone level I psych unit. Somehow, do not ask me how, it worked!

I suppose that on the very chill nights, and because I literally adored my three BHTs, (my only night shift Co workers, like, they were practically my very best friends in the world!) we'd have actually a lot of fun!

The tough nights, with multiple really acute pts, multiple admissions, or restraints/other emergency situations were tough, BUT, you can get through ANYTHING for eight hours right?

Nonetheless, my husband thankfully recovered, he went back to work, the boys entered high school and life changed. Finally, when I became ready to own a horse, I knew I had to be off a number of days per week without having to sleep all day to make up for the cumulative exhaustion of five years of all those nocs, plus all the extra work I had to do at home while my husband had been ill!.

So in taking my current job, I was thrilled to work three 12s...they are three in a row, which would be great, EXCEPT...

A usual day is 14°IF I'M LUCKY. AND, MANY DAYS ARE 16°easily! The work, though hospice, is SO ACUTE I DO NOT SIT ONCE ALL DAY. We do everything on tablets, and an admission is three hours of tablet data entry, no way around it. To chart on one pt is about one hour, depending upon their care plan. So you do the math. One nurse with five pts to start = 5°minimum charting (that's with no new orders, no events, no incidents, and no deaths...on a hospice unit?

For every "extra" occurrence, add thirty" of charting. One admission? 3°MINIMUM. SO...we're up to eight (+++) hours charting in a twelve hour shift, and I still have yet to bring up pt care! A-h a! Kind of a conundrum if you ask me!

And...we have no unit clerk so I answer phones, myself and a single CNA, so as the only RN with one CNA, I naturally assist with all turning, bathing, etc...you see where this is going? Our pt acuity is so high too that we have CBIs, multi dsg changes and q1° meds often...

Therefore, THEORETICALLY, TRUE 12°shifts sound like a dream to me! Three 16°shifts, not so much, as it takes me almost three days to recuperate from two nights with four hours sleep and that kind of crazy day every day.

Needless to say, until things change at my job, or my job changes, having a horse is a non-possibility, and my life us all about sleep, just as it was working five 8°nocs! :0)

I sometimes wonder though if I'm not simply a workaholic, because as tough as it truly is (& it is! Most new hires quit in the first week to month!) I really have fun at work! I'll stand there charting and bonding with patients and their families just because I'm not willing to get "behind" on either aspect, & I get glorious positive write ups from families, for the time and nurturing I give to then and their family member who is ill.

And despite the insane amount of work I'm/my Co workers are expected to do, somehow, my supervisors are really nice, caring people, who are, just like me, trying to make the job work in a corporation that sadly seems to care a lot more about the bottom line than patient care. That's why I feel I better do all I can...otherwise...who will??

Thus, I suppose until I collapse one day soon (joking, I hope!), I'll keep sticking it out and do my very best to make it work! I've internally "committed" one year to this company to see if I notice corporate changes occur which will make life easier, staffing improving, or anything else changing to make this job more "user friendly".

In three months, I've gotten FASTER AT EVERYTHING than I'd ever thought I'd be...I've learned to multitask better than ever before and I've been an acute care nurse, other than my five years in psych, for my whole 16 year career! So I've gained a lot, too, and I believe that after this job, there won't be a THING I can't do, and do very quickly and accurately...That's certainly part of my reward, as well!

I absolutely hate the 12 hour shifts, I work midnights on the weekends because I also have a non-nursing full time day job. I have always been used to 8 hour shifts and the end of my 12's on midnights I feel sick to my stomach, I am miserable and it takes me two days to get back on track only to start all over again. I am a new grad and very thankful the facility I work at gave me a chance so I don't complain, but am hoping after gaining some experience I can find a job with somewhat normal hours. So to answer your question you are not alone with hating the 12's!

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I would be much happier with 8-hour shifts. Imagine being able to go out to eat, make a dentist appointment, grocery shop or *gasp* SEE YOU FAMILY and work- on the same day!

Perhaps you would be happier with 8 hour shifts, but maybe not. You may go to the grocery and see your family on the same day as you work, but by the time you work, drive home and change out of your nasty scrubs, I'd be very surprised if there was time to go to the dentist. 12 hour shifts actually works far better for doctor appointments, dentist appointments, getting the car serviced. You have four days off a week -- just make the appointment for one of those days.

I also have a love/hate relationship with 12 hour shifts. I love having four days off, however it usually take 1-2 days for me to completely recover. My dream schedule would be two 12's a week. I'm still trying to make that happen....

Try getting a job in a doctors office or something or maybe rehab clinic.

I have a love-hate relationships with 12s - I like having 4 days off (even if I'm pretty much useless for one of them), but don't like that 12s basically eat the entire day. I can't stand the thought of 5 8s, but 4 10s sounds workable.

I love my 12 hr shifts, if I had to go back to 8 hr shift, I would find another job.

Working 3 days a week is like working part time, always time to go places and do things normal people dot get to do.

When all the normal people are working, i can walk into any movie or get a meal, no waiting, no lines.

I can work 6 days and have 8 days off, I don't see a down side to working 6a to 6p, most people work there 8 hr days and have the week end off are not rested Come Monday to start the 5 day grind all over again.

If you told people they had a choice to work 5 days and have 2 days off or work 3 days and have 4 days off, most people would choose to work the 3 on and 4 off. Then if you through in picking up an day, you still have 3 days off, working 8hr shifts would wean only one day off.

I'm not a nurse yet - heck, I'm not even a nursing student yet! - but 12-hour shifts are one of the attractions to the field for me. I've worked long shifts on my feet at other jobs before and did just fine. I'm even hoping my body can deal well with night shifts, because the idea of all those free days (when I'm not recovering from work) is awesome!

I want to work my hours in the least amount of days possible. I have been a nurse for 30 years, and I do not want to be at work 5 days a week, so 10 or 12 hours are the way to go for me.

+ Add a Comment