What's so stressful about working 3, 12hr shifts?

tokidoki7, ASN, RN · Jul 28, 2009

I"m a nursing assistant and I work 3-12 hour shifts. I'm on my feet all day and plus I have to physically move patients (with assistance of course!). When I space those 3 days apart, it's managable because I can rest for a day or two. But when you do 3-12's in a row, it can become very exhausting- PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY. I'm speaking for myself, it could be different for others.

ArtisticAthlete · Jul 28, 2009

I"m a nursing assistant and I work 3-12 hour shifts. I'm on my feet all day and plus I have to physically move patients (with assistance of course!). When I space those 3 days apart, it's managable because I can rest for a day or two. But when you do 3-12's in a row, it can become very exhausting- PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY. I'm speaking for myself, it could be different for others.

So, if you were stronger do you think it would be that exhausting? I'm a 6ft basketball player; I can picture myself moving patients, w/ help, and not becoming that exhausted. Besides, all patients don't have to be moved, right? I don't know...I could be mistaken. Just wondering...

And, of course, I'll never really know until once I start but this is just what I'm thinking.

elkpark · Jul 28, 2009

Working as an RN is v. different from working as a CNA. A lot less "heavy lifting," and a lot more thinking and accountability. Yes, most people work >40 hours a week, but "most people" don't have jobs where peoples' lives depend on how well you do your job. Nursing is v. demanding, emotionally and psychologically. Nowadays, more than ever, in many settings, you're putting your license on the line every day you go to work (you never know at what moment you're suddenly going to find yourself in a situation where you'll face state disciplinary action or a lawsuit if you make the wrong call in a difficult, complicated, ambiguous situation). You are responsible to clients/families, physicians, administrators/supervisors, and your state regulatory board, who often have competing agenda and expectations/demands. You have a great deal of accountability but, in most cases, not much control over your working conditions. It's a lot of balls to juggle ...

GilaRRT · Jul 28, 2009

You have got to be kidding!?!? Perhaps you could make comments about a nurses work schedule after you actually spend a few years working the said schedule?

The problem is you assume that 36 hours is the end point for a nurses week. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. When I worked ER, it was not uncommon for me to see 20 or more patients in a shift. Unfortunately, after 12 hours of being on my feet, I was at work for a couple more hours charting. So, it is not uncommon for the average nurse to spend well over 12 hours at work.

Even so, the real stress is from being under 12 hours of constant stress. It is hard to describe the feeling one gets when they walk into the ER and see all beds full with multiple ventilators, a flight crew on the way, and a hallway full of moaning and screaming patients and family members. Then, if you are lucky, you can break free after 12 hours to catch up on charting, and perhaps go home a couple of hours later.

Then, throw in mandatory staff meetings, monthly meetings, and update meetings on your days off. Also consider continuing education, conferences, and mandatory updates. Currently, I have to keep track of RN (In four different states), BLS, ACLS, PALS, PHTLS, TNCC, CEN, CFRN, ASLS, CCEMTP, NREMT, CRM, and NVG credentials. All expire at different dates, and much of the re-credential process occurs on my days off.

ohmeowzer RN, RN · Jul 28, 2009

i will not flame you.. i promise.. i hope.......... 12 hours with 6 patients , tons of meds , family members calling you screaming at you, 3 pages of orders for each patient, consents to be signed, your pt coding ( sometimes 2 at a time) , answering alot of phone calls, calling docs , critical labs , no lunch , no poty break , not a drink for 12 hours ( no drinks at the nurses station) ,,........ you never sit down ,,..... if you do eat it's 5 minutes and then you get called to the front nurses station to talk to the doc, you just get back to your charting and you get a phone call from a family member ( the 5th phone call so far for that pt the day and it 0900) ......... you just have no idea the stress.. by the 3rd day you are so exhausted from the stress , and being on your feet for 12 hours. sometimes i am there 3 extra hours charting so i don't get home until 2300 and have to be up at 0500 to be back at work the next day. i work 36 and get paid for 40 hours... don't judge until you've walked a mile in my ted hose , and shoes............. people have no idea the extent of nurses and how hard we work and the high standards we have to uphold. nurses have a standard of practice we keep , it's not like working at a grocery store or computers . we deal with people's lives and we must keep our standard of practice high. so the stress is on , we expected by our code of ethics to uphold our high standard of practice. these are people's lives and we take a oath to take good care of people and cause no harm. sure i could work in computers 60 hours and not be tired, but that requires no critical thinking skills , you don;t have to asses a computer to see if it's in resp distress or having a heart attack..,,,,,,, you don;t have to put in on a nitro drip or hang a heparing gtt on it to keep it from having arrythimias. you don;t have to know the blood clotting time of a mc donald's hamburger.. or make sure a drain pipe has the right amount of potassium or magnesium in it's blood stream to be sure it's heart rythmn is sinus ......... nurses work hard and we are not whiners....,,,,,,,, we can save your life we are well educated in medicine and can make a critical assesment ,, we deal with making people better........ we are your advocate for good health care.......... be sure to thank your nurse next time your in the hospital... she will be grateful........... nursing is still considered a act of charity.. we take care of all people the same, rich , poor , middle class ,,....... we just are there to help..........

