12 hour shifts too long?

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Apr 1, 2005

your actual individual pay decreases by working 36 instead of 40 hours a week and administration has that set up so they save quite a few hundreds of thousands of dollars a year that could be paid to us.

i've never worked in an institution where ft is 36 hrs/week. having said that, 12 hrs, imo is killer, because (at least where i am now) there is a 4 day week (once a month), total of 13 shifts a month. this is the case in many of the local hospitals. i once worked in a place where there was a 4 day week every three weeks (it was a six week block of 3,3,4,3,3,4- or any other combination).

i think there is also a big difference in handling 12 hrs if you work days or nights. forget about staying awake :uhoh3: , but if you work nights, for 1,2 or 3 days, the next day is shot!! you've already wasted your first day off catching up. (and if you do a 4 day week, forget it!!) if you work days, no matter how long you end up staying (to finish your work), you go home, go to sleep, and wake up the next day. :twocents:

Gompers, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2005

i've never worked in an institution where ft is 36 hrs/week.

i've worked at several hospitals were 36 hrs/wk is full time, including where i am now. you do lose a few paid days off each year because you accrue less time, but other than that, you get full time benefits like everyone else. so we really do just three shifts a week, never have to do a 4th shift.

every hospital is differernt how they do the schedule - actually every floor or unit is usually different. we don't do any kind of a grid schedule, so if people want to work three in a row, they can, or if they want one on one off, they can do that as well.

applepie2 · Apr 2, 2005

Are 12 hour shifts too long? I have seen many nurses getting burned out at 8 hours. Does the level of care decline when nurses are working 12 hour shifts?

:crying2: I think the 12h shifts are too long. After working 12h and coming home I am so drained and weak. I do not have the energy to do food shopping or laundry. I remember last week I worked with 13pts. I called in the following night. I was just too tired to go in. Working the long hours takes so much out of you. I think most hospitals should go back to 8h shifts, your more focus and u are not burn out so easily.

Gompers, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2005

I think the 12h shifts are too long. After working 12h and coming home I am so drained and weak. I do not have the energy to do food shopping or laundry. I remember last week I worked with 13pts. I called in the following night. I was just too tired to go in. Working the long hours takes so much out of you. I think most hospitals should go back to 8h shifts, your more focus and u are not burn out so easily.

Okay, if you had 13 patients, the problem is the hospital's staffing moreso than the length of your shifts. On a well-staffed unit, you don't usually get so exhausted and burned out. My unit is very well staffed most nights, and there are MANY of us nurses (of all ages) that leave after a 12 hour night shift and run a bunch of errands on the way home, no problem. There are a lot of factors in this debate.

Haunted · Apr 2, 2005

OH GEEZ! I hate 12 hour shifts!!! I feel like a prisoner on my unit!!! I really wish hospitals would wise up and allow us to self schedule, some of us, myself included, do real well with 10 hour shifts, I really function best with 8 hours but will stay over to cover if needed.

Most of the staffers I know would rather have the flexability to work 8 or 10 and have a day off in between but administration makes a lot of money off the 12 hours gig, no time and a half after 8 hours and all, the hype being promoted is, geepers, ya get 4 days off doncha know...

I read somewhere that most medical errors occur in the 9th hour. Would be an interesting study wouldn't you agree?

Bottom line, I can't think of ANYTHING I would want to do for 12 hours straight!

MacERRN · Apr 2, 2005

"Are 12 hour shifts too long" For some folks it may. You just have to be mentally and physically prepared to take care of tasks at hand. The payoff is the extra days off during the week to play.

If your on the borederline of handling a 12 hr shift I think the key is not to do too many in a row, no more than 3.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Apr 2, 2005

i've worked at several hospitals were 36 hrs/wk is full time, including where i am now. you do lose a few paid days off each year because you accrue less time, but other than that, you get full time benefits like everyone else. so we really do just three shifts a week, never have to do a 4th shift.

that must be a beautiful thing. i'm not ft, but i have been, and it's torture. especially when people (non nursing) just assume that your job can't be that bad, if you only work 3 days a week.

and yes, staffing does make a difference. again, that must be a beautiful thing, to be well staffed. i, for one, think 12 is a little too long, well staffed or not, but that's just me. 10 hrs would be ideal for me.

casper1 · Apr 2, 2005

I have a question for 12 hour shift people. Are you ever expected to change your assignment during your shift. I'm a hospital float on some floors I work I am assigned to one group of patients for the first four hours and then my assignment is

completely changed for the last 8 hours. This isn't adding a few patients, this i s

a new assignment. The rational is that the 8 hour people want to keep their same group of patients from night to night. I don't think it is fair. I aslo work 8 hr shifts.

I don't expect to have the same group each night when I work 8 hr shifts.

I would feel terrible if another Nurse was told she had to change her assignment after

4 hrs to accomidate me.

Gompers, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2005

I have a question for 12 hour shift people. Are you ever expected to change your assignment during your shift. I'm a hospital float on some floors I work I am assigned to one group of patients for the first four hours and then my assignment is
completely changed for the last 8 hours. This isn't adding a few patients, this i s
a new assignment. The rational is that the 8 hour people want to keep their same group of patients from night to night. I don't think it is fair. I aslo work 8 hr shifts.
I don't expect to have the same group each night when I work 8 hr shifts.
I would feel terrible if another Nurse was told she had to change her assignment after
4 hrs to accomidate me.

Once in a while, but we ASK the nurse first if she'd mind trading. I work in NICU, and continuity of care is a huge thing with us. We have one primary nurse for each baby, but we try to make assignments so that they will have their baby when they come on shift. Like if the nurse works 12 hour nights, we'll give the baby to a 12 hour day nurse, etc. With overtime, admissions, etc. sometimes things get messed up. So sometimes if it looks like a nurse won't get her primary patient when she comes on, we might ask someone to switch assignments so that she does get her baby. Usually we do this only if the baby is either very very sick, or getting ready to go home - because those are the most important times to have a nurse who is familiar with the baby and family.

kaycee · Apr 3, 2005

I work four 10hr days. 7am-5pm Mon-Thurs with every Fri, Sat and Sun off.

It works for me.

Sirena922 · Apr 3, 2005

Is it considered overtime if you work a 36 hour shift?

P_RN, ADN, RN · Apr 3, 2005

Is it considered overtime if you work a 36 hour shift?

Maybe not legal for money overtime, but BODY overtime indeed. I believe that 16h is as long as our labor commission allows.