wishful thinking

Our NICU has shifts of different lenghs including 12, 8, and 4 hours to support work-life balance and give us coverage 24 hrs. That of course does leave us more short staffed during sometimes as well.

Disadvantages to this are decreased continuity of care because there are more than 2 typical 12 hour shift changes - so if you come in for 8 or 4 hour shifts you take the assignment of the person who is leaving at that time who was also on a different shift.

The 12 hour shift is by far the most prominent shift and the one that keeps the unit going. Based on your FTE, it either works the best or it doesn't. By doing 3 - 12 hr shifts each week a 0.9 FTE can be fulfilled. It would take 5 - 8 hr shifts per week to do that. I would much rather go to work 2 less days a week. A person with a lower FTE can more easily do 8 hr shifts.

I had never worked 12 hour shifts until my first nursing job. It wasn't that difficult to get used to. The days go by pretty quickly because you are busy! The nights are a little slower, but still do-able. Good luck!

I am sure every place is different but on my unit, 12 hours is your only option unless you are pool.

In our unit you can go pool after a year's experience. Working pool means you don't get benefits, but you get paid more and can work 4, 8, or 12 hours on days that work best for you. The stinker of it is that you aren't guaranteed any hours, but you need to do 32 every 6 weeks. For the past year on our unit, the pool people have been able to work as much as they need. If our staffing ever gets where it needs to be the pool people will have to scramble for hours. I would like to go pool eventually, but I am going to wait until I am debt free, so it will probably be a few more years.

They do exist, but I think it has little to do with being NICU. Just some hospitals do them and some don't. Our unit has a small complement of nurses that do 8hr shifts but they are responsible to work with each other to cover a 24 hr period. There are very few hospitals in this region that offer 8hr shifts the main reason being for the most part at least in this area it's what the nurses want.

I hear that California is mostly 8hr shifts. Could be rumor but I heard it has to do with requiring time and a half for more than 8hrs at a time as well as over 40hrs a week.

We are about half and half, people who do 8s and people who do 12s. I work a mixed schedule of 8s and 12s. In my area, most hospitals seems to offer plenty of both, but this can be different in different units of the same hospital too!

I am not a NICU nurse but I am here to tell you after working in the medical field for over 10 years there is no such thing as a 8 hour shift anywhere!!!

I am scheduled for an 8 hours shift but it is never REALLY an 8 hour shift. There's the overtime (that my department doesn't get paid for), the extra time here and there that you put in just so you can get one step ahead (which you never really do) oh and theres all the time you spend when your not at work thinking about work or things that you need to do at work.

Nursing is a truely rewarding career but if you were looking for 8 hours shifts you chose the wrong career!!!

Don't worry about the 12 hours shifts!!!! You'll love them!!

Squid, I must respectfully disagree. Where I work we have 12's and 8's, for example I work 32 hours per week. I can either work 2-12's 1-8 or 4-8's. We are not forced to work 12's. And our unit is very good about trying to make sure people are out on time. We don't have mandatory ot and we work et only as we want.

When you interview, you should ask about the shifts and see how flexible they are.

We have about 5 nurses in our unit that only do 8hr shifts (0700-1500). I believe they are On-Call status and are only on the 6 wk schedule like 5 times. I would have to say that working M-F 7-3 is wishful thinking, in my unit atleast. I envy you if you find a NICU that has those hours!

We only have 12 hour shifts on the unit I work on. I honestly can't imagine working anything but 12 hours.

12 hours goes by faster than you think it will. You don't even have to have a non-stop busy assignment for the night to go by quickly.

I'd echo what everyone has said about 12-hour shifts. I had never worked more than 8 hours until I became a CNA on a stepdown unit. Then I started working 12s. I was scared at first like you that they'd kill me. But, you get used to them quickly. After a while, 12 hours seems like a normal day. I worked there and then in an ER for a total of five years and then went to a "normal" 9-5 job. The day seemed so short! But, the week seemed so long! Working 3 12 shifts a week is great! I've even worked 4 or 5 12 hour shifts a week for extra $$. That's not a breeze, but depending on your unit and what you're doing, it's doable. Don't worry about the 12 hours shifts. In a few months, you won't be able to imagine doing anything else!

bryan

Thank you all for your posts. I graduate in December '08 and the realization just hit me about the transition that I would have to face. It scared me at first but the transition to nursing school was a very radical one so if I can get through that, then a 12 hour shift shouldn't be a daunting task. Thank you again for your responses.

Most people on my unit work 12's. We do have some people come do the 11-7 shift but I think these people are agency. There's also a few people who will do 6 hr half days. I did an externship in another nicu and they had 8's and 12's. Dont worry too much about 12 hr shifts. Usually by the time it's winding down, its 3 anyway, and then one last round on the babies puts you up to shift change.