Due to the pressure of coverage gaps and ensuring appropriate patient handoff, what often happens to documented 12-hour shifts in reality?
Answer
Documented 12-hour shifts frequently become 13- or 14-hour shifts, especially during high admission periods or staffing shortages.
In practice, the commitment to patient safety often compels staff to remain beyond their scheduled end time, especially when staffing levels are inadequate or during peak patient influx periods like flu season. The expectation is that the worker remains until their patient load is safely transferred to the oncoming staff. This results in the documented 12-hour shift often naturally extending into 13 or 14 hours on many occasions, even though the intent was to work only 12 hours.
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