Shiftwork (LPN)

00:01 Let's talk about pros and cons of nursing shifts.

00:05 The great debate here.

00:07 What's better? Is it 8-hour shifts or 12-hour shifts? I'm Team 12.

00:13 Because by the time I commute, get up for the day and get there, I'd rather just stay for 12 hours, and then have some extra days totally off.

00:22 But many people prefer 8-hour shifts, because they can get home at a decent time have an actual life on the days they work.

00:31 So let's review how 12-hour shifts work first, and the different types of hours most nursing jobs offer.

00:39 So hours will vary depending on where you work.

00:42 Some places only offer 12-hour shifts.

00:46 So you may come in at about 7 AM or 7 PM.

00:49 And you're gonna leave at 7:30 am or PM.

00:53 Now, if you work full time, you usually work 36 hours a week, meaning 3 12s, which this is considered full time at most facilities.

01:03 On days, when you work at 12, there's not a whole lot of other things that you can do that day.

01:09 Because realistically, you have to get to work at like 6:30, to make it to your unit on time.

01:15 And you will be rarely walking out at 7:30 on the other side of the shift.

01:21 So let's say you've got a 30-minute commute.

01:23 So you got to leave your house at 6am, for example.

01:27 And then you get home at about 8:15 in the evening, you've got to eat, shower, you're gonna want to shower and go to bed for the 5am wake up the next day.

01:39 Those days are long.

01:43 And if you've got kids, you likely won't see them which is hard.

01:47 But the benefit is you have 4 days off a week and that is awesome.

01:52 You can also stack your days so that you can work a bunch in a row and then have like two weeks off without having to use any your vacation time.

02:01 So that's also pretty awesome.

02:03 One thing to note, as a 12-hour shift person and working days, winter is the worst.

02:09 When you get there, it's dark.

02:11 When you leave work, it's dark.

02:14 You feel like you're trapped in the hospital all evening.

02:18 So just keep that in mind.

02:20 Now, there's also 8-hour shifts.

02:23 So because of staffing, some hospitals have done away with these, but many of them still have it.

02:29 So this could be anything from like 7 in the morning to 3:30pm or 3:00 to 11:30pm or like 11 to 7:00, 7:30 am.

02:40 Now these allow you to get home, eat dinner, or have a morning or have an evening before you go to work.

02:47 Now the downside is that you're going to spend a lot more time commuting.

02:51 And you don't really have those extra days off like you do with a 12-hour shifts.

02:56 Now, if you work 40 hours, this is 5 days a week.

02:59 And if you work nights, that's very few whole days off.

03:04 But something to consider when you're looking at your schedule and the types of shifts you're going to work.

03:10 Then there's 10-hour shifts.

03:12 These are usually seen in office settings where full time employees work for 10-hour shifts a week.

03:19 So this could look like maybe 7 am to 5 pm and then get one day a week off without sacrificing any other hours.

03:27 So this is a pretty awesome setup for outpatient settings, because that extra day off is amazing.

03:33 Now let's take a quick look at the different shifts.

03:37 Now for 12-hour shifts, there's days and nights.

03:41 Days is typically the busier.

03:43 Everyone's in the hospital, your patient can have procedures, they've got visitors, there's lots of consults, and everyone is always in and out.

03:53 There's admissions, discharge, and it can be a lot.

03:57 But you are a normal human who sleeps at nighttime and your days off are your real days off.

04:04 Now night shift is quieter, usually.

04:07 You usually have more patients because hopefully there's less chaos, but your patients still require the same amount of care.

04:15 Now the tasks are usually similar and there there are less resources.

04:20 So you do have to do a lot more by yourself on the night shift.

04:23 But you'll sleep at night because you're working.

04:27 This is really hard on your body and it takes a while to adjust to a sleep schedule.

04:33 Here's the thing about night shift.

04:34 You'll need two days off in a row, so it's best to clump your night shifts.

04:41 I found this because it can really help you flip back to normal life and get a few real days off.

04:48 Here is a bonus in regards to nights.

04:50 I had many friends who worked nights and depending on their proximity to their home, and if they got off around 7:00 or 7:30 they could run home and take their kids to school, then come home sleep and pick them up when school is out.

05:07 Make sure to consider which schedule works best for your personal life.