12 hour shift

Nurses General Nursing

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I was wondering how everyone feels about12 hour shifts. Is it safe to work that long of a shift?

Love my 12 hour shifts.

Like the time off during the week and on weekends.

Would never go to 8 hr shifts.

I know your "never" may not be literal, but what would be your position if strong evidence showed that 12 hour shifts put patients at significantly more risk of harm from nursing mistakes?

I know your "never" may not be literal, but what would be your position if strong evidence showed that 12 hour shifts put patients at significantly more risk of harm from nursing mistakes?
A few of my classmates did a lit review in nursing school on 8 hr vs 12 hour shifts and the studies they reviewed didn't strongly support 8 OR 12 hour shifts as safer. 16 hour shifts came out as routinely unsafe but 8 and 12 hour shifts seemed pretty balanced as each had benefits.

I love 12s. I work 14 days(well nights)a month I have more time to spend with my children(compared to my fiancee who works 8s). If I choose to work an ot shift I'm still only working 15 times a month. LOVE. IT.

Specializes in Critical Care.
I know your "never" may not be literal, but what would be your position if strong evidence showed that 12 hour shifts put patients at significantly more risk of harm from nursing mistakes?

The evidence doesn't actually show a higher rate of Nursing mistakes in 12 hours shifts. There is the often cited study by Ann Rogers that claimed a "three-fold" increase in errors for those that work 12-hour shifts. The problem is that Ann Rogers wasn't paying attention during her statistics classes. This claim was based on a "per-shift" error rate, however a 12-hour shift is of course longer than an 8 hour shift. If you consider that a typical 24 hour day has 100 opportunities to make an error, then a 12-hour shift contains 50 opportunities while an 8-hour shift only contains 33.3. So if you look at her data based on a comparable measure of time, per hour, then she actually found a higher rate of errors with 8 hour shifts with nearly twice the error rate in 8 hours shifts.

Specializes in MPCU.

"Feb 18 by Biffbradford Cafeteria? Working 12 hour night shifts it's closed when I get there, closed when I leave. After working here for a year, I've yet to eat in the the cafeteria. :yawn:"

Our cafeteria is open for 23 hours. Trust me, you are not missing anything.

Specializes in Critical Care.
If you're having an M.I. and getting admitted to the ICU, or your beloved Grandma is having a stroke and is being admitted to the ICU: do you want me at hour 11 of my 6th twelve hour shift in 8 days? or hour 7 of my 5th eight hour shift? Put this another way, on my last hour of work in that long stretch of 12 hour shifts ... do you think I have the energy to really care?

I'm not sure of you accidently switched 8's and 12's in that example, but given an equal FTE, 8 hour workers have to work more nights in a row than 12 hour workers. There is an established increase risk of errors towards the end of a 12 hour shift, but there's also an established increase in the risk of errors on the additional shifts required of an 8-hour schedule. All in all, in the last hour of a 12 hour workers week they are less likely to commit an error than an 8 hour worker is in their last hour due to their longer workweek with less days fully devoted to fatigue recovery.

I worked two 8's and two 12's for four years before I finally got 12's. I can say hands down I'd rather work 12's. And I think my patients get better care and I'm less stressed. When you work 8 hours you are responsible for the same amount of assessments and charting, you just have four hours less to do all that work. I don't mind giving a few more meds and doing an extra couple of potty trips, etc. And working night shift, no one is happy when you wake them up at 11pm. So I'd much rather get in at 7pm and get them settled and tucked in for the night.

I wonder what the residents I work with (80 hour workweeks) would contribute to this topic?

I wonder what the residents I work with (80 hour workweeks) would contribute to this topic?

There role is different, their compensation is different, and pretty much everything about them is different. They also get treated a lot better. I know they work hard and put in a ton of hours. But they are also not treated as waitresses and "handmaidens". Our role is physically and emotionally draining. I rarely see the residents "running" where I work. In fact I have yet to see it happen even once.

There role is different, their compensation is different, and pretty much everything about them is different. They also get treated a lot better. I know they work hard and put in a ton of hours. But they are also not treated as waitresses and "handmaidens". Our role is physically and emotionally draining. I rarely see the residents "running" where I work. In fact I have yet to see it happen even once.
they get compensated less . most of them are miserable where i work and run around like nuts. pager going off every minute. pts and families chew them out too for not ordering a senna and colace fast enough when s/he is in the icu with a critical pt. 80-90 hrs in the hospital. they have very little to no free time . to me one of the only pros of nursing is three 12s . eith 5 eights. your days or nights off might not be in a row either. i like only having to go in a few times a week.

Residency is part if their education. That is COMPLETELY different.

Residency is part if their education. That is COMPLETELY different.
yes it is different but unreasonable residency hours , including long call hrs , lead to negative pt outcomes.. let's not pretend that isn't the case. (yes i know about continuity of care)
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