Is it a good idea to work 5 days straight (12 hours shifts/day)?

Hi nurses! Some of my co-workers have done this before, but at the end of the 5th day they look so tired. Do you think it is worthy? Some of the older nurses say that after the 4th day everything is lost in taxes. Give me your opinion in this matter.
I've worked 4 days straight, and yes I have noticed that you get taxed pretty heavily. Sanity wise, I prefer my 3 days(and max 4) but depends on what you have going on in your personal life (married, children, etc).

2 things, it is up to the individual person as if they can do it. ( I personally do it all the time), secondly overtime wages are taxed AT THE SAME RATE as regular wages. There is not a special tax rate for OT wages. The IRS considers all wages earned as just that, wages and are taxed at the individuals tax rate. They do not care if it is overtime or regular time.

Agree with above, your true tax bracket is based on your annual adjusted gross income, not what you made in a given week. Your weekly deductions are based on how you set up your exemptions.

Research indicates this amount of hours is dangerous and some industries strictly prohibit it. It is sorta like being drunk. You really are not in a position to judge your level of impairment.

I successfully worked six days/12 hr shifts for more than a year, but my employer would not pay me overtime. Because of that experience I avoid such situations now. I felt it necessary to agree to this arrangement in order to be employed, but I ended up leaving the employer anyway.

Quote from happyface27Hi nurses! Some of my co-workers have done this before, but at the end of the 5th day they look so tired. Do you think it is worthy? Some of the older nurses say that after the 4th day everything is lost in taxes. Give me your opinion in this matter.

NO, three in a row is killer. Four in a row and im a zombie!

Depends on why you are doing it. I wouldn't if the 4th and 5th shift weren't OT. When I was a new nurse, I had the opportunity to work as much OT as I could handle at a very fair wage too I must say. I worked 4-5 12's a week on the night shift for a year. The goal was to pay off my student loans, and pay off my car. After that I was debt free and have been debt free ever since.However I would never do it for straight time or if my employer scheduled me that way without my permission. One think that is fact though is on your 5th 12 your patience is very thin and sometimes I wonder if that is fair to the patient.

It's not safe. Studies done on nurses have shown (and of course I cannot find the studies when I need them) that each 12 hour shift you work has more risk of making mistakes. I would also hate to be on the road with you when you were driving home. Just not worth it.If you have to work that many hours, try to break the days up into 2 and 3 so you can sleep in on that third day and rest fully.

How many days off in a row do you get afterwards?

No. Such a bad idea. The most I will work is 5 days in a row and I only do 8s and by that last day I am experiencing serious compassion fatigue and I either get very surly or very giddy.

When I worked in the hospital and nurses worked more than three in a row.... They were bears to work with! Along with all the other reasons listed here, it made the other nurse's life bad. I would get so tired of the moaning and complaining during report and during the day. Or they would call in on the fifth day. YOU made the decision to work five straight...... Shut up :). That used to be one of my rants. Drove me nuts. If YOU decide to do it, please don't talk/complain about it on day four and five!