8hr Shifts vs 12hr Shifts

dogmom2016 · Feb 9, 2017

LOVE my 8's! I'm with you - I like the overtime after 8 hours. I can do a 10 easily but those 12's kill me. My new job requires 3 12 hour shifts once a month, 3 days in a row. I know I can do it but I bet the first few are a killer.

foggnm · Feb 9, 2017

There is tons of research that shows how 12 hour shifts aren't the best for your health. I have found most inpatient nurses I've worked with prefer 12s (especially those with small children). Personally, I'm a fan of the 8 hour shift. It is in the top of my list of reasons I no longer do hospital work. I don't like getting home after 8pm and being so physically exhausted and wound up (at the same time) that I can't go to sleep until after midnight, then have to get up at 6am and do it again. Getting home at a regular time gives you opportunity to exercise, eat healthy, spend time with friends/family, and get to bed at a reasonable hour. Sure having 4 days off per week is fun, but it isn't as if you can take a vacation to the beach every week. I would rather work 5 days per week and get weekends and holidays off. It is a much more 'balanced' way of living in my opinion. But almost all inpatient work is 12 hours for nurses.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 9, 2017

Prefer eight hour shifts because they allow for a second job, having a life, perhaps getting enough rest, and not having to deal with employers cheating me out of the state labor law mandated overtime pay.

Really?

Working three 12s allows for four days off per week vs two days. With twelves, I am able to schedule myself so that I have stretches of days off (four to eight days) and in those stretches, I can work more hours.

Plus I am more likely to pick up if I have four free days vs only two.

I would only work five days a week as a school nurse because I'd have three months off in the summer, two weeks off in the winter, one or two weeks off in the spring and no weekends or holidays ever.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Feb 9, 2017

I loved, loved, loved 12-hour shifts when I was a floor nurse. Nobody would have wanted to see what occurred if management tried to pry them from my stiff fingers!

When I worked the floor, I simply did not want to see patients or their verbally abusive families five days a week. I did not wish to see my managers or coworkers five days a week. I did not want to be at work five days a week.

I preferred a compressed schedule of three 12-hour shifts to facilitate having four days off each week. I also enjoyed two 16-hour weekend double shifts to receive five days off in a row every week.

But five 8-hour shifts every week at the bedside? I have been there, done that, and it was hell on earth for me. I would not want to do it again unless I was at impending risk of becoming homeless.

Icooka4u · Feb 9, 2017

I prefer 12hrs (unless I'm on a 16hr weekend contract). I got quicker opportunities for overtime. I'm naturally an eve/night person.

popopopo · Feb 9, 2017

I wouldn't do 8 hours shift for the charting alone. Imagine making those care plans and multiple redundant assessments 5x a week!

marcellahays1 · Feb 9, 2017

I much rather have 8 hour shifts. The reason is the following:

1. Eight hours is less than 12 hours.

2. The work load would be done at a good rate at eight hours versus working 12 long hours.

3. I enjoy and much prefer working 8 hour days because mentally it seems more better to my mind.

4. If I had to work a 12 hour day, my brain and my body would hurt and I would definitely have a harder time getting out of bed.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Feb 9, 2017

The hospital I work at is thinking of switching from 8 hour shifts to 12 hour shifts. I personally prefer to work 8 hour shifts because:
1. There is less of a chance that I'll have to work days (I hate working days).
2. I only work part time and I feel like if we start working 12 hour shifts I'll get less hours since there are less nurses needed to cover each shift.
3. When I work overtime (16 hour shift) I get paid for 8 hours of overtime instead of 4 hours if I were to work 12 hour shifts.
4. The unit I work on is an extremely busy orthopedic floor and I am usually exhausted after working 8 hours.
5. I live about 35 minutes from the hospital I work at so my 8 hour work day usually turns into a 9 hour (or more) workday. If I were to work 12 hour shifts I would have just enough time to shower and sleep before going back to work.
I think if I was full time I would prefer 12 hour shifts so I could have more days off but since I am only part time, 8 hour shifts work just fine for me. Does anyone else prefer 8 hour shifts?

Your unit is going to require approximately the same FTEs to cover the shifts, so I don't see your hours being cut. I don't think you need to worry about being forced to work days, either. Unless you've somehow screwed up so that management feels they need to keep a closer eye on you. (Some examples: bedside nurse placed a central line on night shift because he was in NP school and "knew how.", nurse found sleeping more than once, nurse posted photos of his co-workers sleeping on FaceBook -- and they retaliated by posting multiple photos of him sleeping.)

Your overtime policies may vary -- WILL vary -- over the course of your career. Best not to depend upon it.

You'll only be exhausted three days a week instead of five. And yes, working 12s means all you do that day is work and sleep. But you'll have four complete days off a week.

Guest1005876 · Feb 9, 2017

Your post made my day... LOL

motor_mouth, MSN, RN · Feb 9, 2017

They both have their pros and cons. I've worked three 12's in the past (not as a nurse) and loved it except for not being able to do anything except work and sleep those days. I currently work four 8's and don't mind it. I like being able to do things after work. I wish I got overtime for working 16's! I'd pick up more shifts. No overtime unless I work over 40 hours a week, so 2 extra shifts in a week. Yup, probably not happening.

Phil-on-a-bike · Feb 10, 2017

8's all the way!

My department includes staff who work 8-hr shifts and staff who work 12's.

I've heard the "I only work three days a week!" mantra many times. Here's something to think about, though:

At the end of those three 12-hr shifts... I take handover from those staff.

They're visibly exhausted, flustered, distracted, disorganized, short-tempered and dishevelled.

Here's the bottom line, 12-hourers: You're a train wreck.

And the thing is: you don't see it!

You don't see it, because it's crept up on you gradually over thirty-six hours of solid work.

But it's immediately apparent to the rest of us.

And - no offence - but I don't want to look like that.

I've done my share of 12-hour shifts.

I was in my twenties, very fit, highly motivated, full of energy and for all I know, quite possibly bulletproof.

Plus, I was working overseas, and I wanted those extra days off to Road Trip my new surroundings.

And short term, it was perfectly viable.

I know better than to think I could pull it off now!

There's another point: we are - supposedly - an evidence-led profession.

The evidence is hard to quantify, because we're mostly looking at subjective, quality-of-life criteria, but: what data there is associates longer shifts with increased incidences of poor care, adverse events, patient safety issues, and occupational hazards such as needlesticks and musculoskeletal injuries.

link to a Nursing Times article citing some of those findings: The 12-hour shift: friend or foe? | Practice | Nursing Times

foggnm · Feb 10, 2017

8's all the way!
Here's the bottom line, 12-hourers: You're a train wreck.
I've done my share of 12-hour shifts.
I was in my twenties, very fit, highly motivated, full of energy and for all I know, quite possibly bulletproof.

I totally agree. 12s are for the young. And I think most nurses really don't see how the 12s affect them over time. I know after being on 8s for a month my sleep returned to completely normal patterns (and I worked 12 hour days). I didn't find myself waking up 3-4 times per night. Oh it is so much better! But to each their own! It is much easier for hospitals to schedule people in 12 hour blocks!