Director wants to change all 12 hr shift nurses to 10 hr!!!!

Nunya, BSN · Nov 3, 2019

I went to Google to see how this worked and this is from a post here in 2005. The problem with this is the 7-5 shifts I think are acceptable but 11a-9p isn't really days or nights, more like evenings, and will there be enough people who want to work eves? I did it at one job for 9 months (rotated all shifts) and would not want to ever do it again.

yournurse · Nov 3, 2019

15 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:
One problem is, who actually thinks a 10 hour shift would be a 10 hour shift?

Well, 12hr shifts aren’t really 12hr shifts either.

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 3, 2019

8 hours ago, truejewel82 said:
Exactly, 10 hour shifts will become 4 12’s. According to them the census is low , with the shortage it doesn’t feel that way. What I actually think will happen is that we will end up working more. Its already an issue with 8,10,12 hour shifts now. I work in a big city hospital in the OR.

Ah. The specialty does help it make a lot more sense.

My facility staffs the OR with a combination of 8, 10, and 12 hour shifts. The 10 hour people still start at 0700 and leave at 1730. They help finish up the additional late running scheduled cases. We staff a heck of a lot more people on day shift than on any other. The 8 hour people leave at 1530, which is when block time for scheduled cases ends in about 60% of rooms. We then have the 1100am starts staff (can be 8 or 12 hour shifts), the 1500 starts staff (8 hour shifts), and those who work 10 hour shifts to wrap up the rooms where block time ends at 1700.

Unless you have a huge number of rooms that don't finish until 1930 every day, it'll work out.

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 3, 2019

15 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:
One problem is, who actually thinks a 10 hour shift would be a 10 hour shift?

Gotta remember that the OR (which OP mentioned in their second post is where they work) is a totally different animal than an inpatient nursing unit. Most ORs do the bulk of their work on day shift, still have some but not as much throughout the evening, then drop to primarily emergencies and traumas overnight- non-trauma ORs may not even staff night shift.

Additionally, the OR is a specialty that requires call. If an OR is still running at the end of someone's shift, the call person relieves them if there aren't enough scheduled staff.

truejewel82 · Nov 4, 2019

1 hour ago, Rose_Queen said:
Ah. The specialty does help it make a lot more sense.
My facility staffs the OR with a combination of 8, 10, and 12 hour shifts. The 10 hour people still start at 0700 and leave at 1730. They help finish up the additional late running scheduled cases. We staff a heck of a lot more people on day shift than on any other. The 8 hour people leave at 1530, which is when block time for scheduled cases ends in about 60% of rooms. We then have the 1100am starts staff (can be 8 or 12 hour shifts), the 1500 starts staff (8 hour shifts), and those who work 10 hour shifts to wrap up the rooms where block time ends at 1700.
Unless you have a huge number of rooms that don't finish until 1930 every day, it'll work out.

Ahhh you see!! Ok so they are claiming 8,10,12’s cannot work, which I think is a load of bs bc plenty of OR’s function this way. There are 13 of us on 12’s that will try to fight it bc we love our schedules... but it is what it is. ??‍♀️

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 4, 2019

21 minutes ago, truejewel82 said:
Ahhh you see!! Ok so they are claiming 8,10,12’s cannot work, which I think is a load of bs bc plenty of OR’s function this way. There are 13 of us on 12’s that will try to fight it bc we love our schedules... but it is what it is. ??‍♀️

13 for how many ORs? We only have 5, with 25 ORs on days and 3 ORs after 1930. It could be that they truly do need to do the right-sizing of getting more staff on day shift- we found that we had days of having to close ORs on day shift because of not having enough staff and low censusing on evening shift because there were more people than need to staff the rooms.

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Nov 4, 2019

On 11/3/2019 at 2:41 AM, Jedrnurse said:
One problem is, who actually thinks a 10 hour shift would be a 10 hour shift?

The same who say a 12 is just a 12...healthcare hours are the devil ?

Lipoma, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2019

If I was being forced to do 4 10s...I'd quit. My 3 12s allow me to travel abroad 1-2 times a month!!!! Couple that with random PTO days on day 3 at the end of week one and on day 1 of week two....I'm practically on vacation for 9 days.

This is the lifestyle I want my nursing career to be based on and if my job forced me to do otherwise....yeah I'd quit.

Work life balance my friend. Don't let a job burn you out because you will be replaced without them batting an eye.

TitaniumPlates · Nov 5, 2019

On 11/3/2019 at 5:31 PM, Elaine M said:
Do they want to get 40 hours/week out of their FT workers instead of 36? Maybe suggest six 12s and an 8 in two weeks? That would still suck but not quite as bad...

It sucks. Bigly.

I worked block 3's, 3 days off, block 4 (1 of which was an 8)---the "8" was never an 8, as I was still required to be either at shift start huddle (.5 hr plus .5 hr drive in and out) or shift end report (.5 hr plus .5 drive in and out). Consistently, they would "forgot" that the 8 was my "short shift" and didn't have enough people on the floor to cover. "Could you stay?? Pleeeeeeeeeease??" You're already there and you feel like a schmuck for saying "NO" to their face. Then it's still another half hour while they "shuffle people around" to cover you.

Nope. Nopity nope nope. I was a zombie---far worse than when I had a 36 hour week and 4 off.

Don't fall for it. If they want to do this---it has nothing to do with finances. It has to do with what I just described. They want your body in there when they ask you to stay over. OT is much cheaper than travelers and they can flex you if they have low census.

This is a rotten thing to do--and I would find somewhere else to go. As a traveler, I could get jobs with Faststaff---for 48 hour weeks. The 36 + 8 is just that---I worked 36 hours one week and 44 hours the next---but it never, ever was just 44. It always ended up being 48 or more.

Don't.

Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2019

If that s what the employer wants and the nurses do not ,the only thing you can do is strike. Good luck with that...12 s were implemented as a hiring tool,since many wanted to work 12s.But hospitals always complained that 12s were more expensive to implement ,especially if there were sick calls.

FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP · Nov 6, 2019

You can certainly organize to present your case to the Director. However, there is no guarantee that will succeed. Give the four 10s a try and if it isn't working for you, then find another job. Good luck.

AutumnApple · Nov 6, 2019

My hospital just put in some new regulations.

Biggest change is 16 hour shifts are simply not allowed, at all. Even if you're staying to help or cover, you can only go up to 12. Once you reach 12 hours, you're not an option no matter how dire it is.

They also put in some funky limits on how many 12's you can do in a row. Two is the most, but "exceptions will be made for weekend hours". That I don't get. You either allow it or don't. People get over tired and make mistakes on the weekend too. Seems to me they're picking and choosing where they want to be careful, and where they don't.

And then there is the new policies that agree with me. They are cracking down on what we call "doubling back". As in, you work evening shift one day, go home, sleep at night then return for day shift the next day. Technically, there was a shift between your coming and goings. But it's not 8hrs off the clock. Basically the new policies are designed so that one can not schedule double backs, but if they're asked to stay by the nursing supervisor, then it's allowed/overlooked.

Again, that smacks of picking and choosing where to be careful and where not to. I guess you have to weight in........at what point is the short staffing more dangerous than overworked nurses?