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How common is it for OR staff to work 15-20 hours straight? Or more. In Texas. At my place this is very common and I am wondering if this is common for the rest of you. Thanks.


August 4th, 2022

If you are on call you can work up to 24 hours but that is on call. Usually you work your scheduled shift in the OR either 8, 10 12 hours. If they ask you to work over your scheduled shift that is up to you. Working 15-20 hours straight and not on call is NOT the standard.

June 6th, 2022

I just quit a job 15-16 hours long shifts from 5pm to 8am , seven days straight. They would start calling @ 4pm and then was expected to attend morning standup meetings from 815-845 . My job was on-call Hospice, though- driving all over the place up to 90 minutes each way mostly in the dark to facilities and private homes.
Very fulfilling but just Way Too Much driving! With the cost of gas what it is now and reimbursement only 47 cents/ mile. Also, mandatory meetings on my supposed days and shifts” off work” . In my last week, I drove around in a trailer park trying to find the location of a deaf patient and deaf caregiver. My GPS didn’t work inside the park @ 3am in the dark! Very challenging work!

I would never recommend working more than 12 hours in a row for anyone in any position!

March 29th, 2022

Depends on where you work, i work for a surgery center here in Oklahoma and i work 8 hour shifts, i rarely go above that on average. But other surgery areas, i've heard of people working crazy long shifts, and on call. It's ridiculous.

January 28th, 2023

This is not common. If you are on call you may have to work longer than 8 hours but you should not be on call every day. You should also tell them when you feel unsafe and need to be relieved. Sounds like a bad staffing situation. Might need to notify the state about unsafe staffing trends. Also maybe the labor board?
However, prob. no employee rights in Texas :(. Look for another facility.

June 5th, 2022

It’s been pretty common with short/poor staffing (in Washington), especially in cardiac surgery. It’s not okay or ideal, but you’re not alone!

April 26th, 2022

As a RNFA @ a Non-Profit Hospital & a Level 1Trauma Center, it wasn’t uncommon to work 12 hrs @ Non-Profit, then Drive to Trauma Center, Work 4-5 hrs, get 2-4 hrs Sleep, then Back @ 7:00 am to Start another 12 hrs. As a Staff OR Nurse, not uncommon if ur “on Call”. But for most Days, u set your Schedule. There are OR Nurses who take a lot of Call, always Volunteer for OT. Yes they Earn a lot of $$$, but they also Work all the Time.