maybe it's just me.....but can anyone explain to me why a nurse would want to work nine twelve-hour shifts in a row?
this is a staff nurse i'm referring to, and she was telling me how much overtime she has on her checks....something like forty hours of overtime (i'm assuming they pay every 2 weeks.) :uhoh21:
why on earth would anyone want to do this? what's bad is that by doing these kinds of hours, she is setting a precedent for all the other nurses on the unit - in other words, if she works sixty hours a week management will probably say "well, look at so-and-so, she works sixty hours per week, i guess the other nurses can do it, too!"
there are only a handful of staff nurses left, the rest are agency/travel nurses. there's no difference in this ms floor than any other. i'm wondering if this is the reason they can't keep staff.
they have one or two nurses willing to work constantly, so they expect the others to.....and no person in their right mind is going to want to work those hours, at least imho, unless they have some sort of emergency financial crisis.
In CA I worked 4-5 12's in a row just to make ends meet. Then I'd sleep an entire day. We got paid double time for each shift past three/week. I started to hate nursing.
Now I try to work two 16's in a row and I pick up 8 hour casual shifts in a small ED. Its a nice break from the big city ICU and goes by quick.
For me variety is the spice of life.
I'd rather find another career than have to work those kinds of hours again. Its too tedious for me-
I once worked 8 12-hour shifts in a row, five day shifts and 3 nights. I was focused on getting money to move to Florida. It's nice to have that option sometimes. But I didn't eat right, didn't exericse, and by the end I was quite over it. One the reasons I don't like working back-to-back 12s, other than two in a row, is I tend not to take care of physical self with diet and exercise when I work too much overtime.
But when I need the money, I go for it. Only now that I'm middle aged, I can only do 48 hours a week.
I agree, it's a myth about "going into a higher tax bracket". At least that's been my experience. Sure I'm taxed to death as a single person with no deductions when I work a lot, but I'm taxed to death already. Seems to me it's always been about the same percentage no matter how much overtime I make. :)
I've been crazy enough to put in a 91 hr. work week, 7 13 hr. shifts in a row. And yes I slept the entire next day. Now after day 5, I was cranky, nasty and cutting corners, (not changing IV tubing, hey the next shift can do it!). We had a two week crazy period of obscene acuity and MLOA. Now it's easy to see for me it was way too much, but I had committed myself in advance.
So now all my OT availability is offered that night before the shift starts, assuming I've slept well and feel good when I wake up. What scares me are those that sign up for 5 day stretches, now they're locked into it, no matter how exhasted they are. So I say do all the OT you can handle, just be wise enough to play it by ear each day. You get a three day run from hell, throw in a bout of insomnia and you're setting up a bad situation.
Everyone's different, those that can do the same level of care on day 5 as day two, have at it!
Then why am I working basically for free when I work more than two extra shifts in one pay period?
How do you figure you are working for free? If you are grossing $3000 per week you should be taking home around $2000. And if you are grossing $1500 per week you should be taking home around $1000. Is that working for free? It is not possible for even our government to tax you at 100% on overtime.
How do you figure you are working for free? If you are grossing $3000 per week you should be taking home around $2000. And if you are grossing $1500 per week you should be taking home around $1000. Is that working for free? It is not possible for even our government to tax you at 100% on overtime.
Well it sure feels like it!
This is why I will not pick up extra shifts at my facility. That, and the fact that they will cancel me in a hearbeat when census goes back down and I'm in OT.
I choose to get my extra cash by working agency 1-4 times per month in addition to my full-time job at my 'home' hospital. The $35.00/hr with agency is very close to what I'd be making in OT/hr anyway.
Specializes in jack of all trades, master of none.
Quickbeam.... you must have had some ancillary staff that rocked the house.... I did ALOT of 12 hr night shifts on rehab.. 10 12's per pay period was my absolute max... dough was sweet, but i was dog tired when i came home, crabby, & feeling guilty for missing the time with the family......so on to better things (day shift), lol
maybe it's just me.....but can anyone explain to me why a nurse would want to work nine twelve-hour shifts in a row?
this is a staff nurse i'm referring to, and she was telling me how much overtime she has on her checks....something like forty hours of overtime (i'm assuming they pay every 2 weeks.) :uhoh21:
why on earth would anyone want to do this?
the longest i have worked in a row is 21 days, 3 of which were double shifts. sometimes you do what you gotta, due to life's demands. it just took a mind set. i tried not to focus on the number of shifts in a row. i had a goal, and i achieved it. i had three kids at home at the time, but i also had my dh to help. i still sometimes work 12 in a row if i am unable to find staff to work the w/e. i am 59 years old, have always worked full time or more, and have lived to tell. arghh! hate my age! didn't think i would ever tell it so easily!
I DON'T CARE WHAT MNG SAYS, IF I WANT O.T, THEN I'LL WORK IT. IF ANOTHER NURSE WANTS TO WORK 40 HOURS OVER A PAY, GOOD FOR HER. SHE JUST BETTER NOT ASK ME TO DO HER WORK WHILE SHE IS THERE WITH HER FEET UP..HAHA...I WILL HELP ANYONE, BUT I "AIN'T NO SUCKER "...:):)
I am a CNA. Before I was pregnant with my third child (first girl and she is now 2 months old) I was working at a nursing home on first shift and they would always ask me to work over. I would hear them call me and i just knew what it was. They would say can you stay until 7, so my eight hour day turned into a 12, then at 7 the nurses would say can you stay a little longer, i was working 16 hour days before long and it got to me, i think when you can't say no then staffing soemtimes takes it too far, as long as they have it covered, they don't always care
I have a situation where I live far away from where I work, 450 miles to be exact. I work 9-10 days in a row and average 16 hours a day between different places. I work OR and have no problem with the long days. When I am "down" here at work, all I do is work! I have been doing this for over 8 years and rarely do I get tired. If I didn't do this type of work I would go nuts waiting for my shift to start at my regular job. The other places are just part-time and I rarely don't go there. It is my choice and nobody's business how much I work and they shouldn't be bothered by someone working their fanny off. I forgot, I also take call every night and the weekend I am "down" here, so that is 9-10 days straight of OR call. We don't do much at night so it isn't all that bad. Mike
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208 Posts
In CA I worked 4-5 12's in a row just to make ends meet. Then I'd sleep an entire day. We got paid double time for each shift past three/week. I started to hate nursing.
Now I try to work two 16's in a row and I pick up 8 hour casual shifts in a small ED. Its a nice break from the big city ICU and goes by quick.
For me variety is the spice of life.
I'd rather find another career than have to work those kinds of hours again. Its too tedious for me-
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