Who came up with the idea of 12 HOUR SHIFTS?

nakeia · Jan 18, 2010

i love the 12's but since when did they have to start at 630 in the morning!! what about a 9a-9p?? I can do that. Plus, when you work nights you are basically working TWO days... hellllo people!! lol

Blackheartednurse · Jan 18, 2010

Yep,for some it is a great news and for some it is a huge struggle,especially for the babyboomer RNs..I have read in one of the articles where it says that the cancellation of all of the 12 hours shift would greatly contribute to the retention of older nurses who in future would like to retire,instead they could do a 8-hour or 6 hour shifts rather than leaving profession all together but that creates other problems such as handling off patients. But on the other hand 12 hour shifts are family friendly so it is hard to come up with the perfect work hours for our profession. I personally would love to do 12 hours and have 4 days off but I guess as I age my opinion will most likely change..I'm curious what other nurses have to say about 12s though..I'm sure they are hard on the body no matter of what age but still I know that as you age your "stamina" starts to decline...

RNnbakes · Jan 18, 2010

LOL. I remember asking that same question on the 2nd week of NS clinicals. I was so mad, I spent time actually searching for whoever invented the 12hr shift so I could write a scathing letter to him/her. i would pick 8hr shifts anyday over 12hrs. I am used to working twelves but I am not in favor of it. (I detest it actually). aaarrrrrrrrrrghhhh.

Hello. I am a new nurse pulling 12 hour shifts. Let me say I LOVE my job and I LOVE being a RN. However, after about 8 hours, I start to feel TIRED. By the time I get home, heck, I can hardly type on the computer my eyes and fingers just don't want to work anymore. I am pretty much out of it by then.... like a zombie.
Who (when) did nurses have to start doing 12 hour shifts?? :igtsyt: Since we are nurses, handle meds and make life and death decisions.... WHY are we working over 8 hours?? Seems somewhat unsafe to me. We are human and get tired. Most jobs are 8 hours. As medical professionals, we should work even less in my opinion, since we have to be 'on our game' all the time. Ugh. :sstrs:

rosthenurse, LVN · Jan 18, 2010

actually i quite enjoy the 12 hour shifts. for one thing i like the time off to be home with my kids. i guess it is to me like jail would be to a criminal. i want to do my time and be out. i feel sick at the thought of spending almost every day of my life in a medical facility:eek:. also i feel that the continuity of care is a little better with only 2 shifts rather than 3. just my :twocents: !!!

Larry77, RN · Jan 18, 2010

You'll probably get used to it and never ever want to go back to an 8 hr a day work week. If you don't, you can find dept's that don't work 12's like some I've known over the years that have moved to easier dept's d/t health reasons etc.

All my "non-nursing" friends are very jealous of all my days off...

Bill E. Rubin · Jan 18, 2010

Myself, I like having the choice. I work some 8's, some 12's and even an occasional 4 hour shift.

allnurses Guide · Jan 18, 2010

The 12 hour shifts at my hospital was 0245 a.m. to 1515 for day shift. I got up at 0145. I did it for almost 10 years. It was hard. Plus I ended up working more shifts because I felt bad that the hospital was short-staffed.

I'm working hospice now - part-time. I see my 1st patient at 09. Spending more time with my 8 year old son.

Our hospital put the 12 hour shifts and the time of the shifts to a vote and we kept it the way it was - NO ONE wanted to do a true night shift so . . the night was split between days and nights.

I can't imagine going back to it - but I did it for a long time. I understand your concern too - about safety.

steph

Miss Kitty00 · Jan 18, 2010

I love 12s. I use to hate working five 8s. However, oneday I did I an 8 hour shift and I was less stressed. I won't do 16s. We have some nurses that do 16s two days in a row, sometimes three and I think that's really dangerous.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 18, 2010

Since I would much rather have more days off per week, I am supportive of 12-hour shifts and even 16-hour shifts. I felt as if the workplace was consuming most of my free time when I worked a 5-day work week.

I work two 16-hour shifts per week every Saturday and Sunday so that I can have Monday through Friday off. Having the 5 days off in a row is lovely.

Having to work 5 days in a row, however, is not so lovely to me.

caliotter3 · Jan 18, 2010

I loved 12 hour shifts when I was being paid overtime. Not so much when I worked 12 hour shifts again for a different employer that refused to pay overtime. Then, I found myself getting more tired for some reason.

Tait, MSN, RN · Jan 18, 2010

I felt like I never left work when I worked 5 8's a week. It wasn't a classic M-F workweek and when my days were split I felt like I was in hell.

I much prefer my 12 hour nights, group them together and love 4-6 days off in a row. I agree that I am occassionally a little boggy minded by 7am, but I make a medical history cheat sheet by copy and pasting a few of the doc notes early in the shift and make sure I have something substantial around 4/5am (oatmeal, granola etc).

I won't be working anything but 12's until I get deeper into nursing education.

Tait

Key_ · Jan 18, 2010

Continuity of care. There is an additional handoff every 24 hours with 8 hour shifts as compared to 12s. This is another chance for patient information to be lost, and another nurse for the patient to have to get to know and trust. With the time spent searching charts and reading documents it just makes more sense to have less handoffs.