New Nurse Exhausted from Extremely Long Shifts? Help?

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I just became an LPN and I recently got my first job! It's been great so far, but we are desperately understaffed (a common trend I've learned) and I have been working some very long shifts to help out. I'll be honest, the past couple of weeks have been brutal. I've been coming into work at 5 in the morning, and I haven't been leaving until past midnight almost everyday. I'm completely beat at this point and just tired of being on my feet every waking moment of my life... My coworkers keep asking me to pick up shifts, and I'm too nervous to say no. I'm on my 9th shift straight and I worked over 100 hours last week! My legs actually gave out walking up the stairs the other day and some of the older nurses laughed at me saying I can't handle the pressure...the paychecks have been awesome! But my body just can't keep this up.* Are hours like this normal at hospitals?! I really like and need this job, but I'm not sure I can handle it...

Specializes in peds, allergy-asthma, ob/gyn office.

I am pretty sure this is in violation of labor laws, and is certainly not safe for you or the patients. My husband, who works in manufacturing/chemicals, recently worked similiar hours to this for nearly a month. Two paychecks in a row had 174 and 178 hours on them. He was limited by the rules of his company to 16 hours, but he had lots of those days.. or even mere 14 hour days, with no off days. It was a highly stressful, toxic work environment on a huge project. Given that we are in our 40s, I really feared what this would do to him. In the end, he lost 10 lbs off his already too-slim 6 ft 2 150 lb frame. He had to go on anxiety medication, and took about 3 months to even start gaining the weight back.

The type of hours you are working are not sustainable. Your facility seems to be troubled and I would look for work elsewhere if this situation is the norm.

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If it's LTC the understaff will never EVER change, if it's does it's short-term. I've been an LPN since 09, I started out LTC and would pick up extra shifts and wore myself thin, it isn't worth it. YES THE $$ IS AMAZING, but in the end isn't worth the fatigue. After several years of long hours, the stress, and being burn out I had to switch. I took a $5 pay cut to happy, stress-free, and not be in constant worry about my license :) hugs hang in there!

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Specializes in LTC, Med-surg.

My LTC facility is also terribly understaffed as well. I pick up double shifts 2-3x a week but always try to get day off after doing a double to recharge. Doing back to back doubles is not good..at that point judgment wanes. Don't feel at all obligated to sign up because of their situation. They won't have your back if you make a terrible mistake that cost your license...

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I honestly think this OP is not telling the truth here. Coming into work at 5 and leaving at midnight a couple of days in a row, would mean that the OP had a max of three hours of sleep. If you consider an hour to get home and change and get to sleep and an hour to get ready and drive to work. If this is true, you are more than likely working against your BON rules, which should be reported. What you are doing is extremely dangerous and could kill someone. Unless you are loading yourself up on energy supplements, there is no way the human body could work 100 hours a week, and still be alert enough to practice nursing. Either you are majorly exaggerating here, or you are working illegally (your own fault); for your sake and the sake of your patients, I hope it is exaggeration.

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Check out this terrifying collection of connection errors (not the only sort of error one can make, but frequently among the most deadly) that the FDA has collected. Notice how many of them say that the error was committed by a staff member completing a double shift. DO NOT BE THAT STAFF MEMBER. Get some sleep!

Examples of Tubing and Luer Misconnections

That site....wow. I feel sick to my stomach.
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I don't see what the issue is. You are doing this to yourself.

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OP, I was exactly like you when I got my first job in LTC with 4 whole hours of orientation because the facility was horribly understaffed. I was always the "go to" nurse because I too worked 80+ hours a week because I couldn't say "NO." I worked 21 days of mostly doubles straight without a day off and became so exhausted I was dangerously close to being hospitalized. You know what made me start saying "NO" though? When the DNS and Administrator came to me one morning after a 16 hour shift and made me the oh so generous offer of buying my lunch if I would stay and work the day shift. I told them that not only was I exhausted and would not put my residents or myself at risk, but what they were asking was illegal. They did not care one iota about me or the residents. They just needed a warm body with a pulse. I had no problem saying "NO" after that.

You wanna' know what kind of thanks I got when I finally wised up and put in my two weeks notice? I got black balled by the Administrator. I could not get a job in any other LTC owned by that management company although I worked out my entire notice. Start saying "NO" because you are just a warm body to them. They obviously do not care about you or the residents. I wouldn't feel one tiny ounce of guilt. Just say "NO!" Got that? ;)

How about your breakfast? What did they say were the reasons they were not hiring you? Did you ever ask the owners of the company about this and get to explain your side of the story to them?

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

You're a sucker. Learn to say no. You're going to kill yourself with that kind of schedule. Is it worth your health to work like that? No, it's not. Keep working like that and you only have yourself to blame for the consequences. The 'nice' money you're earning will all go to pay for your medical bills later on when your body gives out by the time you're 30. And what life do you have working so much without any free time to enjoy yourself?

Think about what you're doing to yourself.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
I don't think there's a shoe made that will make a 100 hour week not killer on the feet.

I second everybody who said that you are heading for an error- probably a dumb error you would never, never make while well-rested- if you keep this up.

Check out this terrifying collection of connection errors (not the only sort of error one can make, but frequently among the most deadly) that the FDA has collected. Notice how many of them say that the error was committed by a staff member completing a double shift. DO NOT BE THAT STAFF MEMBER. Get some sleep!

Examples of Tubing and Luer Misconnections

Wow!! Just wow. Thank you for sharing that site. Some of the errors I can see how they happened especially with extraneous factors like double shifts, family members, and some of the other reasons listed. But a lot of those errors confirms my belief that nursing is NOT for everyone as it requires a lot of attention to detail, being careful in everything you do, and common sense.

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