Elite Nursing Magazine - Issue 1

IN THEIR OWN WORDS—

PROS & CONS OF AN AVERAGE NURSING SHIFT

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What does an average nursing shift look like? The length of the average nurs- ing shift among respondents was either 8, 10, or 12 hours. These hours varied based on the nurse’s organization and the type of healthcare they provid- ed. 70% of nurses said they work full-time, averaging 36 hours per week. While most nurses worked three 12-hour shifts to get to a 36-hour full-time work week, certain specialties were more likely to work part-time or overtime. For example, sub-acute care nurses averaged 46-hour work weeks. Healthcare providers in sub-acute, corrections, hospice, and government worked the most overtime hours, averaging over 40 hours per week. Nurses working in colleges and schools worked the fewest number of hours, averaging 31 per week.

n our recent survey, over 2,500 nursing profession- als shared their insights into the day-to-day (and sometimes, night-to-night)

life of a nurse. We wanted to know more about where they were employed, when they worked, and what they liked or disliked about the average nurs- ing shift. Here’s what they said. Where do nurses work? Hospitals and inpatient centers were the most common places of employment among survey respondents (25%), followed by long-term care (11%) and ambulatory or outpatient care centers (11%). RNs were most likely to work in a hospital setting, while LPNs were most often hired in long-term care. NPs reported that they typically work in family medicine and geriatrics, usually in a clinic or ambulatory setting.

44 ELITE LEARNING

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