12 hour shifts too long?

Sirena922 · Apr 3, 2005

I guess I didn't phrase it right. My question is if you work 36 hours a week as a fulltime nurse and 40 the next week, anything over that 36 hours, is it considered overtime?

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

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Apr 3, 2005

I guess I didn't phrase it right. My question is if you work 36 hours a week as a fulltime nurse and 40 the next week, anything over that 36 hours, is it considered overtime?

I may be wrong, but I think legally you have to surpass 40 hrs to get OT. In my husband's job, he was working 36hr weeks for quite some time. Although it was considered FT (for benefits, etc) he would havw to work 4 more hrs before getting the 1 1/2x.

In the places near me, 3 12's is considerd a 0.9 FTE. Some people do it (when they actually offer it, which is rare), and their benefits are 9/10 prorated (a small price to pay to give up a 4 day week, if you ask me).

I think what's considered FT is up to the employer, but I would venture to guess that Uncle Sam makes up the OT regulations.

baby&mommynurse · Apr 3, 2005

I work 3-12 hour shifts; 0.9 FTE and it is considered full time. I also have to work over 40 hours/wk. to be paid overtime. We also get an "incentive pay" if we agree to work when we are short staffed and management can't find someone else not on OT willing to work extra.

Gompers, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2005

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

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice!!!!!! :)

carebear64 · Apr 5, 2005

The problem with 12 hour shifts in my facility, is that in order to work 12 hour days, you have to work up to 50% of your hours on an off shift. This means switching from 7a-7p to 7p-7a. There is not an option to work straight days unless you have worked at this hospital for >20 years or something ridiculous like that. I would love to work twelves, and I know my manager would like it if we all worked them, but I can't handle the off shift. At least with 8 hour shifts, my off shift is only 3-11's. This policy doesn't help with retention! Furthermore, working 3 twelves doesn't count as full time. 80 hours is full time, period. So in addition to 2 twelves a week, we have to throw in an 8 every two weeks.

rekster · Apr 5, 2005

I don't mind twelve hours and I agree with everyone that 12 hours often allows you more time to get certain things done. I try not to stay late unless I absolutely have to. It's just not a healthy habit to get into.
The problem I see is they've schedule me for 5 12s in a row in a couple weeks. Ouch, I don't know if I want to do that...

I am now working 6 12's in a row Thursday-Tuesday and then have 8 days off. It is kind of rough in the fact that when My Thursday get's near, I am starting to dread returning to work, though the 8 days off are pretty nice, I am actually taking PTO for my 6 days in June and will have 22 days off, I am looking forward to that.

6 days in a row are pretty difficult. I was working Fri-Sun, off Mon and then worked Tue and Wed and then the following Mon. That 1 day off in the middle was pretty much a wash since my sleep was really pretty bad. I work 7P-7A

Night Angel · Apr 6, 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?

To me, it all depends on the patient load and acuity. {sorry if I spelled it wrong} I work 12 hour night shifts on an orthopaedic/urology unit in a hospital. Sometimes my nights are gravy, and sometimes my nights leave me fried. I enjoy working 12 hour shifts because I get more days off in between. Although I've had an 8 hour jobs that left me as drained as if I'd worked 16 hours. Also, the level of care declines when staffing is short and acuity is high. This goes for 4, 8, 12, or 16 hour shifts. :)

allevi · Apr 6, 2005

I currently work 3 nights, off one, then work 3 more. So 6 out of 7 nights.

Then I get a week off, works out nice, work a week then a week off.

Overall I like the 12's, I do work prn at a local nursing home and the 8 hour shifts are kind of a treat.

LydiaNN · Apr 6, 2005

I always wished that there was a 10 ten hour shift option. Twelve was just a bit too much, but I could've handled 2 more after 8, and still had the 3 days a week off. I know that would've wrecked havoc on the schedules, though. I dated a cop for a while and he worked 4 10 hour shifts a week. I thought that was an ideal schedule.

baby&mommynurse · Apr 6, 2005

Being in maternal/infant care, we never know when our census will be high or low... we can only predict when deliveries will occur. Still, I would rather work three-12 hour shifts, than work five-8 hour shifts a week. Even if we get a rush of deliveries, there's always someone willing to come in for the overtime because of the extra days off everyone has. When we worked 8 hour shifts, no one wanted to come in on their 1 day off. Sometimes we'll become overstaffed because of the high number of discharged patients/low number of deliveries and there's always an option of going home early, which everyone likes, too.

xrockstheheart · Apr 6, 2005

I wrote a paper, Nursing as a Function of Time", it is published. You can read it at http://www.nursewise.com. It will tell you about the shifts, It isn't so much about what we feel, but about what we can prove. I personally know that 12 hour shifts aren't good for anybody, not the patient and not the nurse. Read the paper, come to your own conclusion.

lapoueze · Apr 6, 2005

We started 12 hr shifts 6 months ago and they have had their ups and downs.I work in a very busy cardiology/ CCU dept and on a truly manic day you can feel a little burned out by the 11th hour.I do think the continuity of care is better for the patients and those lovely days of make me realise that i do still have a life after all. On the whole most of the staff have felt pretty positive about it but it is up for review in the next few weeks and we all get to give feedback on our feelings toward the new shifts so fingers crossed they will stay.