8 hr shifts vs. 12 hr shift

Yeah I know what you mean...

Our new DON wants ALL 12 hour shifts-that means the eve shift is now overnites- I would think that working overnite can screw up your life- we are trying to fight it.(the day shift is full.)..... Anyone against 12 hours? Most of us are over 40, If I wanted to work nites, that should be my choice- anyone in a facility that fought it and won/lost? Thanks

I guess I'm alone in the crowd. I dont' like 12 hrs and I avoid them like the plague. I can't work 12 hr nights because I just can't go that long without sleep. For my 8 hr nights, I nap from 7 to 10 before coming in. 12 hr days aren't so bad, but they stink (for me) for family life. I would hate to leave before the kids (now teens) get up, come home, have enough energy to eat and then go to bed, knowing I had to do the whole thing all over again.

I don't think it's an age thing. I'm 45, but I've always felt this way. I don't think, for me, that the extra days off during the week would make up for how tired 12 hr shifts make me.

The only exception I might have made in the past was to work weekends only, but as far as I know in Canada, at least in Quebec, that option isn't available (work X number of weekends but get paid for more).

I work 8 hour shifts and would never go back to 12 hour shifts. Fact is I still work a lot of 12 hour shifts, only now I get OT when I work the last 4 hours. In California, OT is required after 8 hours. Nurses can waive the right to OT in order to work 12's. I refuse to waive my rights. The reality of the nursing shortage almost guarantees me 12 hour shifts whenever I want them, so why should I give up the OT.

I have been working 12 hour nights 7p-7a for about 5 months now. I am always exhausted, it's nice having an extra day off but I use it catching up on my sleep. I wish my hospital offered 8 hour shifts, 12 hours is exhausting at night, but this was the only shift open at the time, I am a new grad so I thought working nights would work for awhile to get my organizational skills down and it has but I think I am now ready for days. However I am going to miss the $4.00 an hour differential at night for doing the same work and maybe even more busier with admits and discharges.

i work 12's and started them right after i passed boards...i like them in the fact that i am not at work every day...but i am exhausted at the end of my shift...

how do you all get your sleep "if you are working nights"..i work 7p-7a...i sometimes use benedryl only on the days i work, or melatonin...my doc will not give me a sleeping pill...how do you all conquer it

I had a hard time at first with any 12 hour shifts but part of that was being exhausted from being on orientation. At first it was all I could do to get myself home and in the door. Didn't even want to eat, just fall facedown on the bed and crash. Now after a 12 hour day I can function enough to eat and actually socialize a little with my family. I still find a 12 hour overnight shift much more tiring than an 8 hour. At my place, though we have every variation of shift with employees working a patchwork of 4-8-or 12 hour segments. I most often work 11 AM-1130 PM when most admissions come up and this works out fine for me. Usually only work 24 hours but due to scheduling glitch once was scheduled for FOUR 12's in a row- that DID knock me for a loop.

Sometimes we get to work an 8 hour for overtime, and it goes by really fast! The only problem is, I usually use my evening to catch up, so I'm really rushed when it's about 3:00.

Love 12 Hr Shift. Work Three Days And Be off 4 Days. I Get To Spend Time With My Family Which I Realy Value.

I like my 12's, especially since anything over 36 hours is considered OT, and most weeks I work 4 days, sometimes 5 (I work on a busy/heavy floor- we're never fully staffed).

In fact, the only thing I do miss about working 8's (which I did as an STNA through nsg school) is those doubles... I was a contingency/float, and self schedulede... most weekends I worked doubles (which does kick your ass) but when I had, say, a vacation from school, I could easily work 2 or 3 OT shift per week by working doubles... and the plus to that was that when I only worked 8 hrs, it felt like half a shift... and the transition to 12's was easy because I was actually used to working 16's.