Background: Twelve -hour shifts are flexible patterns of work, but it have an impact on several 
aspects of patient care and staff nurses' and their professionalism. Aim: To assess nurses' 
perception regarding twelve-hour shifts and professionalism at intensive care units. Research 
design: A descriptive correlation design was used. Setting: The study was conducted in all 
intensive care nurses at Tanta University Hospitals, The Emergency Hospital and Tanta 
International Educational Hospital. Subjects: All (N=272) intensive care nurses who worked 
twelve -hour shifts in the previously mentioned setting.  Tools: Two tools were used to collect 
the data, Twelve Hour Shifts Questionnaire, and Professionalism Questionnaire. Results: More 
than two-thirds of intensive care nurses had a moderate level of overall perception regarding 
twelve-hour shifts. More than half of intensive care nurses had a high level of overall perception 
regarding professionalism. Conclusion: There was a positive statistically significant correlation 
found among intensive care nurses overall twelve-hour shifts and their overall professionalism.  
Recommendations: Nurse managers promote a healthy work-life balance through encouraging 
nurses to practice self-care and create a healthy coping mechanism. Regular meetings should be 
held for sharing their thoughts, recommendations, and potential development strategies with first 
line nurse managers.