12 hour shifts?

talaxandra · Apr 13, 2008

I'm from Victoria. My (public) hospital has an 8/8/10 roster on most wards (ie AM 0700 - 1530, PM 1300 - 2130, ND 2100 - 0730).

In Australia we have a 38-hour work week, which breaks down (for full-time staff) to 40/24 per week and an ADO once a month (every 4/52 for say shift, every 5/24 for night shift).

ICU and psych nurses tend to work 12-hour shifts, with the odd 8/24 shift thrown in to even out the scheduling.

Hope that helps.

jseb · Apr 15, 2008

Hi Talaxandra,

Would you let me know what is ADO.I am from Canada and am planing to move to Australia as I am fed up with the 12 hrs work day and the day/night scheduling. Also, can a nurse just keep the same schedule or the hospital require her to work different shifts, say in a given month.

thanks

jseb · Apr 15, 2008

hi talaxandra,

In Australian hospitals, is it compulsory to work rotating shifts?

thanks

allnurses Guide · Apr 15, 2008

Rotating shifts depends on the hospital and unit.Generally yes, you must rotate, unless you are in management (days) or you choose permanent nights (often incentives to do so such as free parking, meals, shift allowances).

ADO = accrued day off. Also seen as RDO, rostered day off. Basically means that you work 40 hours per week but only get paid 38hrs, so every 4 weeks you get an 8hr day off that is paid.

I have worked in mostly ICUs and always had 12 hour shifts available (Vic and NSW). It sometimes depends upon if you're permanent or agency staff too.

Spectre · Apr 16, 2008

most places do compulsory rotating shifts, and compulsory nights during the year, (usually about 4 weeks). Royal Perth Hospital in WA offers 12hr emergency shifts, and there's a large chunk of hospitals australia wide that do 8/8/8 shifts all day, especially in psych. I can tell you for a fact ICU in TAS and in WA do the 8/8/10 shifts. now for the fun part, i've worked in WA, QLD, NSW and TAS so here's the shift times i've had to work

0600 - 1330

0645 - 1515 (rural QLD)

0700 - 1100

0700 - 1300 (common in WA)

0700 - 1430

0700 - 1500

0700 - 1530 (standard for WA and NSW)

0730 - 1600

1200 - 2130 (common at royal perth)

1200 - 2100

1230 - 2000

1230 - 2100 (common in rural NSW)

1300 - 2030

1300 - 2130 (standard for WA and NSW)

1300 - 2230

1300 - 2330

1400 - 2030

1400 - 2130

1400 - 2200

1400 - 2230 (standard in TAS and common in psych WA)

1500 - 2130 (annoyingly common in WA)

1500 - 2330

1600 - 2400 (common in rural WA)

1700 - 2330 (common in private WA hospitals)

1900 - 0730

2100 - 0200 (common in private WA)

2100 - 0700 (common in WA)

2100 - 0715 (common in private WA)

2100 - 0730 (standard in WA, NSW)

2130 - 0600

2200 - 0800 (standard in TAS)

2230 - 0700 (common in psych WA)

2300 - 0730

2345 - 0715

and you'll find just about every hospital has at least 2 options from AM/PM/ND listed above on its rosters, esp when you get into 'mother' shifts which are usually 0900 - 1430 to allow you to work while the kids are at school.

also while its a 38hr week, in WA you cant' get ADO's anymore unless you're an EN, or a VERY LUCKY RN. most of the time they make you do 8x8hrs and 2x6hr shifts during the fortnight which is a pain.

moral of the story is that you just have to contact the hospitals and ask them what their shift times are.

Also dont forget, in every state of australia and regardless of public/private, if they ask you to do a double the hospital has to feed you a main meal during your second shift. its in every single EBA in the country. and it makes sense, you're not supposed to take money to work in case it gets stolen, and you're only going to take 1 meal with you so its unreasonable for any place to expect you to go without for another 6-10hrs.

