Nurses shifts

[MENA]

in malta we currently work on a fixed roster of day 12hrs shift night 12hrs shift and two offs. for a total of 40hrs a week.

what do you think of that.
what do you think is the best shift to work?

[Ricu]

Originally Posted by MENA

in malta we currently work on a fixed roster of day 12hrs shift night 12hrs shift and two offs. for a total of 40hrs a week.

what do you think of that.
what do you think is the best shift to work?

Hi there,

We work a lot of 12 hour shifts here in the US. I suppose the best shift is the one that works best for your out-of-work life. There are many options here.

R

[MENA]

lately we are having problems with the 12hrs day shift. most of the nurses are complaining that after the 8th 9th hr they are feeling very tired.

it is safe to practice the next 3-4 hrs??

[Ricu]

Originally Posted by MENA

lately we are having problems with the 12hrs day shift. most of the nurses are complaining that after the 8th 9th hr they are feeling very tired. it is safe to practice the next 3-4 hrs??

That's a surprise, actually. I fully appreciate the fatigue of a 12 hour day because I work them but the bigger problem here is the 12 hour night shift. I worked nights for many years and it always seemed that staffing that shift was harder, even with generous shift differentials. Sometimes coverage is scarce enough that double-time pay is offered. It may be true in general, that there aren't as many tasks to do but there is responsibility for many more patients per nurse. I work in the ICU and there is no difference in workload between shifts. The added strain of sleep deprivation and having to invert your lifestyle in order to function at work are drawbacks. Turnover for this shift is notoriously much higher and now, it seems that we have to rely on traveling nurses to keep coverage.

R

[cassioo]

there are lots of articles on shift work and patient care here is one: Research Activities, November 2004: Patient Safety/Quality: Shift work affects the health and work performance of nurses and other health care workers you can google search others.

I prefer 3 12 hours on then 4 off: 4 off then 3 on: I'd like to do it every rotation but you end up with 6 on at some point...I don't and don't know anybody that does like working nights having 1 day off to sleep then turning back to days.

[MENA]

we used to work 2 days 1 night and 2 offs...nowadays we work on day one night and two off....its quite cool actually cause u got 3 almost full days off and its very ideal in summer for swimming and in winter for doing things that can be easily done during the week.

is there anyone working in a and e with flexible hours? what do u think of such roster?

if anyone works this type of shift how does it work?

[TomB]

I love working three 12 hour shifts per week because of all the time off. It also gives you a lot of time to work OT if you want to. Sure I get tired, but it's nothing a Starbucks can't fix!! :-)

[MENA]

tom your if im understanding you well, u r saying you work three 12hrs shift and 4 offs?

thats a 36hrs a week shift i guess...here in my country we work at least 40hrs a week and sometimes some shifts have to work 47 hrs a week which leaves you with quite few offs and quite some difficulty to set any different roster from which we currently work.

a 36hr a week shift could be great.

[Ricu]

Every 12 hour shift position I've ever had was a 36 hr position.

[MENA]

Originally Posted by Ricu

Every 12 hour shift position I've ever had was a 36 hr position.

that would be cool than!! to bad we work 47 hr wk