Three 12s vs Five 8s

Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2018

12 have never been my cup of tea,if its a bad day it is 12 hours of grinding badly your gears,not to mention the lack of sleep,and if your unit does not have a cozy lounge or private bathroom it is awful to say the least. Five 8 is not good for anyone especially nights, but 10s are good and you still have alot of time off and do not feel like an android when you get home to your family.As you get older your body will remind you with pain that you should not have done those extra shifts or let them push you around for doubles when they are chronically understaffed.Believe me if I had not had to provide for my family I would have left years ago.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2018

I have done both. 5 8s is brutal. It's shorter shifts, but that's 5 days of walking into nothing done, admitting people and doing their belongings checks, 5 days of getting diet cokes for families, 5 days of "You can pull him up, you're young and healthy," 5 days of "Your nurse will answer that" (how)???? 5 days of working short, working without the CNA....
you get the picture.

Your point is valid and I should clarify that my previous post was not in reference to working 5 8s as a staff nurse. That I wouldn't do. My Mon-Fri jobs have all been Case Management type positions.

kitty29 · Jun 15, 2018

I have worked both....and I am parttime (.75). Currently we do not have a choice its all 12 hour shifts. I like them and do as many as 4 in a row in order to get a week off. I work straight nights as well.

Before this change to all 12's, I worked 8 hour evenings with 12 hour nights on the w/e. Loved that until there was no one to trade with anymore.

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Jun 24, 2018

I've done both and my preference is very much in the 12 hour camp. I work 3 days a week at 36 hrs instead of 4 days a week at 32 hours so I gain a full 8 hours of pay in 2 less days in a pay period. It's also a little easier at least in my mind to deal with the mandates, after all I am already there 12 hours, so really what's 4 more?

LovingLife123 · Jun 24, 2018

3 12's hands down. I get to spend an additional 2 full entire days a week with my kids. No just a couple of hours at night.

With the 12s I drive in before rush hour and leave after rush hour. Doing 8s I'd be in rush hour traffic which would add an additional total 45 minutes to driving each day.

jive turkey · Jun 24, 2018

3 12's hands down. I get to spend an additional 2 full entire days a week with my kids. No just a couple of hours at night.
With the 12s I drive in before rush hour and leave after rush hour. Doing 8s I'd be in rush hour traffic which would add an additional total 45 minutes to driving each day.

This is what generally pulls me away from 8s. Traffic. By the time you factor that in living in the city it's now equal to a 10hr like day. MAYBE if it was an 8hr job in a small town no traffic five minutes from home and enough time to go home for lunch, or work from home/remote, or no fixed in and out time. But sometimes you get sick of thinking about work so often when it's 5 times.