Are these really the people that should be required to work so much? Isn’t their job about handling life and death daily? Wouldn’t we want exactly these people to come fully rested to work every single day and be fully staffed?
I don’t know if there are jobs with similar stakes that are so carelessly staffed and disgustingly paid.
Healthcare isn’t the same as other jobs. It’s better to do several 12 hour shifts in a row for 3-4 days than to take 5-6 8 hour shifts in a row. It’s better to do them all in a row at once rather than take days off in between. Work when you have momentum. You will burn out a lot faster if you work every single day, even if it’s for a short period of time.
Isn’t OP asking why not 8-12 hour shifts instead of 16-24 hour shifts though. Probably not suggesting more days either.