Nurses and 12-Hour Shifts - How to Make the Best of Them

[Brian]

Whether you love them or hate them, 12-hour shifts are here to stay. For many new nurses, the thought of working a 12-hour shift can be overwhelming, intimidating and nerve-racking. But don't panic. Here are a few things you can do to make the most out of your 12-hour shift.

Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is one thing most nurses don't get enough of, and yet it is one of the most important things a nurse should do. Getting adequate sleep will make you more alert, recharged, and feel better all around, which will make your 12-hour shift a lot easier to manage. Adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, and can benefit your heart, weight, mind, and more.

Eat a Nutritious Meal

Whether your 12-hour shift begins in the morning or at night, eating a nutritious meal before your shift is vital. It is also important to remember to eat a meal during your shift instead of just snacking. Make sure your meals consist of foods that give you energy with healthy carbs and lean proteins such as Greek yogurt, whole grains, blueberries, eggs, nuts, and lean meats. Don't forget about vegetables. Dark leafy greens are a great source of vitamins and fiber.

Drink Enough Water

Because you are constantly moving, it is easy to become dehydrated during a 12-hour shift. Although your bladder may not appreciate this, it is important to drink water throughout your shift . With all the hustle and bustle of being a nurse, it might be hard for you to find the time to drink water, so we recommend that you keep a water bottle near by if you can.

Buy Good Shoes

Although good supportive shoes do cost a pretty penny, your back and feet will thank you for investing in a good pair of shoes! Healthy feet are among a nurse's most important assets. Working long hours on your feet make proper footgear not only helpful, but essential. Do your research before buying shoes. Ask your fellow nurses what brand and type of shoe they like best for work. When shopping for shoes, go to a shoe store with knowledgeable staff such as Scheels, Sports Authority, Dick's Sporting Goods, or Foot Locker. Sometimes, gel inserts or orthotics are necessary for comfort as well. This is especially true if you have flat feet, pronounced arches, or bad knees. The right shoes can help nurses focus solely on their patients instead of on tired and achy feet.

Take Breaks

One of the biggest concerns over the length of a 12 hour shift is fatigue, and its effect on safety and patient care. To alleviate fatigue, make sure you take your breaks. Sometimes, it is difficult to do, however, simply walking outside around the block, going off the floor and doing deep breathing, grabbing a yogurt or a protein snack, all helps to keep you alert.

Look on the Bright Side

You are doing the career of your dreams - the career you worked hard for in nursing school. Most of all, you are helping people that need your care. Let the knowledge that you are caring for people who are in great need of the skills that only a nurse can provide carry you through your shift. For those 12 hours they are under your care, be proud of the fact that you are their nurse.

Your first 12-hour shift may be a lot to handle at first but if you follow these tips, you may find in the future that you prefer 12 hour shifts over 8 hour shifts.

Do you have any advice for a nurse that is new to 12-hour shifts?

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

Work a 16-hour shift, and then 12's will seem like nothing. I hate working double shifts and won't do it unless I'm mandated as a nurse (I'm an aide in school).

Three days a week and four days off is SO much better than five 8's. Depending on how you schedule yourself, you can take mini vacations all the time (like work Sunday, Monday, Tuesday one week and then Thursday, Friday, Saturday the next gives you 8 days off to do something fun without having to take vacation days).

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

Some of us prefer ten-hour shifts. That wasn't an option in the poll so I picked 8. 12 is just too long of a shift- nurses pick 12s because it makes life outside work better (fewer commutes, more days off, fewer overnights...) but it's exhausting and there are more errors.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

The thing about 8-hour shifts is this: You can still DO something on a work day besides work, commute, sleep and shower. You can go to the grocery, make a dentist appointment, have a meal with your family. Not possible with 12-hour shifts unless you give up adequate sleep.

Sadly, 12-hour shifts are the standard at all the hospitals around here. My solution is to have two jobs. I work two, 12-hour nights in the PICU and two 8-hour nights as a PDN for a vent-dependent toddler. Still have three nights off, not but as exhausting as I found adding that third 12-hour shift to be.

I just wish there were options in the hospitals. We older nurses (I'm 58) are leaving the bedside over this very problem. I realize it's a logistical problem for the staffers, but it would keep older nurses at the bedside.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

I get misty-eyed thinking about 12s...sigh.

