8 hour shifts?

Fiona59 · Oct 22, 2017

Staff burnout?

My health authority is seeing a demand for 8s. The rotations changed and the long stretches of time off disappeared. The young ones have children and can't find childcare.

quiltynurse56, LPN, LVN · Oct 22, 2017

Why not? Apparently you have an issue with 8 hour shifts.

I know so many nurses who would rather work 8 hours if they could. Think about it, you work 1, 2, or 3 12 hour shifts, sometimes in a row and the first day off, you are worth nothing. Now if you spread the days out, think about the toll it takes on your life. I have worked 12 hour shifts and I find that by about the 9th or 10th hour, I am very sluggish and that is not good for patient safety.

There are pros and cons to both shift lengths. If you want a 12 hour shift, keep looking for one.

wtpsych · Oct 22, 2017

Why not? Apparently you have an issue with 8 hour shifts.
I know so many nurses who would rather work 8 hours if they could. Think about it, you work 1, 2, or 3 12 hour shifts, sometimes in a row and the first day off, you are worth nothing. Now if you spread the days out, think about the toll it takes on your life. I have worked 12 hour shifts and I find that by about the 9th or 10th hour, I am very sluggish and that is not good for patient safety.
There are pros and cons to both shift lengths. If you want a 12 hour shift, keep looking for one.

i have never seen this before in a hospital setting.

i am currently working 8 hour shifts but in a correctional facility, from 6am to 2pm. i would love an 8 hour day shift hospital gig, but most of the openings i see are evening or night. i would never be able to see my family or spouse working 3pm to 11pm or 11pm to 7am. was just curious, that's all.

quiltynurse56, LPN, LVN · Oct 24, 2017

i have never seen this before in a hospital setting.
i am currently working 8 hour shifts but in a correctional facility, from 6am to 2pm. i would love an 8 hour day shift hospital gig, but most of the openings i see are evening or night. i would never be able to see my family or spouse working 3pm to 11pm or 11pm to 7am. was just curious, that's all.

Okay, that makes your question much clearer.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2017

Because it works for the hospital (the hospital wouldn't hire for 8 hr shifts if it didn't)? Because they can choose whatever staffing plan they want, so long as it's legal? Because some people prefer a "normal" shift length?

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2017

i have never seen this before in a hospital setting.
i would never be able to see my family or spouse working 3pm to 11pm or 11pm to 7am. was just curious, that's all.

I've been working 8 hr shifts for 4 years at my current hospital (urban, level 1 trauma center, comprehensive stroke center, regional burn center...)

Fair point about pm's/noc's though. If I worked FT (I'm very PT) I wouldn't want those shifts either.

MunoRN, RN · Oct 24, 2017

Day shifters often prefer 8 hour shifts, but that's sort of irrelevant since it's night shifters that are most impacted by shift length which then determines the number of nights worked per week. Working 5 nights per week instead of 3 greatly increases the health risks and cumulative fatigue affecting night shift workers.

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Oct 24, 2017

When I first started I worked 8 hour shifts and loved it. I was day shift but didn't mind working 3-11 if needed. I felt I could do anything for 8 hours, even if I was feeling cruddy (we all know how they are about call offs. Take some Tylenol and/or whatever and get yourself in here). 12s are another story.

Three 12s feeling cruddy will make you even sicker and if you needed a doctor, the wait is now that much longer.

8s I could come home and make dinner and unwind. 12s I would have to cook for 3 days worth of meals the day before and plate it out for hubby to microwave for everyone and me to eat when I got home and showered after 9 pm. My days off were spent cooking and doing house work because I didn't have time to do it after work. Oh, and arranging child care for 12s is still a total nightmare. No before/aftercare works around those hours.

The only 8 hours I see around here are LTC and after a brief stent in that, never again. I don't see them coming here anytime soon either. Bottom line is it's easier to arrange staffing for two shifts a day than three. I remember many times being asked if I could stay until 7. Then if they couldn't get a night shifter to come in early at 6 I would get another call from the office asking if I could stay until 11. I loved my job and my coworkers/supervisors so if I could I did. Plus, I had a lot more energy when I was in my 20s and no children to worry about with childcare.

FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2017

My hospital does both 12s and 8s. I prefer 8s. I pick up extra 7 to 3 shifts all the time. I don't like working 3 to 11.

HeySis, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2017

When I started in nursing it was all 8 hour shifts (and each shift wrote their nurses notes in a different color ink so you could easily look and deliniate each 24 hour period).

Going to 12's was hard for me and I still don't love them, luckily I normally work a mix of 10's and 8's at my current place.

When everything was 8 hour shifts most of the newbies started on the 3-11, then with time would move to a day position... had to pay those dues first. In all the facilities I worked the 11pm-7am shift were the older nurses, lots of seniority, experience and tired of dealing with admins, they just wanted to do their jobs without anyone looking over their shoulder and without the politics. The other group that preferred the nights was mom's with little kids that were trying to avoid daycare.... hubby at home at night while they worked... I often wondered when these women every slept.

I loved 7-3 because I still had the to stop and the bank or get the kids to an appointment after work, really hard to do now with 8:30-5 or 9-7:30's I do now... which mean the one day I have off during the week is spent doing business and taking care of appointments.

sparticus2008 · Oct 31, 2017

In Australia most common shift pattern is

AM: 7-3.30

PM: 1.00 -9.30 and

night: 9-7

so a mix of 8&10

some specialty areas such as ICU, ED & midwifery do 12 hours