Commute?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I was wondering if any of you commute to work? And if so, how long does it take you to get to your workplace each way?

There is a hospital an hour from my home that has a wonderful staff and has a level 4 NICU. I'm just not sure how safe it would be to have that commute after a 12 hour shift.

Any advice on what I should do?

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:up:My commute is 45 minutes. After a 12 hr shift, sometimes I feel really tired and not as alert as I should be. The commute tends to wear on me after a while, but know I can always work closer to home. If the opportunity is great, I say take it. If the commute becomes too much for you, in terms of safety or aggravation, you can reduce the commute by moving closer or by securing employment closer to home. :idea:

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

my screen name is "thecommuter," so of course i've commuted many miles during my years of existence! i love to drive...

i live 6 miles from my current workplace, so that's not a real commute for me. next week, i will begin working at a facility that is located 13.5 miles from my home.

when i was living in california's central valley, i maintained my factory job in southern california, which was located 120 miles from my home. back then, i worked 12 hour shifts, and i never had any issues with road safety or exhaustion during this 240 mile roundtrip commute.

also, my lvn program was located 95 miles from my home. i attended school 5 days weekly for 1 year, so i was commuting 1,000 miles per week (52 miles yearly). y'all can probably figure out by now that i don't mind a good commute. ;)

i'll willingly commute if the end result will help in some way to turn my dreams into realities.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

it takes me forty minutes or so to drive to the parking lot, and another 10-15 minutes to walk to the building from there. and then as long as 10 minutes wait for the elevator. after a 12 hour shift, i'm tired -- i stay awake by singing as i drive home!

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Specializes in Rural Health.

My 1st job was 1 hour 22 mins. from driveway to timeclock (worked 12 hour days/nights).

My 2nd job was 23 mins from driveway to timeclock (worked 12 hour 11-11 and days).

My 3rd job is now 39 mins from driveway to timeclock (I work 12 hour nights - always 3 in a row).

My PRN job is 44 mins from driveway to timeclock (I work anywhere from 4-12 hour shifts here days and/or nights).

I have to drive to work, always have, always will. I don't find it too difficult to stay awake though - usually. Even now where I work almost 40 mins from my bed and I work 3 nights in a row - I'm pretty OK on the drive home.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

My drive is 15 minutes each way. I have no trouble staying awake.

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Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

My commute is 1 hour 45 minutes. I work 12 hour shifts but often am held over 5-6 hours. I schedule my three shifts together and stay in the city where I work either at my parents or in the call room. Driving back and forth would be exhausting, hard on my car and cost too much in gas to be worth it.

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Specializes in Telemetry, Med-Surg, ED, Psych.

My commute is about five miles - no biggy. But my old hospital I worked at was about 15 miles away. In southern California, the freeways are always clogged no matter what time of day! :o

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7 minutes from my garage to the time clock on my unit. 8 minutes if I hit the red light. In the winter it takes me longer to scrape my car windows than it does to drive home.

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Specializes in onc, M/S, hospice, nursing informatics.

40 mile commute here, 12 hour nights. If I'm already on the road when I think I can't make it, I pull off at a rest stop that is about 1/3 of the way home. One day I pulled in there at about 8am... woke up at 1pm! :zzzzz LOL Must have really been exhausted.

:bugeyes:

If all else fails and I don't want to stop to sleep, sunflower seeds keep me awake enough to get home.

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I also drive about an hour to and from work. I enjoy the time to myself. I keep a digital voice recorder to make note of things I need to do. and the best part, when I leave the hospital as a stressed out mess it gives me time to relax and recompose.

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Specializes in Public Health.

My commute is an hour and 20 minutes from my door to the hospital entrance. I take 3 separate trains, and walk 10 blocks east (6 in Jersey City & 4 in NYC). I'm dealing with it for now since I'll be moving into the city soon.

If I drive, which more expensive, it takes 20 minutes. I've been driving a lot lately.

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