My current employer has 8s, discourages 8s, yet allows for doubles.

I intend to pick up 16s until I find my 12 hours again-I REFUSE to work five days...FAR more exhausting.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

Great Article Brian!!!! I really needed this because I'm returning to work after having a 9 days off. The thought of working 12 hours bring me down. Thankfully, I enjoy my job so it really isn't that bad. In a perfect world, I would work 3p-11p three days a week only.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

If my 12s were only 3 a wk, it would be great. But we currently go 4-6 shifts a wk. Just hired some nurses though. Hopefully will get better soon...3 nights as wek would be amazing. Now if we can just get censuses back up.

[1fastRN]

12 hours is worth it for the days off. 8 hours is less exhausting, but part of the reason I chose nursing was for the extra days off. 10 hours feels just right, but I can tough out an extra 2 hours to earn one more day off!

[macawake, MSN]

Some good tips for handling long shifts in this post! I think the advice is helpful for shorter shifts as well. Can’t go wrong with a good night’s (or day’s) sleep, nutritious food and comfortable shoes. Especially comfortable shoes

I like the idea of 12 hour shift to have more home time but I do think 12 hours is a very long time to be at work in a job that requires alertness and excellent judgement skill like nursing. In the latest issue of the Missouri State Board of Nursing magazine, there were two research articles dealing with this topic. There is overwhelming evidence that anything over 9 hours drastically increases the incidence of medication errors and personal injury to the nurse. That is a little worrisome to me. I currently work 12 hour shifts and it is difficult to get adequate rest between shifts esp with a 45 minute commute each way.

I’ve seen similar research but it indicated that ten hours was the limit after which a marked raise in mistakes was noticed. Not that it matters, I agree that twelve hours is tough and most likely not optimal from a safety standpoint.

I’m not sure I could do twelve hour shifts on a regular basis, at least not during the hectic day shifts with no downtime.

I’m Swedish and we have a slightly different schedule, more like your eight hour shifts but not quite.

Day shift is 7a-3.30p or 7a-4p; evening is 1.30p-9.30p or 2p-9.30p. Thirty minutes of the overlap in the afternoons is for report and the remaining 1.5 hour is earmarked for continuing education, seminars etc.

Night shift is 9p-7.15a = 10.25 hours. Fulltime nights is 32 hours per week so I work 3.1 nights/week or rather 31 shifts in a 10 week period. Fulltime days/eves are 38 hours/week which works out to almost five shifts per week I like my place of work but I don’t think I’d like it that many days a week. Absence makes the heart grow fonder… One of the many reasons I enjoy working nights.

[1fastRN]

Absence does make the heart grow fonder. I think I would honestly HATE my job if I was there 5 days a week. I need a mental break which is why I like 12s. We do 3x a week and then 4x a week for one week of the month. My week of four is usually rough and reminds me of why I like working so little each week. I still feel like I never leave work.

The safety standpoint is a good one. I stayed late one morning because we were short staffed. In exchange, my charge nurse said I could come in late the following night so I took the deal.

Mistake. I worked 16 HARD hours and ended up staying an extra hour to chart. I felt fuzzy and felt like my decision making skills were terrible. 16 hours is entirely too long especially where I work in the ER. Never doing that again, just doesn't feel safe. Some nurses routinely do it for OT but there is no way you can be on your toes for that amount of time!

[nekozuki, LPN]

I work 4 12's a week. It works for me because I'm young and without kids/pets/potted plants. It also allows me enough days off to go to school full-time.

I've been working 12's since I became a nurse, and my schedule in my previous career was just as insane, so I'm used to it. An eight hour shift feels like a waste of my day.

I work in private duty with infants or in small peds facilities with no more than 3 stable patients, so my job is pretty slow-paced most of the time. Were I running around on a hospital.floor, I'm sure I'd be singing a VERY different tune.

[zacarias, ASN, RN]

At a hospital in CA there are nurses that do 24 hour shifts (a 12-hour double). I am pretty sure that is illegal. Should I notify the state or and/or JC?

[Wrench Party]

Love my 12s, especially when I work a mix of days and evenings. I like working 2 in a row, 1 off, 1 on. I used to work a 9-5 type job and I hated always having to waste time commuting and planning so many things after work. The weekend never felt long enough.