Which would you prefer, 8 or 12 hr shifts?

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. 12 HOUR SHIFTS OR EIGHT?

    • 41
      Twelve hours?
    • 18
      Eight hours?

51 members have participated

Sorry if this topic has been brought up before. I just want to get some fresh opinions on how nurses feel about the length of their shift, and how it affects pt care, and family life.

Twelve hrs seems like such a long shift, especially for the fast paced (to put it nicely) type of work that is required of nurses. But it seems that almost no hospital offers 8 hr shifts anymore. It seemes to me that especially if you had to work a few shifts in a row, you'd be pretty burned out by the last day. I have been wondering how I'm going to cope with a 12 hr shift when I get out of school and have to perform nursing duties. Is a 12 hour shift better from a nursing standpoint because of the extra time to get assessments and charting done? Or do you really get "extra" time in that 12 hrs?

Now that I have a toddler, I'm also wondering how I'm going to arrange for daycare since my husband also works 12 hour shifts and has to commute almost an hour to work, so he can't help with picking up our son from daycare, or dropping him off. The only daycare around here that has extended hours is the hospital daycare which right now has a 2 year wait list. (Can't get on the list until you're actually an employee) What do nurses do for child care?

Which do you feel is better, 8 or 12 hour shifts? Do you feel that 12 hour shifts might compromise pt care due to fatigue, or does the shift just fly by?

I remember what it was like working 12 hr night shifts as a CNA, and I am trying to imagine what it will be like as a nurse. I get exhausted just thinking about it!

I left a job that after years of begging and false promises never gave me more than 1 12 per week. I love 12's and here is why

if i work that day is pretty much shot for me for the most part. I might as well have that only happen 3 days pe weeks

i get home around 8 p and can still put my kids to bed and see them before night night time

i get 4 days at home with them, and have more chances for flexible overtime if its available.

the extra 4 hours seems like the Shortest part of the day for me, the 8 hrs is the long stretch and the 4 hours is like this little chunk stuck on at the end

I love them and id never go back!!!

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I prefer 12s. I commute and have to get up before 5am. Doing that 5 days a week would make me quit my job in a heartbeat. I like having 4 days off a week to get things done.

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:balloons: After nearly 25 years I have worked every shift and every combination imaginable. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. As a new grad my only choices were 8 hour shifts on evenings or nights. I yearned to work 12 hours and finally got a job working 12 hour weekends for full-time benefits and 40 hours pay (early 1980s). This position met my needs at the time as it allowed me to finish a BSN degree. Have worked 3/12s for years and loved the extra days off the schedule allowed. Currently am working days - 2/8s and 2/12s. After returning to work from a serious orthopedic injury I am finding the 12 hour shifts intolerable. I can make it through the first 8 hours without any problems but am wiped out after the extra 3-730PM shift. Also, I don't have the energy and stamina I had a few years ago and find it hard working consecutive 12 hour dayshift.

I recently asked my manager to change my schedule so that I can work 5/8s and offered to work some evening shifts. She is going to get back to me but doesn't think she can fit me into the schedule as there isn't a need for 8 hour shift nurses. Only parttime nurses can have straight days, 8 hour shifts. New positions are posted for 2-12s (7A-7P) and 2/8s (3-11) or 3/12s nights. Guess new grads don't want to work much off shift anymore (who does). Anyways, I am rather disgruntled that after 25 years of nursing I am working 12 hour shifts without a choice - self-supporting so need the 40 hour per week income and benefits. Now I am venting!

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Definitely prefer 12's!!!!

Whenever I've worked a 8 shift it always felt like I was trying to squash 12hours work into 8 hours. Also I hardly ever left on time 'cause I was running around like a blue a**** fly. So I figure better to work till 7p and at least have a semblence of having finished you work than supposedly working to 4p and not leaving till six.

At least this way I get paid for the work.

Oh yeah and I like the time off too.

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for me its easy..has to be 12s..can get much more done on a day off then after working 8 hours........ ( more like 10 anyway by the time u get there and back and all that)

Sorry if this topic has been brought up before. I just want to get some fresh opinions on how nurses feel about the length of their shift, and how it affects pt care, and family life.

Twelve hrs seems like such a long shift, especially for the fast paced (to put it nicely) type of work that is required of nurses. But it seems that almost no hospital offers 8 hr shifts anymore. It seemes to me that especially if you had to work a few shifts in a row, you'd be pretty burned out by the last day. I have been wondering how I'm going to cope with a 12 hr shift when I get out of school and have to perform nursing duties. Is a 12 hour shift better from a nursing standpoint because of the extra time to get assessments and charting done? Or do you really get "extra" time in that 12 hrs?

Now that I have a toddler, I'm also wondering how I'm going to arrange for daycare since my husband also works 12 hour shifts and has to commute almost an hour to work, so he can't help with picking up our son from daycare, or dropping him off. The only daycare around here that has extended hours is the hospital daycare which right now has a 2 year wait list. (Can't get on the list until you're actually an employee) What do nurses do for child care?

