Best 12 hour shifts

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My service is looking to add a power crew on a 12 hour shift. We are looking not only at the call statistics but also what 12 hr time frame would work best for crews (outside of work). Our director wants something that would give people the most opportunity to be social and with their families as well as covering the calls.

So what time frame do you prefer?
 
6 - 6. I've worked 6 pm - 6 am, and although a 10 hr shift, 6 am - 4 pm. Both were fine. For the day half, it's not ridiculously early and you get home at a decent enough hour - if you have kids you get to see them before bedtime. The night part of that shift would allow someone with kids to take them to school if need be and even see them for a bit before taking off to work and kids going to bed.
 
I loved our schedule of:

Chimpie said:
Our schedule was 6a - 6p or 6p - 6a.

4 Nights
4 Off
3 Days
3 Night
4 Off
4 Days
6 Off

I hated the 3 + 3. So tired afterward. But the six day vacation every month was sweet!
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I loved the noon to midnight best as a twelve hour shift. Busy through the afternoon and evening almost always got off on time.
 
We do 8a-4p, 4p-12a, 12a-8a. Full timers run on 24's and part time can be 8's, 16's, or 24's. Whenever we add a 12 its usually from 10a-10p or 8a-8p. We do not generally do many overnight runs, but depending on the moon or coinciding holidays, we'll add an extra crew.
 
0430 to 1630 is the shift everyone fight over at my work. You are home for the entire evening with you're family and not too tired after.
 
I liked the 5:30a-5:30p and 7:30a-7:30 pm for 12 hour day shifts. For a BLS unit that did a mix of IFT and 911, it allowed us to get the early morning rush of dialysis patients and get home at a reasonable time.
 
MMiz said:
I liked the 5:30a-5:30p and 7:30a-7:30 pm for 12 hour day shifts. For a BLS unit that did a mix of IFT and 911, it allowed us to get the early morning rush of dialysis patients and get home at a reasonable time.
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I'm not a fan of my shift 8:30am - 8:30pm. You can't really do anything before work because alot of places are closed. And it's the same for when I get off shift. It is easier to find places to eat at the times I'm working but social life and time with family doesnt happen to easily.
 
12 to 12 sounds good to me. But I don't have any family and I like to try and avoid contact with my neighbors as much as possible so I'm probably not the guy you should listen to :)
 
My work does 5-5, 5:30 -5:30, and 7-7. I always like the 5-5's because you start early and still (should) get home when it's light out and just in time for family dinner.
 
orange20medic said:
My work does 5-5, 5:30 -5:30, and 7-7. I always like the 5-5's because you start early and still (should) get home when it's light out and just in time for family dinner.
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and get the grass cut:)
 
Chimpie said:
I loved our schedule of:
4 nights
4 off
3 days
3 nights
4 off
4 days
6 off
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We're on the same schedule at my service. I love the time off but I find the split can kick my butt sometimes.

We have 0600/1800 starts, 0700/1900 and 0800/2000. Swing staff (unassigned) are given a 0630/1830 start by default but more often than not they're moved onto a regular slot to fill last minute vacancies. Most people seem to hate the 8 start, but with my long commute I like it. I get up at a more human hour and go to bed at the same time as my wife.

Our Rapid Response Units (SUV) are peak coverage only and they have 0800 and 0900 starts to cover peak load in their areas. Most of our peak load Ambulances are day cars only and start at 0700 but we do have a couple that do a 1400 to 0200 schedule. Their schedule is 5 on, 5 off, 4 on, 4 off.
 
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our 24/7 trucks run 7 to 7 (two trucks) and 8 to 8 (two trucks). power trucks are noon to midnight (two trucks), with a weekday power truck from 2pm to 2am, and on the weekends, 4pm to 4am.

not to sound rude, by power trucks are designed more for call volume than employee comfort. find the 12 hours in the day that is statistically busier, and put it there. I'm guessing it's going to be closest to the 3-11 shift myself.
 
12 hr shifts suck.

And rotating ones are the worst.

They make it extremely hard for most single parents, error rates go up, and the "savings" realized are due to not backfilling absences i.e., "working short, again").

It is not allright to "work tired" or "work hurt" trying to make it to your four day weekend. If you have to take off, you will lose 12 hrs at a time, not eight, and they will not let you accrue hours at a faster rate.

Eight hour shifts were traditional for a lot of empiric reasons. Some individuals, especially young ones, can hack 12 hr shifts, but you are sacrificing quality and using people up more like Kleenex than professionals.

That said, the less rotation and change in routine, the better for your circadian clock.
 
mycrofft said:
And rotating ones are the worst.

They make it extremely hard for most single parents, error rates go up, and the "savings" realized are due to not backfilling absences i.e., "working short, again").

It is not allright to "work tired" or "work hurt" trying to make it to your four day weekend. If you have to take off, you will lose 12 hrs at a time, not eight, and they will not let you accrue hours at a faster rate.

Eight hour shifts were traditional for a lot of empiric reasons. Some individuals, especially young ones, can hack 12 hr shifts, but you are sacrificing quality and using people up more like Kleenex than professionals.

That said, the less rotation and change in routine, the better for your circadian clock.
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I disagree on almost everything you said. 12 hr shifts are better for single parents, because you have to get a babysitter for 3 days a week instead of 5.

rotating ones do suck, if you rotate days and nights (something I advocate against, pick either days or nights, and make them stead shifts. but if you have a steady work week, M/W/F one week, S/T/Th the next, that you can plan out, it works pretty good, and you can predict your schedule months in advance.

error rates do NOT go up, and absentee isn't is less than 8 hour days. plus, you have a 4 hour buffer for OT to account for late calls.

working tired or hurt is never good, but even people who work 8s occasionally go to work tired (or hurt, I guess).

I love my 12s, I have done 8 hour shifts, and will never go back if I can avoid it. working 3 days a week (with 4 days a week every 4 weeks) beats 5 days a week any time.
 
Dr Parasite, you are a lucky person

12 hr shifts are all the rage currrently with admin, so they will be more and more available.

My observations were from having been through 12 hr shift conversions in a sheriff dept, then it's correctional health services section. Also worked rotating eight hour shifts as a fire dispatcher, then (much later) rotating twelves working a hospital floor during DESERT STORM stateside.

Some folks (and their marriages) truly thrived, but many did not, and we were always working short. I agree to disagree and respect your opinion.
 
We had 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 10-10: the shift rotations would be on Mon tues; off Weds Thurs, on FSS; of MT, on WTh off FSS. So you work 7 out of 14 days, and have a 3 day weekend off every other weekend; and you get 36 hours one week, 48 hours the next week.
The other type of shift rotation (That I LOVED); were on TH F S; off Sun, on M T W; then off for 7 days: 36 hours a week. you have a 7 day week off every other week. Never had to take vacation.
 
mycrofft said:
And rotating ones are the worst.

They make it extremely hard for most single parents, error rates go up, and the "savings" realized are due to not backfilling absences i.e., "working short, again").

It is not allright to "work tired" or "work hurt" trying to make it to your four day weekend. If you have to take off, you will lose 12 hrs at a time, not eight, and they will not let you accrue hours at a faster rate.

Eight hour shifts were traditional for a lot of empiric reasons. Some individuals, especially young ones, can hack 12 hr shifts, but you are sacrificing quality and using people up more like Kleenex than professionals.

That said, the less rotation and change in routine, the better for your circadian clock.
Click to expand...

Maybe it is because I am a youngster, but I *love* 12 hour shifts, although I would never want to rotate days/nights. They make my life much more convenient...
 
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