jseb · Apr 16, 2008

Thank you all :dncgbby:

masiagere · Apr 16, 2008

most places do compulsory rotating shifts, and compulsory nights during the year, (usually about 4 weeks). Royal Perth Hospital in WA offers 12hr emergency shifts, and there's a large chunk of hospitals australia wide that do 8/8/8 shifts all day, especially in psych. I can tell you for a fact ICU in TAS and in WA do the 8/8/10 shifts. now for the fun part, i've worked in WA, QLD, NSW and TAS so here's the shift times i've had to work
0600 - 1330
0645 - 1515 (rural QLD)
0700 - 1100
0700 - 1300 (common in WA)
0700 - 1430
0700 - 1500
0700 - 1530 (standard for WA and NSW)
0730 - 1600
1200 - 2130 (common at royal perth)
1200 - 2100
1230 - 2000
1230 - 2100 (common in rural NSW)
1300 - 2030
1300 - 2130 (standard for WA and NSW)
1300 - 2230
1300 - 2330
1400 - 2030
1400 - 2130
1400 - 2200
1400 - 2230 (standard in TAS and common in psych WA)
1500 - 2130 (annoyingly common in WA)
1500 - 2330
1600 - 2400 (common in rural WA)
1700 - 2330 (common in private WA hospitals)
1900 - 0730
2100 - 0200 (common in private WA)
2100 - 0700 (common in WA)
2100 - 0715 (common in private WA)
2100 - 0730 (standard in WA, NSW)
2130 - 0600
2200 - 0800 (standard in TAS)
2230 - 0700 (common in psych WA)
2300 - 0730
2345 - 0715
and you'll find just about every hospital has at least 2 options from AM/PM/ND listed above on its rosters, esp when you get into 'mother' shifts which are usually 0900 - 1430 to allow you to work while the kids are at school.
also while its a 38hr week, in WA you cant' get ADO's anymore unless you're an EN, or a VERY LUCKY RN. most of the time they make you do 8x8hrs and 2x6hr shifts during the fortnight which is a pain.
moral of the story is that you just have to contact the hospitals and ask them what their shift times are.
Also dont forget, in every state of australia and regardless of public/private, if they ask you to do a double the hospital has to feed you a main meal during your second shift. its in every single EBA in the country. and it makes sense, you're not supposed to take money to work in case it gets stolen, and you're only going to take 1 meal with you so its unreasonable for any place to expect you to go without for another 6-10hrs.

Hi

Just wondering if you could help with information on your experiences working in public health and private in WA

Thanks

talaxandra · Apr 17, 2008

Wow - leave a thread for a couple of days and it goes crazy!

I know the ADO/RDO thing's already been addressed but to be wholly accurate: Australia has a 38-hour work week but we work 40 hours (which we get paid for) so to compensate for those extra 2 hours per week, we also get a (paid) extra day off every 4 or 5 weeks (days and nights respectively).

Like others have mentioned, most clinical positions require working a variety of shifts and days, but employers are generally more flexible with part-time staff. If you onlywant to work set shifts there's always the option of bank or pool, where you're employed by a hospital but not a specific ward or department. You nominate your availablility and are either guaranteed those days (pool, which pays the same salary/shift as for ward nurses) of bank (less guarantee of work and a higher hourly rate in lieu of sick leave and annual leave).

nyapa, RN · Apr 17, 2008

Northern Territory checking in:

Alice Springs and Darwin do the 8/8/10 system as well. I'm talking about the public system...

And we have a PDO (rofl ADO,RDO, different strokes for different folks)

Means you have a crossover period between the morning and afternoon shifts of about 2 and a 1/2 hours. Really helps when you need to do big dressings etc.

Also if you work 4 nights, which is mandatory up here, per roster, then you get an extra day off as well, because you have worked 40 hours for that week

talaxandra · Apr 18, 2008

The cross-over/overlap period is also good for inservices and other education or meetings, and so that the AM and PM staff can go to tea together, which I think help create a stronger ward dynamic.

lisamaree · May 18, 2008

I just wanted to say....I am really enjoying 12 hr shifts :up: ( I experienced 8.5hr shifts as a student, but have been workin 12hrs since getting employment as an RN). The reason for this is I shifted cities to take up my RN role - moved to NZ's major paediatric hospital.

I think it's beneficial for the kids to have only 2 nurses per 24hr period - helps with consistency of care..and less messages etc getting 'lost in handover' :uhoh3: And I'm loving only working 3 days a week..sure some days off are spend recovering from night shifts - but its so different from friends back at home working standard shifts, who feel they're always at work!

Just my 2 cents! :twocents: