working 2 twelves and 2 eights how do you like it?

April, RN, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2010

I've never worked 5 8s but at one point I did work 2 8s and 2 12s per week. I liked that I had 3 days off per week and I liked having extra time at home on my 8 hour days. When you work all 12s, you really can't do anything else on those days. Also, the extra 4 hours of pay each week does add up. I ended up dropping to 3 12s because it was one less day commuting to work.

Kitty Hawk, ADN, RN · Jun 18, 2010

I've never worked 5 8s but at one point I did work 2 8s and 2 12s per week. I liked that I had 3 days off per week and I liked having extra time at home on my 8 hour days. When you work all 12s, you really can't do anything else on those days. Also, the extra 4 hours of pay each week does add up. I ended up dropping to 3 12s because it was one less day commuting to work.

yeah see I think I'd like the 3 twelves for that reason too. Plus it just seems you'd have more of a life outside of work.

Funny you say you can't do anything else on those days b/c with the 5 eights being 3-11...I get nothing done those days either pretty much! I'm one of the ones that can't get motivated/get it together before leaving for work so the days are just all about work. I was never like that when I worked daylight for twenty plus years, I had my life after work. It seems now that I don't much like to do things before work, b/c well in a few hours I gotta go to work! I work with a few nurses with that exact mindset so at least I know I'm not completely crazy. I know it's not laziness either, it's just blah I don't know, most of us with that mindset aren't happy there. There are others that I work with that do things before the shift, but they are ones that are pretty much content to stay there indefinately.

I wish at times that I wasn't so much of a planner though, comes from my previous career. Nothing has happened yet but I'd like to weigh it all out to see how it may fit.

GM2RN · Jun 18, 2010

I worked 5 8s for awhile and it seemed all I did was work. Yes, I did have more time at home on the days that I worked, but I was too tired to do anything most of the time anyway. The other thing about 8 hour shifts was that I never had 2 days off in a row unless it was my weekend off. That sucked!

So 3 12s is much better, in my opinion. You don't really have time for anything but sleeping on workdays, but you do have 4 days off every week...unless you're like me and work OT all the time anyway. But at least I have the option not to work the extra shifts when I want to.

krenee · Jun 18, 2010

That's what I work and I'd rather do 3 12s. I never get more than 2 days off at a time and some of my friends who work 3 12s get up to six even! Yeah, working 12s back to back is hard and nothing else gets done on those days, but I'm not a big fan of my current schedule. I work nights & evenings. That said, I'd rather do this than 5 8s 3-11, as I would never see my family. Overall I prefer 12s to 8s.

April, RN, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2010

Just to clarify, I prefer my three 12s. The OP was asking about five 8s versus two 8s and two 12s. I'd much rather the two 8s and two 12s if I didn't have three 12s as an option!

I also wanted to add that maybe your shift has something to do with it, but again you might not have the option to choose your shift. For me, working 7-3 gave me time to run errands, go to the gym, make and eat dinner with my husband, and still go to bed at a decent time. When I worked 3-11, I had similar feelings as you. I didn't go to bed until 1am or 2am after my shift so I'd wake up at 10am or 11am the next morning and not be motivated to get anything done because I had to go to work in a few hours.

tswim · Jun 18, 2010

I, for one, have worked all three schedules, though on nights. You will definitely notice an improvement going from 5 shifts/wk to 4/wk; one extra day off can make all the difference in the world. Of course it's not as great as being able to schedule yourself off for 6-7 days in a row- makes it pretty easy to take short vacations using little or no PTO.

I actually liked working 4/wk because of the regular overtime just from report- it makes a big difference going from 40+ hours/wk to 36/wk (10% pay cut). And the 8/hr shifts begin to feel short when working 2+2. If that's your only option you should definitely go for it.

rn4ever? · Jun 19, 2010

I prefer doing 2 eights and 2 twelves than those 5 eights. I like having a three day off each week.

How does this compare to 5 eights? Do you really feel the extra day off? It seems that 3 twelves is still the best regarding hospitals, but if that's not an option does this feel like you have more of your life back?
This is for something that goes between days and nights. So right away it seems like it would be better than 5 3-11's which I can't stand anymore. It works for my sleeping habits but that's about it.
thanks

Kitty Hawk, ADN, RN · Jun 19, 2010

Just to clarify, I prefer my three 12s. The OP was asking about five 8s versus two 8s and two 12s. I'd much rather the two 8s and two 12s if I didn't have three 12s as an option!
I also wanted to add that maybe your shift has something to do with it, but again you might not have the option to choose your shift. For me, working 7-3 gave me time to run errands, go to the gym, make and eat dinner with my husband, and still go to bed at a decent time. When I worked 3-11, I had similar feelings as you. I didn't go to bed until 1am or 2am after my shift so I'd wake up at 10am or 11am the next morning and not be motivated to get anything done because I had to go to work in a few hours.

YES, YES YES! thank you EXACTLY! That's me, I get home and I can't get to sleep til about 2am and then I get up at 1030a and yes, I do some stuff around the house, relax and get ready to go...aka I have no real life on those days. It's good to know that even that one extra day does make a difference. My husband and I still make time as it's a priority, but I miss my son...though he's out on summer break right now and going through some teenage angst/love stuff and actually is up to talk about it with me at 2am!

It's still an *if* at this point, but like I said I'm a planner so I like to figure some things out in advance. And yes I agree 3 twelves would be ideal...but it's not an option. She said it would be 5 eights or 2 twelves/2 eights. I'm not even sure if you have to flip between those or can choose between one or the other, but I know that the shift itself will flip between days and nights.

I don't think that part would be bad. I'd think the times you work days it would feel like having a life again. I know from past experience I don't do great trying to sleep at 8am after a night shift, but I think it would still be more doable than these dog gone 5 eights.

RNKel, ASN, RN · Jun 19, 2010

I work two 12's and one 8 and love it. I did work five eights for a bit and thought I'd love that, but ended up hating it. Might be because I did the 12's first then went to the 8's, but either way I love my schedule so much better this way.