Anyone ever try working 60 hours a week?

NursingAgainstdaOdds · Aug 30, 2007

I have been routinely working 50+ weeks, next week is a 60+. When I'm working a lot of hours, the best way for me to handle it is "one day at a time". I work this many hours because I have to (for financial reasons), not because I want to or out of any sense of duty. I find it very helpful to consider each shift separately as much as possible. I don't add up the number of hrs per week, I don't count how many weekends I've worked that month, I try not to focus on "this is the nth shift I've worked this week and I have two more to go..." etc. I think focusing too much on your schedule and how many "this" and "that" you've worked really compounds the situation and if you're not already feeling overwhelmed will make you feel so. I am frequently tempted to go through the schedule and gripe in a detail-oriented fashion :lol2: , however this is not helpful to me at all so I force myself not to.

ETA : I second the "taking care of yourself" suggestion. If at all possible I ensure I have enough sleep and eat as well as my budget allows. Oh, and vitamins. :)

On the days I am tired, but I don't have to work and I want to spend time with my family, I get my butt out of the house. Take the kiddo for a hike in the woods, go to the mall, whatever. Anything except sitting in the house thinking about how tired I am!

Sassybottom · Aug 30, 2007

I think residents are a special breed of human being. I feel like crap after 28 - 32 hours/ week whereas they work their butts off at at least 80 hours/ week and sometimes even 120 hours/ week. I have heard residents tell me a light week for them is 50 - 60 hours. I don't know how they do it.

drewb72 · Aug 30, 2007

Hi I work on a substance misuse unit in the UK and every 6 weeks we do 7 nights which adds up to 75hrs for that week...but then we get 7 days off so to balance out the 37.5 hrs a week contract

PrivateDuty · Sep 1, 2007

I have been working 52 hours one week and 60 hours the next week rotationg for 3 months now. It was really hard at first, but now I just take it one day at time and somehow I make it through it.

purplekath · Sep 1, 2007

60 is routine...80 is common...more than that, quite often. Mandatory overtime....sigh....

Honestly, a 40 hour week seems quite cruisy these days. lol... sad but true

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Sep 1, 2007

I think residents are a special breed of human being. I feel like crap after 28 - 32 hours/ week whereas they work their butts off at at least 80 hours/ week and sometimes even 120 hours/ week. I have heard residents tell me a light week for them is 50 - 60 hours. I don't know how they do it.

That is quite odd, because in 2003, the association that oversees residency programs put a cap on the number of hours per week they are allowed to work - a maximum of 80 hours. That is still a ridiculous number of hours, though (especially for the ~ $50K a year that residents earn). The medical residency is the #1 reason I chose not to go to medical school.

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Sep 1, 2007

60 is routine...80 is common...more than that, quite often. Mandatory overtime....sigh....
Honestly, a 40 hour week seems quite cruisy these days. lol... sad but true

The crap that some nurses put up with simply amazes me sometimes. I'm very glad I work where I do, as I would leave nursing before I would put up with what you describe here.

MikeyJ, RN · Sep 1, 2007

That is quite odd, because in 2003, the association that oversees residency programs put a cap on the number of hours per week they are allowed to work - a maximum of 80 hours. That is still a ridiculous number of hours, though (especially for the ~ $50K a year that residents earn). The medical residency is the #1 reason I chose not to go to medical school.

Actually, they didn't cap it at 80 hours a week. It states that over a 4-week period, they cannot work on AVERAGE over 80 hours a week. Thus, a resident can work 120 hours one week and work less the following week.