Why can't we have 12 hour shifts and 8 hours shifts?

Nurses General Nursing

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Is it really so hard for hospitals to let the young nurses that want to do those 12 hour shifts have their fun with them and us older nurses who did them for years have a little of both. So many nurses are retiring from nursing early. I say let us have our cake and eat it too!!! 3 "8" hour shifts and 1 "12" or 2 "12's" and an "8". Why are we still treated like factory workers with no education? After 25 years as a nurse, I love bedside hospital nursing but it's not that less of a benefit package to work 24 hours a week in which I could still work 3 days but only 8 hours without being left dehydrated, fatigued, and mentally exhausted!! I'm not ready to go to the SNF yet to do 8 hours. Diversity should not still be in question with nursing hours....there aren't enough of us experienced nurses to be that "picky".

Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

My hospital does have a combo. I'm working that 3-11:30 spot and since I'm just part-time, I love it!

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Specializes in Inpatient Oncology/Public Health.
My issue with 8 hour shifts is when your shift is over, you leave - and the rest of us that are there working our 12s have to absorb your assignment and struggle along short for the last four hours, unless we have someone willing to come in and work that random 4 hour shift to cover it. I hate it and as a full time nurse it ticks me off - unless the person working the eight is there simply to help out on a day where we are drowning and they are in OT, etc.

I can't imagine anything more dreadful than working 5 days of 11-7, or 3-11!!! OMG! That sounds HORRIBLE.

12s are just so much easier to schedule and adjust with, especially for nightshift. And I hate to sound like *that person*, but if the shift is too much for you - there are plenty of opportunities for nurses outside of the hospital environment which are staffed during business and daylight hours. I would leave the acute care environment immediately if I was asked to work five 8 hour nights. Sayonara!

I leave at 7am when well-staffed day shift comes in, so I don't really see how that's me leaving anyone to do my work for 4 hours. We've had a few 12 hour shifters do 3p-3a and that is bad for the reason you state, they leave at 3a and we have to take over their patients.

As someone who has been actively job hunting trying to get out of bedside nursing recently, I will say the job market is pretty dry right now. I have 8 years clinical experience and am barely getting nibbles,

whereas a few years back I was getting an offer for every interview. Easy to say there are so many other types of jobs if you aren't the one looking.

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