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?
I'm an over 40 nurse and I had to return to 8 hour shifts 5 days a week when I got a new job after years of working 3 12's a week.
This 5 day a week crap is killing me!!!!!! I feel like I am always working!!!!!! I'd give anything to be able to work 3 12 hour shifts a week again!!! It's the only way to go!!!!!
nothing to working 12's, worked 12 to 18 hours a day almost all my life. used to work harder and under much worse conditions in my prior career.will not even consider working 8's again. one hospital i loved to work at keeps asking me to come back but i won't because they only work 8's now. its there loss.
I must admit, I hate twelves, but I love the time off more, so currently I'm in the 3 twelve pattern. Lots of our RN's do 10's and 8's though, so I am not sure why we need to be exclusively twelves....
12's are eaisier on patients if you work direct bedside. The continuity of care is there, especially given that most pts are discharged in 1 to 3 days thanks to DRG's/HMO's...Less nurses for them to deal with. 2 nurses as oppose to 3 in 24 hrs.
As for myself (I'm early 30's), I found that when I worked on the floors, 12 hrs would practicaly kill me (3 in a row would really kill me). In other clinical areas, I can handle 12.
I also think that there should be a way to self-schedule, so everyone works their desired hours. I also belive in Santa, the tooth fairy, and safe stffing ratios (dreamer that I am)
I used to love 12's but now am looking for 3-11 again. I am just beat. The stinky hospital where I work only allows 12's (yet claims they are flexible) so I'm applying elsewhere and hopefully something will come around soon!!!
I would like to go back to 12s but they aren't offered in my unit (all of us pm shift people would want 7a-7p!). I worked in one unit where some beds were "8hrs" and some were "12hrs" - made staffing 8s and 12s on the same floor easier.
12s were sure great when my kid was young though - I worked every other night so that I could be room mother, scout leader, chauffer, etc. all day long and only sleep every other night! :zzzzz Also, with a 1-2 1/2 hour commute, there was less time wasted in traffic.
The reason I'd REALLY like 12s is so that I could return all of the "favors" that the dayshift does for me!
ALL I CAN SAY IS I LOVE MY 12 HR SHIFTS, WOULD NOT HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY............THOSE 8 HR SHIFTS 5 DAYS A WEEK DO NOT APPEAL TO ME WHAT SO EVER.....BUT EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT NEEDS RIGHT?
While in orientation I had the opportunity to work 12s, it made for a long day. However, at the end of most days I knew I had 3-4 days off to look forward to. I now work the evening shift 5 days a week, and it is the PITS! I feel like I live at work, it is slowly killing me. Tired all the time, have not had time to do anything but work for weeks. I am about to go out of my mind!
If my hospital went back to 8`s, I`d look for another job...It was suggested by some bean counters...then they could force us to do doubles.And I`m in the "older" force. I figure that I`m too old to work more than 3 days a week.....I`ve turned down offers at places i`d like to work because all they offered was 8`s.
I've been working 7A-7P for a long time now. I like them because of the extra days off and I get to work every third weekend instead of every other weekend. I am over 40 but still feel that I can keep up the pace. I only have to do 3 in a row every 6 weeks (Sat,Sun,Mon). I have been strongly thinking of cutting that Monday back to an 8 hr. shift, because 3 in a row really do tend to wipe me out. I sure wouldn't want to go back to all 8 hour shifts though.
PsychoRN
81 Posts
I'm an over 40 nurse and I had to return to 8 hour shifts 5 days a week when I got a new job after years of working 3 12's a week.
This 5 day a week crap is killing me!!!!!! I feel like I am always working!!!!!! I'd give anything to be able to work 3 12 hour shifts a week again!!! It's the only way to go!!!!!