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How many 12-hour shifts should a nurse be asked to do in a week to prevent burnout?


January 17th, 2022

Personally I think 12 hour shifts should not exist at all to prevent burnout, but definitely no more than 3 shifts per week.

You will always be asked to pick up more shifts. Your manager’s responsibility is to ask about your availability, your responsibility is to decide beforehand your working limits (for example: I will not work more than 3 shifts per week)

Tip: If you’re a person who always says yes in real-time, give yourself permission to delay the request so you have time to think about it.

So you can say “Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you by the end of the shift”

January 17th, 2022

3

November 5th, 2023

3 is enough. Sometimes Even 2 is too much depending on the facility you work. Everything is put on the nurses and frankly I'm getting pretty sick of it.

February 15th, 2023

Not more than 3 and not necessarily in a row. People don’t realize when you work a 12 hour shift that it’s over half of your day. It’s because you have to account for transportation and preparation of getting there. Doesn’t leave many hours left in that day.

January 17th, 2022

3

July 17th, 2022

3 is fine but not to be put together in a row. I find it exhausting to do 3 in a row for awhile.

March 14th, 2022

Three, Maximum !

March 14th, 2022

3

March 14th, 2022

3 mandatory and 4 if a nurse wants to help out

March 13th, 2022

A maximum of 3.

March 10th, 2023

3 and not consecutive

March 15th, 2022

3

March 14th, 2022

3

March 14th, 2022

3

March 14th, 2022

3

March 14th, 2022

Three,

March 16th, 2022

No 12 hr shifts
8 is enough.
After a year you feel you live at your job not at home

January 17th, 2022

4

January 17th, 2022

4

November 5th, 2023

3 ! Doing 4 causes burnout. I’ve been there .

March 21st, 2022

I personally prefer 12-hour shifts to 8-hour shifts for a few reasons. The unit I work on is extremely fast-paced with high acuity patients, so having an extra 4 hours to spend a little extra time with patients and families is always appreciated by them and always makes it easier for me to care for them.
The max 12-hr shifts I have done in a row is 4 nights, but I don’t make a habit of it because it can be extremely mentally, emotionally, and physically taxing on me. Three shifts seems to work out well for me. Plus, we do our own scheduling, and since I only work every third weekend, I can usually schedule myself anywhere from 7-10 days off in a row each month without having to use up any of my earned/vacation/sick time.
Best advice I can give you is start off slow, pick up an extra shift every so often and see how you feel after. If you like it, add on another shift per week if you are able to. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to pick up extra shifts again if you don’t want to.
Good luck! ❤️

March 15th, 2022

3-4

March 15th, 2022

As a former nurse

March 15th, 2022

3,max 4 a week

March 14th, 2022

4 MAXIMUM,