GilaRRT · Jul 28, 2009

Thats why we have Allnurses! We can come here and whine, complain, and bicker. :smokin: :lghmky:

Better here than a bunch of unemployed nurses.

ohmeowzer RN, RN · Jul 28, 2009

Thats why we have Allnurses! We can come here and whine, complain, and bicker. :lghmky:
Better here than a bunch of unemployed nurses.

amen !! :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah:

missninaRN · Jul 28, 2009

Twelve hours is just a really long time to be responsible for the lives of 7 or more people. Things can change very quickly, pt family members can drain the very life out of you, and constantly being pulled in many directions is draining.

Studies have shown that our ability to concentrate and think clearly drops significantly long before those 12 hours are up. By about 4 or 5 PM, I'm feeling really fuzzy-brained and that just happens to be the time when I usually start getting slammed with one admit after another until end of shift.

And in reality, those 12 hour shifts are more than 12 hours. I get to work around 6:30 AM and on a good day I'm out by 7:30 PM-on a bad day, well, you don't really want to know, but it's not unusual for at least one nurse each shift to have the day from heck and end up with a shift that stretches into 14 hours.

Then factor in drive time, time for eating supper when I get home (and I'm pretty sure that eating supper after 8 PM cannot be good for my digestion!), and time for my brain to slow down enough to let me relax, and there's precious little time left for sleep before I'm up with the alarm at 5 AM the next morning.

I do that 2 or 3 days in a row. By my first day off, I'm exhausted. By the time that I'm recovered and feeling energetic and hopeful again, it's back to work time.

And I do exercise regularly. I eat an excellent diet. I pack healthy snacks for work and try to refuel every 2 or 3 hours. It's just the stress of 12 hours that tears me down. The job is physical, yes, but it's also mentally and emotionally draining.

I've reached the conclusion that hospital nursing is not conducive to a healthy lifestyle. I'm out of there as soon as I can find something better.

Katnip, RN · Jul 28, 2009

Those 12 hour shifts are long. It's not just the physical exhaustion. There's always an emotional and intellectual component. You have to be on your toes and alert that entire time. If you're lucky in that 12 hours you might get a 1/2 hour meal break, but they're often cut short. You're dealing with a lot of people and being constantly bombarded by demands from all sides-ancillary staff, docs, patients, patient family and friends, administration.

You are dealing with life and death every single shift. Those people you're taking care of are relying on you to take care of them and get it all right, every single time. They are literally putting their lives in your hands. If you're lucky, you'll get to witness a healthy new life brought into the world, but most it will be death you face, sometimes it will be brutal, and useless.

Nurses are often spat at, cursed, threatened with bodily harm or lawsuits. Depending on where you work, you get little support from administration.

One day in our ED we wore pedometers just to see how many miles we put in. On an ordinary shift we came in at 14-16 miles. Few other industries put that many miles in a day.

Yeah. All that can add up to a hard day. But honestly, somehow in the long run, it's worth it.

ArtisticAthlete · Jul 28, 2009

You have got to be kidding!?!? Perhaps you could make comments about a nurses work schedule after you actually spend a few years working the said schedule?
The problem is you assume that 36 hours is the end point for a nurses week. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. When I worked ER, it was not uncommon for me to see 20 or more patients in a shift. Unfortunately, after 12 hours of being on my feet, I was at work for a couple more hours charting. So, it is not uncommon for the average nurse to spend well over 12 hours at work...

Uuummm...I'm assuming you missed the bold disclaimer at the beginning of the thread? I'm going to assume you did. I'm not trying to downplay what nurses do so, chill, relax and get over yourself! I just asked you to explain what goes on during your 12hr shifts that make it so "stressful/demanding - physically and mentally". You taking offense to that is ridiculous. Relax.

But, thanks for the info.

i will not flame you.. i promise.. i hope.......... 12 hours with 6 patients , tons of meds , family members calling you screaming at you, 3 pages of orders for each patient, consents to be signed, your pt coding ( sometimes 2 at a time) , answering alot of phone calls, calling docs , critical labs , no lunch , no poty break , not a drink for 12 hours ( no drinks at the nurses station) ,,........ you never sit down ,,..... if you do eat it's 5 minutes and then you get called to the front nurses station to talk to the doc, you just get back to your charting and you get a phone call from a family member ( the 5th phone call so far for that pt the day and it 0900) .........

Now, those are some good examples. Excellent post! :up:

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 28, 2009

As you can see from the posts above ... It's not just a matter of being physically working for 12 hours ... it's also the psychological/mental/emotional exhaustion of being under pressure for 12 hours.

Chess players get exhausted. Taking a major exam can be exhausting. Going to a funeral can be exhausting. etc. NOT because of the physical exertion, but because of the mental and emotional exertion. Working a 12-hour shift is both physically demanding and also mentally/emotionally demanding.

Yes, being in good physical shape can help -- as can being in good psychological shape.