12 hour shift question

Nurses General Nursing

Published

How closely are your 12 hour shifts usually? Do people usually do 3 straight 12s and call it a week? I'm planning to be a new RN in the future and trying to figure out how my life working nights may be, as far as sleep, family, social life.

I do 12 but it's a level 1 so it's usually 16-17

When I did 12s at night I tried to get all 3-4 shifts in a row. I hated having one day off and then coming back. I prefered to have many of the same patients (demanding or not) as I knew what to expect for the most part. I miss 12 hr shifts dearly and cannot wait to get back to them. Sure I feel tired, but working 5 days a week gets old.

I'm curious what's so different about nursing. I used to work 4 or 5 16 hour shifts in construction and landscaping. I know many construction guys work like that. As an echocardiographer I've consistently worked 5 12 hour shifts in a row. What makes 3 12s so hard in nursing?

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