01/05/2026
An 8-hour shift is a labor victory, but the 13th hour is a nursing reality.
Written by Vivienne Ruth Zoleta
Tic-tock, tick-tock!
At last, it’s the end of an ordinary workday at 5 PM, going home to relax for the first of May. However, as a healthcare worker, tick-tock, tick-tock, your work day will continue for a couple more hours in the hospital environment, anticipating the rising and setting of another sun. Receiving new endorsements from previous shifts, the sterile smell of wards, and understanding that although the world’s clock stops ticking, yours does not.
But what is the goal of Labor Day, really? Well, Labor Day is not only an occasion but a memorial that aims at equality and fair treatment in the workplace. The 8-hour workday is one step that we managed to achieve, but one step that the healthcare system cannot provide us.
Wandering around the hospital wards, in other words, the tiredness that comes from caring for patients, meeting their demands, running to code calls, and having to stand for extended periods is just one of the many things that go on during our day-to-day experience of making it through and prospering in the world of medicine. While there is a constant push towards holistic patient care, what happens to us who are in the field of medicine? What it takes is not only physical strength but also the emotional and mental fortitude required even for the most basic tasks. How do you guarantee that your drug calculations are going to be accurate when your mind feels like it's in a haze?
Indeed, the transition does not stop even once the hour strikes twelve. Medical personnel remain up late, usually without compensation, taking care of other responsibilities outside of regular hours in order to guarantee the welfare of the patient. Balancing constant charting from one activity to another while also doing their documentation while taking care of the patient. There is also an added burden on top of all of that, a hidden responsibility which is never spoken of, the emotional strain of both the patient and his/her loved ones, as well as exhaustion from the whole shift.
And on this day, we must remember the importance of time, the unvoiced sacrifices, and the struggles that have made this achievement of the 8-hour workday possible. The healthcare system does not cease to function; it remains functional due to its indispensable role in society. It is within these acts of sacrifice, of unspoken resilience and love for service, that healthcare workers keep coming back even in spite of everything, not for what they gain from it, but for their compassion and call to action.
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