Does your hospital have mostly 12 or 8 hour nursing positions???

[askater11]

In the past year we've gone from mostly 8 hour to mostly 12 hour shifts.

I only work 8 hours. I find after 8 hours I get too tired, let alone working 12 hours per shift.

I used to work 12 hours on midnight....I was so tired after 12 hours and my feet ached badly.

What I've found on our unit is that 12 hour shift "pick" their patients. Our shifts go from 7 to 7. At 3 P.M. the day shift 12 hour nurse's pick which patients they want.

One day I arrived early to the unit...the charge day nurse was asking what patient the 12 hour nurse's would like to pick up. After the 12 hour nurse's picked which team they wanted....I jokely said, "Can I pick my team....I want all my patients to only have heplocks." The nurse's started laughing.

What I've found is after the 1st 8 hours majority of our nurses are at the desk for the last 4 hours. Though a handful work very busy to the end. I'm not trying to make this thread a 12 vs. 8 hour thread. I think more than likely the nurses are tired. I remember when I'd come in at 7 P.M. I'd have an "easier" group of patients than if I came in at 11 P.M. and only worked 8 hours.

I'm just curious how your unit functions? Mostly 12 or 8 hours? Do 12 hour nurses pick their patients for the last 4 hours? Do you think 12 or 8 hour shift are best? Thanks!!!

[ClariceS]

I wish we had opportunity for 10 hour shifts so we could have a little overlap on the busy parts of the day. We have a majority of 12 hour shifts and a few 8's available on the floors. It is very hard to find 3-11 staff so people leave at 3 and the 12 hour workers have to pick up extra patients...on a surgical floor which gets busy in the afternoon anyway. For the few 8 hour shifts available 7a-3p is all filled and 11p-7a is filled. But if we tried to force 12 hr shifts across the board, we would lose some very valuable nurses and that is not worth it in this time of nursing shortage.

[Josefin, BSN, PhD, RN]

The "european style" is good in that way: The dayshifts are overlaping eachother with 3 hours between 13-16. It´s pretty good, because those hours are often pretty hectic.

[RN-PA, RN]

Josefin,

I *LIKE* the way Europeans do things-- GREAT idea of the overlap! The hours between 1500-1800 are some of the busiest, most chaotic times I've ever experienced and extra help would be heavenly!

Many Europeans take a month of vacation in the summer, too, I've heard. As I said, I *LIKE* the way Europeans do things!

[RNforLongTime]

I work in ICU and all of our staff works 12 hour shifts. I only have to work 3 days a week now! Sure I am taking a bit of a pay cut, but my sanity is well worth the price. The med/surg floors are about half and half, some nurses work 12's and some work eights. Like kewl said, I would never EVER want to go back to working 5 eight hour days a week!

[RNinMay]

I work in ICU, and we have both 12 and 8 hour shifts. Most people do one or the other, but I do a combination of 2 12's and 2 8's per week. So I work four days. This allows me to work around my husband's schedule for the sake of childcare.

If you work 3-11, chances are a 12 hour person will have your assignment from the next day----but they don't give them up for you. That's just the rule of 3-11, you probably wont' get your patients back. There are no hard feelings, that's just the way it is!

[wolfox]

So,those of you who work 12s and ay you would never go back to 8s because you get 4d per week off...how many days in a row do you get off?

We have only 12 hour shifts, with no part-time...the schedule is fixed so that you work 4 12s one week and three the next. We generally get 2 days off in a row-the same as if you work 5 eight hour shifts. Twice a month you get 3 in a row off.

If you work nights (as I do) you sleep your first day off, so you really only end up with 1 day off that you can function. Twice a month you end up with 2 days off. Most of us commute an hour to the hospital, so the days that we work, we have no personal time. It's like having 2 weekends off per month. I'd rather work 8 hours and have some personal time during each day and four weekends per month.

[kewlnurse]

You have no benefit wolffox, Latley i have been working weekends, fri, sat and sun, so i always have 4 off.

[wolfox]

hmmmmmm....you're in Buffalo NY??? Wonder how long the commute would be from Farmington, New Mexico???? There are only four hospitals within an hour and a half drive and they are all doing this"Creative scheduling."

And the fourth 12 hour shift in a one week pay period is not 12 hours overtime, but 4 hours overtime per biweekly paycheck.

I think we're getting s....ed, and never even got kissed first!

[clintn91180]

I am only a student, but I look forward to working 12 hour shifts and getting 4 days off a week!!! To me that sounds like the perfect schedule, although their are exceptions, because it sounds like Wolfox's schedule kind of stinks. I think if at all possible their should be some kind of mixture though, since I can understand not everybody would be happy with 12 hour shifts.

[Nurse_Bonita]

I am only a student and I currently work as an aide. One nursing home I worked at tried 12 hour shifts, but half of the aides wouldn't do it. The hall the 8 hour people worked was always short so us 12 hours people would get pulled over there for 8 hours then go back to our own hall for 4. It was AWFUL

[Josefin, BSN, PhD, RN]

Originally posted by RN-PA

Josefin,

I *LIKE* the way Europeans do things-- GREAT idea of the overlap! The hours between 1500-1800 are some of the busiest, most chaotic times I've ever experienced and extra help would be heavenly!

Many Europeans take a month of vacation in the summer, too, I've heard. As I said, I *LIKE* the way Europeans do things!

Yeah I think that we europenas have moaned more about working condditions than you have in the US! It has lead to more generous and secure employment conditions. For example here in Sweden we have about 25-30 days of holiday/year to take as you wish (ok- all staff can´t be on holiday in july, but...). Before if was common that people took a whole month off in summer, but not many do that anymore. The most common way now is to take for ex. 2 weeks off in summer, one around christmas and one at easter.

[horsecrazy]

i recently started working 2 twelves and 2 eights every week and love it, had the option of working 3 twelves, but you get less benefits. The only problem i have is other nurses who do 8 hour shift and expect me to give them their patients back after caring for them for 4 hours, they have a real attitude. I tell them this is the way of dealing with the nursing shortage. Our unit is 12 fulltime nurses shy, but since a good handfull has started the 12 hours it has made it a lot easier.

we also have self-scedule ourselves, so eventhough i may work a 4-5 day stretch i can get sometimes five days off, eventhough i work nights it is so worth it.