Anyone work five 8's in a row 11p-7a?

htrn · Feb 24, 2007

I work straight (8 hr) nocs and much prefer to work several nocs in a row rather than -on three -off one -on two - off two - on four - off three, etc... Because we work every other weekend, you never really know how many nights in a row you will work until the schedule comes out.

I find that my first night on and my last night on are typically 30+ hour days, therefore, get me in a routine and keep me there. My preference is to work as many in a row as possible, up to 7 or 8 and then have as many in a row off as possible. I despise only having one night off during a stretch or only one night on in isolation.

After the second noc of work, I can actually go to bed by 0900 and by up by 17-1800 and enjoy the evening with my family. Otherwise, I just don't see them.

Jolie, BSN · Feb 24, 2007

I agree with obrnheather. I've worked just about every shift and combination of shifts imaginable, and as far as nights goes, I prefer a string of 8 hour shifts. Once I'm in the "groove", I don't have trouble getting to bed and getting a decent amount of sleep. And I like having the early evening hours to spend at home. I've never been a fan of 12 hour shifts, especially not on nights.

Good luck in your new job!

lily_lover · Feb 24, 2007

My normal shift is 11p-7a in the operating room. Once I adjusted to the schedule, I've found its not too bad. I'm home in time to take my son to school, and I sleep until about 5, and then I can spend time with him and help him with homework, eat, ect. The hardest part was adjusting to the time change, as I was working from 6:30a-3pm. Good luck if that's what you decide to do.

jimthorp · Feb 24, 2007

Just finished 12 straight 8+ hour days.

TazziRN, RN · Feb 24, 2007

I used to work 8's, all shifts but days. By the time I left there I was exhausted. Now I do 12's, days but I've done nights too. I much prefer 12's.

nuangel1, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2007

i am with tazzi i have worked all shifts days/eve/nights 8 and 12 .when i worked 8 hr night with every other weekend i hated it 7 nights on 1 day off the again .occassionally 2 off together .1st 5 i was ok then by 6 i hated it.give me the 12 hrs anytime .

sandlewood_nurse · Feb 24, 2007

When I was doing my consolidation we did 2 12 hour day shifts then 2 12 hour night shifts and then had 5 days off. I really liked that :). I felt like when I was working it was work, but then I had lots of time off to relax and five days to go travel around.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2007

I worked five 8 night shifts for years. Five in a row Monday through Friday. It wasn't that bad. If I didn't sleep well during the day there was always time for an evening nap. If I did sleep well there was the entire evening free to do what I needed to do.

allnurses Guide · Feb 24, 2007

I personally will never work full-time again.

I did like having a string of 4-5 days off in a row when I did work full-time.

My problem is our hours - 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. is dayshift and 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. is nights. I work days.

Having to get to bed by at the very least 7 p.m. has always been hard with a family. My two older boys played sports - and Friday night football games were rarely over by 10 p.m. and then to get up at 1:45 a.m. to get ready for work was hard. I feel like I have NO life by going to bed at 7 p.m.

Working part-time has eased that . . .even though on nights before I work I still go to bed at 7 p.m.

You will just have to try it and see I guess. I personally wouldn't want to work 5 days in a row. But then, I'm a permanent part-timer.

Lots of interesting advice here . . . . .

steph

pickledpepperRN · Feb 24, 2007

When we were on 8 hour shifts I wished I could work five in a row with two nights off. As it was with every other weekend off you only get to wake up in the morning and go to sleep that night every other weekend.

SO I worked 0.9 FTE and had 2 nights off in a row every week.

I put me into a lower tax bracket so the take home pay was almost the same.

I got lots more time with my kids.

Been on 12's since 1984

clemmm78, RN · Feb 24, 2007

Because in our hospitals, you can't have every weekend off, in one place what I did was six nights on, one night off, four nights on, three nights off. I managed that for about a year. When I was a nursing supervisor on nights, I did seven nights on, seven off. When I was working full time, it was best with the long stretches of nights or else my body was too up and down.