Why Do Nurses Work 12-Hour Shifts? 5 Takeaways for Facilities

A career in healthcare can be demanding. The long hours and stressful work environment can make it difficult for nurses to find balance. With all of the associated challenges, you may ask yourself, Why do nurses work 12-hour shifts?

It turns out that staff members often appreciate the lifestyle and financial benefits of working longer shifts. Additionally, greater continuity of care from longer shifts make it an optimal scheduling technique for facilities. Below, we’ll outline the history of the 12-hour shift, explain what makes them appealing to nurses, and show how incorporating longer shifts can help your facility.

When Did Nurses Start Working 12-Hour Shifts?

In the 1970s, a national nursing shortage left facilities looking for solutions to fill schedule gaps. Hospitals began using 12-hour nursing shifts as a way to decrease the number of staff needed per day. One nurse would work from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., and the next would work from 7 p.m. – 7 a.m.

Over time, the role of the nurse has expanded, but the scheduling of nursing shifts has remained the same. Seventy-five percent of acute care nurses work three 12-hour shifts per week. A nurse can be assigned day shifts, night shifts, or a combination. Some facilities offer a night shift differential after 5 p.m., while others offer overtime pay for anything over an 8-hour shift.

You may wonder, how many 12-hour shifts can a nurse work in a row? While most facilities limit nurses to 40 hours per week, there is no standard answer. Each healthcare facility staffs according to its patient needs, staffing numbers, and scheduling policies.

How Do Nurses Feel About 12-Hour Shifts?

Why do nurses work 12-shifts when they have other options? Personal needs and preferences certainly factor into this decision, but it’s often the right fit for many nurses. From the nurse’s perspective, the pros and cons of 12-hour nursing shifts include the following.

Advantages

• More days off: Working three 12-hour shifts per week means that there are four days to rest and recover. It’s easier to take vacations, go to birthday parties, and attend community functions when you only work 3 days per week.
• Less time commuting: With the average work commute totalling 27 minutes each way, employees can save almost two hours each week in time and gas money by condensing the work week from five days to three.
• Fewer overall hours per week: Nurses appreciate a full-time work week of 36 hours. Earning full benefits and a competitive salary for fewer working hours is an appealing benefit for nurses working long shifts.

Disadvantages

• Poor work-life balance on workdays: Nurses spend so much time each work day at or commuting to the hospital that it can be tough to find time for themselves. Moral distress and mental illness are more common among shift workers, especially those that work night shifts.
• Health risks: The short and long-term effects of working long hours include obesity, asthma, poor sleep patterns, and arthritis.
• Difficult to build routine: Because the days and hours at work change frequently for each nurse, it can be difficult to do things like join clubs and find child care support.

Knowing the wants and needs of your employees can help you to balance your shift schedule and please your staff. However, why do nurses work 12-hour shifts if there are mixed reviews from hospital staff?;

In the healthcare industry, it’s equally important to consider factors like patient safety when developing a scheduling model. Research shows that 12-hour shifts improve patient outcomes by helping to reduce medical errors, prevent miscommunication, and improve patient satisfaction.

How Can 12-Hour Shifts Help Your Facility?

There are clear advantages to longer shifts, for patients and staff members. We provide five takeaways for how 12-hour nurse shifts can optimize patient outcomes at your facility.

1. Improved Continuity of Care

One of the most compelling reasons for staffing your facility with 12-hour shifts is enhanced patient safety. Medical errors are often made during the nurse handover period between shifts. By limiting the number of times handoff is given from three to two times a day, hospitals can improve patient safety.

2. Better Daily Flow

With only two shifts scheduled per day, each shift can be more symmetrical and predictable for the patients you serve. For example, physical assessments take place at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., medication distribution happens at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., and patients can get help with activity at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m..

Scheduling two equal 12-hour shifts can help patients and staff members find a bit of rhythm in an otherwise chaotic day.

3. Stronger Patient-Staff Relationships

Nurses who work 12-hour shifts are able to build better rapport with the patients they serve. Employees often work three shifts in a row, meaning that long periods of time are spent getting to know the patient’s needs and wishes.

4. Improved Staffing Consistency

Hospital managers report that safe staffing ratios are harder to achieve on units that use 8 hours vs. 12-hour shifts in nursing. Having a smaller staff that works longer hours ensures that patients get the high-quality care they deserve.

5. Reduced Hospital Costs

Hospitals that staff nursing employees in 12-hour shifts have increased staff satisfaction scores, improved retention rates, and reduced position vacancy. Employing nurses in longer shift patterns can save the hospital money by reducing staff turnover.

Learn More Ways to Satisfy Your Workforce

So, why do nurses work 12-hour shifts? Understanding the core reasons for this, and learning about the benefits of different types of nursing schedules in general, is just one way to improve and retain strong nurses. Reach out to IntelyCare to help find cost-effective solutions to all of your workforce needs.