Which do you feel is better, 8 or 12 hour shifts? Do you feel that 12 hour shifts might compromise pt care due to fatigue, or does the shift just fly by?

I remember what it was like working 12 hr night shifts as a CNA, and I am trying to imagine what it will be like as a nurse. I get exhausted just thinking about it!

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Personally, I like 4 10 hour shifts a week. 12 hour shifts are too long, more so if it's a bad shift, no breaks, multiple codes..........and I'm not young anymore. I worked 12 hour night shifts, which were killing me. I never got off on time, so forget the 12 hours, add a nonpaid 30 minute lunch and I was easily doing a 13 hour shift.

5 8 hour shifts made it seem like I worked all the time. It was a grind.

I find 10 hours perfect.... not too long, one extra day off a week. If i want to work overtime, I can still have 2 days off weekly.

Right now I work 4 9 hour shifts weekly and then am oncall for 4 hours weekly.

I like my 9 hour shifts, since I work from home, a 9 hour shift equals the old 8 hour shifts plus the drive I used to do back and forth. I am loving it. I used to drive 25 mils each way to work. Now I am not racking up the miles on my car and use very little gas anymore.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I work 4 8's per week.......it's the ONLY way to go for me. I did 12-hour nights back when I first started out, and after six months I didn't know if I was coming or going! It took me the first 2 days of my four off just to recuperate from doing three consecutive 12's, and had no life at all on the days I worked. But then, I was already 40, and to make matters worse I was also about 50 pounds heavier than I am now. I'd be OK until about 5 or even 6 AM, which is always when anything bad that's going to happen during a given shift hits the fan, and all the call lights go off because everyone's got to go to the bathroom at the same time! By the time I got out of there---usually not until 8:30 or 9 AM---I was so exhausted, and my back & my feet hurt so bad that I almost didn't care what happened to the patients........not a good attitude to have, obviously.

Yes, it sucks to work 3 in a row, have only one day off, and then come back for three more in a row before getting a 4-day weekend (Friday through Monday every other week). But I love the 3-11 shift, and I'll stick with my schedule because there's no way I'm gonna do 12's unless it's an occasional shift in ICU or Maternity, where the pace is soooooo much calmer and everything is so much closer to the nurses' station.

Which reminds me of why I hate day shift, even on an 8-hour basis. Not only does the 7-3 shift start about 3 hours before I'm alert and competent, it's too crazy: there are too many procedures, too many meals to serve, too many doctors, families and administrators, and WAY too little money. I recently did a couple of 11AM-7PM stints at the request of my nurse-manager (although I still got paid my regular evening-shift pay differential :) ) and it reinforced my sense of why I don't "do" days: I ran twice as hard as I normally do, did 6 admits in as many hours, prepped two patients for surgery, and dealt with two infusion patients who were getting blood. And I was the PRN nurse! Those on teams had it even worse: some had as many as 7 patients with an aide and 5 without, post-ops kept coming up and needing Q 30 min. vitals, baths and meals had to be done, frail patients hand-fed, etc. No thanks---I'll stick with evenings! :D

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Specializes in ER.

I added a poll to this thread. Get your vote in now!

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Personally I like 8 hour shifts, if I didn't have to work 5 days in a row to make it full time. I have worked a mix of 8's and 12's (four 12's and 3 8's in a pay period plus one day of call) on both day and night shifts. Working days was okay with this schedule, but working nights was unbearable! I still felt like I was always at work. Right now I am a day/night rotator working 12's (two months on each shift). I like this schedule better because I have more days off and I don't feel like I am constantly living at the hospital. Now only if I can switch over to straight days! That would be heaven! :rotfl:

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Specializes in Neurology, Neurosurgerical & Trauma ICU.

Personally, I work four 12hr shifts per week. I'm actually only required to do two 8s and two 12s per week, but my theory is this...If I'm there for 8, I may as well stay for 12! It's only 4 more hours.

Also, factoring into this is the fact that the hospital I work at is 45 miles from my home. (Its not that long of a drive though because it's all highway)

AND...when you work 12s, you're more likely to get your same assignment back. Which as any ICU nurse can tell you, that's usually a good thing.

Oh and did I mention that our OT rate is fabulous at our hospital??? Gotta love that 8 hours OT every week!!!

Well, that's my humble opinion!

Molly

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More time off!!! Need I say more?

True, it's very difficult at the beginning, but you get used to it.

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Specializes in Medical.

I hate the idea of a twelve-hour shift, but that might just because I've never come across one - we work eights by day (with a two hour overlap from 1300 - 1530) and ten at night, which I like for all the reasons all the pro-twelve poster have. Another two hours, though, and you'd have to scrape me off the floor!

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