working three 12's

moonshadeau, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN, APN, NP, CNS · Dec 17, 2003

12's are nice but can be very tiresome and hard on some to get used to. I used to work 4 -8 hour shifts one week and 5 the other. I felt like I was at work all the time. I work 12 hour shifts, and have saved about 6K in mileage over the year. But when you are looking forward to getting home during the day because your assignment is crappy, 12 hours can be very long.

But on the good side, you can stretch out your vacations without taking vacation. You only work 156 days in the year. I ended up with a week off between Christmas and New Years' without even taking vacation. Sooo looking forward to a break.

Good luck.

OBNurseShelley · Dec 17, 2003

I love it, it's all I've ever done, you usually end up with more days off in a row, especially if you ask to work all your shifts in a row, i used to work 4 12's then have 4-5 days off.....without taking PTO, I think ifyou have to work FT, its a good deal....tho they can be tiring, my body is used to it!

mcg02 · Dec 17, 2003

I am 24 years old and used to work 3-11 and felt like I was at work all the time and all I did was work. I switched to 7p-7a about 4 months ago and LOVE IT!!!. I wish I had did it sooner, if I do my schedule right I can have 5 days off in a row w/o touching my PTO, like a mini vacation. You will love it was hard at first and still is sometimes, but you will love it.