What do you do for 12 hours a day? For 2 days a week I work 12 hours at the hospital. Unfortunately this is not just a twelve hour shift. I arrive at work at 6:45 AM typically and do not leave usually until 7:30-7:45 PM. You can do the math, that is approximately 13 hours a day twice a week that I spend looking at the same walls.
I love my job, I love the people that I work with and I love the patients that I have the priveledge of taking care of, but for 12 hours? Some nights (Scott would say most nights) I would love to sleep for 12 full hours. During my days off 12 hours seems like an endless amount of time that I can accomplish all things on my to-do list, but the day always flies by in the blink of an eye.
However, when the 12 hour work day starts at 5:45, the clock seems to tick by very slowly. Yesterday, I thought to myself while working on beautiful Labor Day, "It must be about noon and time for lunch." Nope, dead wrong, the clock only read 10:08.
I am not complaining, I love my job, but I do not love my 12 hour shifts. They are the dread I feel when I look at my calendar and see a big fat "A" (nursing code for 7:00 am-7:00 pm) plastered on the day. Thankfully the next one is not until next Thursday....see you in more than a week 12 hour shifts.... I will not miss you.
