If you are a nurse, you already know your shift is not exactly a rest day. But the actual numbers, backed by research, are startling -- and they explain a lot about why your feet hurt so much by the end of a shift.
A landmark study tracking nurses across 15 US states found that the average 12-hour day shift requires a nurse to walk approximately 5 miles (roughly 8 km). Night shift nurses walk slightly less at around 3 miles, largely due to lower patient activity. On an 8-hour day shift, nurses cover about 3.3 miles.
What Does That Mean Over a Month?
Working an average of 40 hours per week, nurses walk more than 57 miles per month -- the equivalent of walking the length of the Gold Coast highway twice over. That is roughly 2 miles every single day, including days off.
A South Korean study published in Human Resources for Health (2022) tracked 117 nurses across 351 shifts and found nurses averaged 9,784 steps on day shifts and 9,720 steps on evening shifts. For context, the average Australian adult takes around 7,400 steps per day according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Why This Matters for Your Feet
The problem is not just distance. It is the surface. Hospital and aged care floors are typically hard linoleum, polished concrete, or tile -- materials that absorb almost no impact with each step. Every one of those 10,000 steps transmits that force directly up through your ankle, knee, hip, and spine.
A study published in ScienceDirect (2023) found that most nurses rely on non-prescription NSAIDs to manage foot pain, with many reporting a significant lack of knowledge about preventive foot care. Worse, some had undergone foot surgeries that still did not resolve the underlying problem.
Chefs and Hospitality Workers Walk Just as Far
A separate analysis found that restaurant servers -- who work 12-hour kitchen and floor shifts -- can accumulate over 20,000 steps in a single shift. Chefs working kitchen stations average between 9,000 and 14,000 steps per shift, standing on ceramic tile or concrete the entire time.
The Bottom Line
Your feet are doing the work of an athlete every single shift, without the recovery time, the specialised coaching, or the correct equipment. The difference between a runner and a nurse is that a runner would never complete a marathon in unsupportive flat shoes. You deserve the same consideration.