How did nursing ever "buy into" 12-hr shifts???

Nurses General Nursing

Published

  1. Do 12 shifts help or hurt Nursing, as a profession or as individuals?

    • 51
      Helps nursing profession, and is good for individuals
    • 26
      Helps nursing profession but difficult for individuals
    • 10
      Hurts nursing as a profession but is good for individuals.
    • 37
      Hurts nursing as a profession and is not good for individual nursing
    • 34
      12 shifts have no effect either way on the professionalism of Nursing
    • 4
      who cares? it's just a job!

162 members have participated

My unit has lost four nurses to other non-hospital jobs, so the nurses can be home in the evening with their young children.

How did we ever get to 12 hour shifts?

How do we get OUT of them???

I only see them benifiting the hospitals or young nurses w/o families who enjoy the extra days off.

12 hrs nearly kill off us 'over forty' nurses, in sheer physical exhaustion

(my first day off is spent w/ feet up and naps, recouperatiing...)

12 hrs means gone before children go to school and gone when they come home and go to bed.

12 hr shifts leave so many of us so tired and 'burned out' that it is difficult to care about the Profession of Nursing, like participation in our nursing organizations, getting quality CEUs, etc.

QUESTION: are 12 hr shifts helping or hurting the nursing profession?

Haze

i love twelves ,even worked 16's once. it gives me so much more time off to do things its like a vacation everyweek!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

8's are the norm in the UK, 12's are seen as an anachronism, dating back to Victorian working conditions. I don't see how you can function effectively or safely after 12 0r 16! hours. Wow!

12's do make the manager's job simpler.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Everything except surgery.

I LUV working 12hr shifts!!! I have worked 8's, and hate having to work 5 days/nites a week!!! If the assignment is for 8's...I don't even consider it! I went to work last nite, and the first 4hrs flew by so fast...I felt like I had just got there! The only time I don't like 12hrs is when the unit is slow....and the time drags on forever! But as we all know...on a busy med-surg unit...that is rarely the case. And give me 16hrs day/nite where all I have to do is work two 16hrs, and one 8!!! Perfect IMHO..:)! Many times I have had a schedule that allowed me to take off 5 or even 6 days together...which feels like mini vacations!! Having only two days/nites off each week..is a drag!

I guess that is why I rarely feel the need to take off...a day/nite...to get some mental health time in..:cool:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice, Critical Care.

Brownie, I completely agree!

I LOVE 12-hour shifts!! I did five 8 hours shifts a day for seven months and HATED it! Hated it! I wouldn't consider five 8-hour days again and I'd probably LEAVE nursing if I had to!! Work 3 days and be off 4 days---how can that be bad?! And I'm in the "over-40 crowd" with children at home. Yeah, my legs hurt and my feet hurt but heck, I can recover on my 4 days off! Most of the staff at my facility seem to feel the same way; I know we'd lose a bulk of our nurses in ICU if they tried to make us go back to working five 8 hour days. During the rough times, many of my co-workers said they only thing that kept them there WAS the 12-hour shifts. And it does carry full benefits.

12-hour shifts...best thing that ever happened to me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I can barely get through 8 hrs - forget 12's. I don't think I could physically get through 1- 12 hr shift, let alone 3 a week. I've been in nursing for 30+ years and I'm tired! By-the-by, have you ever tried to find staffing to cover a 12 hr nurse's call-off? Especially on a weekend? That is not fun.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I prefer 12 hours and will never work at a facility that requires staff to work 8s. 2 days off is not enough to recoup from M-F!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

I think everyone ought to be given their individual CHOICE. It makes for a scheduling headache for management (a LOT of those troublesome 4-hour "holes") but the nurses are sure a lot happier and tend to stick around. Heck, a lot of nurses are doing this anyway--going agency--which gives THEM their CHOICE of hours, shifts, etc.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Obstetrics, M/S, Psych.

Another vote for 12's here. I can't imagine going back to 8's. It is so nice to have a life!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

l'm 45.....l work 12's in a busy ER....8 hrs seems like a walk in the park now.....l like being off...more time away...LR

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Women's health & post-partum.

I personally would enjoy the freedom of 12-hour days, but as one of the "over forty" crowd, I know I couldn't keep up the pace in today's tight staffing.

By the way, has anyone seen the article in the Aug 12 issue of Nurseweek entitled "Changing Tides", subtitled "Nurses are buoyed by new evidence that shows more RN vigilance, knowledge and training play an important part of saving lives--and hospital costs." It goes on to cite research that proves what we always knew about staffing and patient outcome.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

James, l missed that...but then we've always known.....problem is imho, that hospitals don't care as much about pt outcomes as much as the bottom line....LR

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I like my 12's just don't like more than 3 in a row. I do love it when the 8-5's bring up that I seem crabby on mondays after working 3 12's and at our facility you are the housekeeper, maintaince man, plumber, security guard, tour guide, info desk, and oh yeah a NURSE! Weekends are the worst to work 3 in a row. But I do enjoy my days off during the week and my weekends off everyother. I get a lot of things done and can enjoy my time off without the stress of being at work 5 days a week. JMHO Nurse Hag

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment