Getting used to 12 hour shifts?

mandy13086 · May 29, 2015

U don't just "adjust"..especially as a student. I don't feel I adjusted until I was the RN, not the student, and it is now my job & shift. I felt very exhausted when i did my six 12 hour clinicals. U just make it through and focus. Let yourself learn as much as you can cuz there is so much difference between doing a 7 to 3 clinical than a 12 hour one. Don't watch the time..it'll make it pass slower. Just absorb anything and everything u can. You'll make it through.

cracklingkraken, ASN, RN · May 29, 2015

I'm an early bird, so waking up has never been an issue. It's later in the day that I start to feel the exhaustion, usually around 2-3pm after lunch. I make sure to stay hydrated throughout the day. Our floor was really dry, and I would get headaches and feel woozy if I didn't drink a lot of water. Additionally, bring LOTS of snacks. Make sure you keep yourself adequately fed and hydrated. 12 hrs is a long time and can become really miserable quickly if you aren't taking care of yourself. Also, if you have to use the bathroom, go ASAP. You never know when you'll answer one of those call lights and end up spending an hr in that room.

As for waking up, have everything prepared before going to bed. Set aside your scrubs and equipment, and pack your lunch the night before. It will save you the time and energy in the morning. Eat a decent breakfast (this does not mean a granola bar or a glass of milk). Protein, protein, protein. Bring bottled water (I didn't like the taste of the floor's water). I shy away from coffee, but some of my classmates swear by it. And make sure you leave a little early each morning, even if you're early on the floor. It is better than having to go around an unexpected car accident or waiting for a train, then showing up to clinicals 15 min late. Good luck!

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · May 30, 2015

You need to get to clinical on time. It is time to grow up. In nursing there is nothing..and I mean nothing worse than an unreliable co worker. I have had to stay and wait for people to get to work after a 12 hour and it is the ultimate in disrespect. You want to be a professional then you need to behave like one. If I am precepting and a student is late I tell them adios. Find somewhere else to go.

You adjust by setting your alarm early and making SURE you are there. There is no secret to getting up and going to work other than growing up.

Good luck and do it right.

champagneferret · May 31, 2015

You need to get to clinical on time. It is time to grow up. In nursing there is nothing..and I mean nothing worse than an unreliable co worker. I have had to stay and wait for people to get to work after a 12 hour and it is the ultimate in disrespect. You want to be a professional then you need to behave like one. If I am precepting and a student is late I tell them adios. Find somewhere else to go.
You adjust by setting your alarm early and making SURE you are there. There is no secret to getting up and going to work other than growing up.
Good luck and do it right.

I didn't expect that harsh of an answer, but I can appreciate what you're saying. Sounds like you've had some issues with students in the past being late or unreliable. I can understand feeling disrespected if your coworkers are late as well. I'd be pretty angry too if i just busted my butt for 12 hours and then I had to wait on someone else who didn't have a good reason for being late.

Anyways, what I'm hearing is that a lot of the struggle with long shifts are physical. That's good to hear, as it doesn't seem difficult to fix.

What about the cognitive part? One thing I'm afraid of is just not being able to think properly or quickly enough to help my patients. I already have poor organization (which is hard to form regardless), so I'm pretty worried about doing a good job.

Quiller · May 31, 2015

I'm also a night owl and I *might* be able to help with that aspect.

I'm going to preface this with the fact that I'm a paramedic in nursing school and I've been a paramedic for 7 years. I've worked mostly 24 hour shifts in the prehospital environment but I do work a 16 hour hospital shift about twice a month so I'm not super concerned about endurance.

Either way, I don't get sleepy until about 3am. Being anywhere before 8 is a personal triumph for me (and one of the reasons I'm really looking forward to being a nurse because night shift is going to be awesome) but the hospital I work at starts my shift at 0700 and, when we start clinicals in two weeks, they're going to be at 0630. What I do is...

I have a 4 door car, Ford Focus to be specific. I pulled out the bottom part of the backseat and then put the top part down so that it's just one long compartment that integrates the trunk and the space that was the backseat. It's just the right size for an air mattress or several sleeping bags, whatever you like. I set up the car, drive to the hospital the night before, set my alarm, drink a dreamwater and 1.5L of regular water and... I'm always on time.

4 things if you're contemplating my method: 1. The hospital I work at and the one I'm doing clinicals at both have free parking in a safe area. 2. Do not drink dreamwater unless you know how it will affect you. I used to take a combination of benadryl, melatonin, milk and whiskey that, first of all didn't kill me, and secondly, despite being pretty much the highest safe dose of benadryl and melatonin, only knocked me out about a third of the time. Dreamwater knocks me out in about twenty minutes. 3. Pulling out the backseat is remarkably easy in most cars and it's pretty easy to put back in. 4. Wrinkle free scrubs is a must.

Mavrick, BSN, RN · May 31, 2015

You need to get to clinical on time. It is time to grow up. In nursing there is nothing..and I mean nothing worse than an unreliable co worker. I have had to stay and wait for people to get to work after a 12 hour and it is the ultimate in disrespect. You want to be a professional then you need to behave like one. If I am precepting and a student is late I tell them adios. Find somewhere else to go.
You adjust by setting your alarm early and making SURE you are there. There is no secret to getting up and going to work other than growing up.
Good luck and do it right.

Dear windsurfer8,

Kudos to you for just stating a fact. Your courageous attempt to teach newbies the way of the world is admirable.

AlwaysLearning247, BSN · Jun 14, 2015

My maternity rotation was 12 hours. Pack snacks, meals, and drink lots of water. Get enough sleep the night before. If it helps, it made it easier for me to go because I knew my clinical was only one day a week so it was like motivation. It will take a little while to adjust but you'll get into the swing of things. Just keep busy. Ask if your friends or other nurses on the floor need any help. The day will go by quicker if you're moving. Good luck!

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2015

My mentality with nursing school: you just do it, there are no other options.

As soon as I accepted this, things became so much easier. There is no trying to work around it or tricks to make it easier other than just being kinder to myself. The easiest way was to just say to myself, "This is what I wanted. It's hard. So I'm just gonna go do it."

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2015

What about the cognitive part? One thing I'm afraid of is just not being able to think properly or quickly enough to help my patients. I already have poor organization (which is hard to form regardless), so I'm pretty worried about doing a good job.

The fact that you're concerned about this is a good sign. It will be the weakness you will be focusing on during clinical. If you know you're going to struggle with it, then you will work on ways to fix it. Ask your instructor for tips, be constantly engaged, try to do as much as you can, take notes, write it all down. The more you have clinicals the more it will start to click. Just never stop trying to be better.

dcwang · Jun 16, 2015

i'm on my first clinical rotation and we started w/ 12 hr shifts. i'm an early morning person, but being the on-time maniac i still get there earlier than expected.

smf0903 · Jun 16, 2015

Other posters have given you great advice! I cannot--CANNOT--overemphasize the "staying hydrated" advice given!! One of my 12s during clinicals was my preceptorship, and I got to the site and my preceptor had called off. I stayed with another RN who was kind enough to allow me to stay with her for the day. The RN was sick, and I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off for 12 hours. It was a "welcome to the world of no-break-shifts" LOL!! But I kid you not, when I got home and tried to get out of my car every muscle I moved seized into a painful Charlie horse!! I had not had a sip of anything the whole shift and my body was screaming curse words at me. Never ever ever ever will I do that ever ever ever again!