Are 12 hour shifts safe?

I have always worked 8 hour shifts and at the end of the shift I was pretty exhausted. My co-workers worked 12 hour shifts and then an 8 hour shift to equal 40 hours a week or 80 hours in a 2 week period. Some even did 16 hour shifts! I found that time and time again these nurses made a lot of mistakes and became grumpy and lazy as the end of the shift approached. The only thing I can say is that the nurses were given the choice of what shift to work, that part I liked. Also the hospital wanted to make sure you reached the full 40 hours a week. When I started another job that only had 12 hour shifts, I never felt so tired and emotional in my life! It was way under staffed and the PCA's were not much help. I also realized I felt ripped off. I was working my a*s off and not even reaching the 40 hours a week. The hospital was the one gaining from all of this. So needless to say I got out of there and will never do that again. Sounds great 36 hours a week but with no overtime and feeling like crap NO THANK YOU!

The subject here is 12 hour shifts not just the patients but how we feel about the different shifts and what impact they have on us as nurses and the care the patient receives. As a RN I have always put the patient first but if the environment I'm working in is unsafe I will not tolerate it. I also make sure to complete the exit interview so that the hospital can see why I decided to resign. I have only quit one job recently for these reasons. In the past since 1998 when I first started practicing I never felt this way because everywhere I went was 8 hour shifts! If you are a nurse and don't put the patient first then why are you a nurse???? At work it's all about the patient but once I leave it's all about me and my responsibilites.

I am in by the way the in "OLYMPIC SHAPE" but when I give 110% of myself it is only normal to get tired even if it's an 8 or 9 hour shift. When you go all out for your patients you will be tired even if you are in shape! 5ft5" 110lbs, you can't tell me that's not in shape with eating correctly/nutritiously and exercising at a gym regularly, can you?

What ever you are describing does not belong to me. I work med/surg not psych like you where sitting on your a*s all day and taking blood pressures and handing out pills is a common routine. I've been in psych many times and observed the nsg staff. I'm not impressed. My med/surg floor requires multiple skills and I use them on a daily basis. It may be a CBI that needs flushing to a NGT to low intermittent suction etc. Face it psych is not as fast paced as a medical/surgical unit. I know because first I have seen it and secondly I've had friends that work on psych and they have said they love it because it doesn't require that much energy. Maybe from security at times but that's about it. I don't know what you are trying to prove but it's not working.