How many consecutive 12-hour shifts do you consider safe?

[09NewGrad]

When I was in school I always thought that two consecutive 12-hour shifts was the most I ever wanted to do because I always felt so worn out doing 12 hour shifts doing my preceptorship my senior year.

At my current job that I started in October, they have me doing three 12-hour shifts in a row, I get one night off in between, then I do three more 12-hour shifts in a row, I get a week off, and then I repeat the process all over again. I am getting worn out, burned out, and the week off isn't worth the LONG week of work. It doesn't feel safe and I get so extremely exhausted, especially on the 6th 12 hour shift. I finally talked to my manager about it and she said she would see what she can do about my schedule, but nothing has happened yet.

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Once again, I'll repeat myself this is a matter of preference and individuality, what works for one it might not for another medical staff. However, as nursing management I am still weary regarding the safety of our patients, in addition,the mental & physical of my staff

[guiltysins]

From what I've seen, there's a difference it seems between people who work days and people who work nights. My dad works IT at a hospital nights and he does 3 12's and 1 4hr shift all back to back, he doesn't really have a problem with it, but he said he would NEVER do that if he worked days. He could even do a little overtime if he feels like it, but he's been doing it for 12 years so it's programmed into his brain. In fact on his days off sometimes he can't sleep during the night cause he's so use to being up.

Also, it depends on the unit for the most part and patient load. I think it'll be harder if you work on a hectic unit with a high nursing to patient ratio.

[whipping girl in 07, RN]

I used to regularly work 5-8 12s in a row on night shift, occasionally starting my long stretch of work with a 16. I never felt unsafe and I had no problem sleeping during the day. However, when I switched to days, 4 12s in a row was about all I could handle.

Now I work 10s and I usually work 3 or 4 in a row but I occasionally do 6 before a long stretch off. I start getting cranky about day 5.