Am I the only one who hates 12 hour shifts?

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 CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

I rotate 12 hour shifts, and rarely have to drive in traffic. When I'm driving home at 0730, I'm going OUT of the city while everyone else is going in. When I'm driving home at 1930, there is very little traffic. When I work an 8 hour day (it happens -- usually OT or meetings) and drive home at 1530, traffic is miserable and my commute takes twice as long. I don't think you can assume that working day shift makes your commute shorter.

If you haven't actually worked a night shift at a hospital, you have no real idea whether the work is as demanding as the day shift. Just so you know . . . it IS. just a different kind of demanding.

Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

I love 12's. I currently work nightshift and do NOT work them in a row. I find that I nap the night off and have a great night sleep with my family. It works for me.

When I work dayshift I find on ONE off TWO and on TWO off ONE etc works best for me so that I don't feel my 3 in a row days are wasted.

If I worked day 8s, I'd sit in about 30 more minutes of rush hour traffic each shift than working day 12s. Multiply that by 5, that's 2.5 hours I'd never get back. Add in the regular hour of commute for an extra 2 days, each way, that's another 4 hours.

Nights, heck, I've done 8s, I've done 12s. I'll never willingly go back to 8 hour nights.

I guarantee you'll find way more day nurses willing to do 8s than night nurses. And good luck finding all the nurses you'd need to work that evening shift. Until that's covered, day nurses will just have to suck it up, because management isn't going to fight to get shifts covered to give you even better hours when you've already got the coveted schedule in a 24 hour business.

Specializes in geriatrics.

In order to truly feel recovered and energized working 12's, I need at least 4 shifts off because that first is a sleep day. I rarely have 4 off in a row with my rotation and the staffing issues.

However, one of the drawbacks to 8 hour shifts is finding the additional coverage. We discussed working 8's but it never happened because we can't even staff for 12's. Depends where you work.

That four hours makes a difference though. If I pick up, I'll agree to come for 8 hours not the full shift sometimes. The time flies!

In parts of the country where it snows, it's nice to only have to brave the roads three times a week instead of five.

Specializes in Emergency.

Love 12's. My schedule generally follows a work 2, off 2, work 2, off 3 pattern. It's easy to trade shifts and get 4-5 days off without using PTO or having to request the time off. Can't do that working 8's.

Specializes in NICU.

I work 8 hour nights and I love it. We usually only do 4shifts/week, but depending on the unit, you may end up doing 5 or 6 in a row to get 3-5 off in a row. I love that I can still see my husband in the evenings, I don't feel like my life is on hold during stretches of work.

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I have never worked nights, 8's or 12's. I have children and I love 12's. I work 3 days per week/Every other weekend, which means I work 2 weekdays and have 3 off every week. My hospital does not schedule 3 days in a row when you work 12. (They staff both 8 and 12 hour shifts in my department) While this schedule does require I have assistance with my kids on the weekdays I work because daycare closes at 6pm, I find I have more time to actually live my life and enjoy my family on my days off. I do tend to go to sleep within an hour of getting home on workdays but for me it is worth it. When I worked 5 days per week I never really had the energy or motivation to do anything after work. My travel time was longer working 7-3:30 because there is more traffic and school buses at 3:30 than 7:30.

When I was a floor nurse, my personal experience was that 12 hour shifts provided more continuity of care for the patients because the same nurse was with them for most of their day. I had time to follow up on most things and never felt rushed to finish up everything. Leaving at 3:30 things are often still pending because lab results aren't back or the doctor hasn't written all the orders after rounds, which meant passing things on. Now that I work in the ED, I am not sure continuity is really a factor as far as shift end times because patients come and go all day but I still prefer the 12's. I never feel like I am less alert or more prone to errors because of the extra 4 hours being tacked on to the end of my day. This may be because I go to sleep at 9pm, 10pm at the latest when I have to work the following day.

Another thing I do not miss about the 5 day work week was that the only time I ever was able to have 2 days off in a row was my weekend off. In the summer it is nice to have 2 or 3 weekdays off in a row to do things with the kids when places like amusement parks and beaches are less crowded -without having to use vacation time. Plus even though I work 4 less hours per week, with the shift differential from 3-7p, I make just about the same as when I worked 40.

I have never worked nights, 8's or 12's. I have children and I love 12's. I work 3 days per week/Every other weekend, which means I work 2 weekdays and have 3 off every week. My hospital does not schedule 3 days in a row when you work 12. (They staff both 8 and 12 hour shifts in my department) While this schedule does require I have assistance with my kids on the weekdays I work because daycare closes at 6pm, I find I have more time to actually live my life and enjoy my family on my days off. I do tend to go to sleep within an hour of getting home on workdays but for me it is worth it. When I worked 5 days per week I never really had the energy or motivation to do anything after work. My travel time was longer working 7-3:30 because there is more traffic and school buses at 3:30 than 7:30.

When I was a floor nurse, my personal experience was that 12 hour shifts provided more continuity of care for the patients because the same nurse was with them for most of their day. I had time to follow up on most things and never felt rushed to finish up everything. Leaving at 3:30 things are often still pending because lab results aren't back or the doctor hasn't written all the orders after rounds, which meant passing things on. Now that I work in the ED, I am not sure continuity is really a factor as far as shift end times because patients come and go all day but I still prefer the 12's. I never feel like I am less alert or more prone to errors because of the extra 4 hours being tacked on to the end of my day. This may be because I go to sleep at 9pm, 10pm at the latest when I have to work the following day.

Another thing I do not miss about the 5 day work week was that the only time I ever was able to have 2 days off in a row was my weekend off. In the summer it is nice to have 2 or 3 weekdays off in a row to do things with the kids when places like amusement parks and beaches are less crowded -without having to use vacation time. Plus even though I work 4 less hours per week, with the shift differential from 3-7p, I make just about the same as when I worked 40.

I agree completely with all of your points...your point about time with the kids during the summer and days off during the week without using vacation time are important to me. My daughter is just a toddler so when I finish nursing school she will be able to and want to do the amusement park, zoo, museum stuff. I only get days off during the week on potential holidays, vacation time and that is few and far between.

Specializes in ICU.

I really love 12s. I find I have plenty of time to get things done, when I feel motivated enough to do them. I'm usually home by 0730 and I spend a couple of hours talking to friends/family, watching TV, eating "breakfast" or whatever you call the last meal before sleep, and going to bed. I get at least 7 hours' sleep and I wake up refreshed and ready to go back. The other best part of 12s is that working a couple of extra shifts per week means I only work five days a week and net 60 hours of pay for it. I can't even imagine what it would look like to try to get 60 hours a week on eight hour shifts... even if you worked 7 days per week and never had a day off that still only comes to 56 hours! I find I really just need one day off per week, and I can do all of the dishes, laundry, and housekeeping in that one day so I'm ready for the next 5 12s in a row. I would definitely be very unhappy if my workplace went to eight hour shifts.

I wish we did 10's! I hate 12's, but 10's sounds more manageable to me. I work 8's partly because it was the only position available and party because I just don't think I could survive all that many 12's.

Specializes in Critical Care.

Ideally we'd all work the shift length that works best for us. There's certainly an argument for the availability of both 8 and 12 hour shifts, but there's also a limit; you can't have all the night shifters working 12 hour shifts and the all the day shifters working 8 hours, without having a lot of odd ball 4 hour shifts.

As a result, one side (days vs nights) has to give a little and work a shift length that isn't ideal. I get the complaints of day shifters who don't like 12's, but those complaints just can't compete with what working 5 nights a week does to someone, so I'm sorry to turn against my fellow day shifters, but get over it.

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