7p-7a or 3p-3a...any insight?

Altra, BSN, RN · Feb 9, 2012

I'd take 3p - 3a.

You'll get exposure to both day and night shift staff, management, and typical patient census. And you can probably be asleep by 5am, while it's still dark.

Good luck to you. :)

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Feb 9, 2012

Id try a 3-3 shift just to see what it is like. I imagine I could be a better functioning member of society with that instead of 7-7

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Feb 10, 2012

See if you can shadow both shifts.

I oriented on days and then started working 3p-3a because there wasn't a ton of competition for it and I could get the days I wanted to work. I actually liked that shift. You got to work with both the day and night crews so got to know most folks in the ER. It really wasn't *that* much later to stay up if you could sleep in a bit during the day. You can keep that schedule and still be awake and about when the rest of the world is on your days off, and if you try to keep a night schedule you're mostly up when everyone else in your life is alseep.

The negative side of that shift is that in my ER that falls in the busiest time so you have NO downtime to catch your breath or stock your rooms or get yourself organized. IME days usually start slow and nights end slow, but the mid shift is busy the entire time.

I think if you're not a night person, the 3-3 is the better choice of the two, even if the differential is less than the night shift.

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Feb 10, 2012

I preferred 3p-3a. As noted above, you get to work with everybody except the 7a-3p folks. And at my hospital, it usually seemed to simmer down around 0130 or so, giving you some time to catch up. Having worked all shifts over the past 3 1/2 years, I like 11a-11p the best.

cardinalle · Feb 10, 2012

Maybe I'm weird, but 3p-3a was much harder for me than 7p-7a. The entire shift was busy, with no time for a break...until things slowed down at 3 and it's time to go home!

wooh, BSN, RN · Feb 10, 2012

If I could (it's not available working on the floor) I would go to 3p-3a in a hearteat. It actually matches what my body wants to do. Nights and days both suck for me sleep wise. 3p-3a would be awesome. (But I'm a happy floor nurse, and it's never available on the floor.)

NeoPediRN · Feb 10, 2012

3p-3a is the best shift ever. The entire shift flies, you can be up by noon and still have gotten a full night's sleep, and you have time to run errands before work. I've worked both and would do 3p-3a over 7p-7a in a second.

VICEDRN, BSN, RN · Feb 10, 2012

I started as an RN on a midshift and I would strongly advise to consider your options wisely.

First of all, the midshift folks see the ER at its busiest. There is no downtime and therefore I found fewer opportunities to learn from other nurses because no one was available.

I also found that I missed out on the better assignments because no one wanted to assign critical care rooms or trauma bays to a person who was here halfway through shift or leaving halfway through shift. I spent a lot of time in urgent care and in triage (once I qualified) and in general ER rooms that could be closed when I left or opened when I came. In other words, I got the least acute assignment.

I finally decided to transfer to 7p-7a for the increase in opportunities. Not only have I found that I have more opportunities to learn, I feel a little less hopeless because the ER really does slow down at some point in the early hours of the day (say 0330 to 0930 am) which I never knew till I transferred shifts.

The only way I will go back to midshift is if I feel I have adequately built my skills and career to the point where I don't mind constantly chilling in triage, urgent care or sitting on b.s abdominal pain pts.

I will conversely, the schedule itself is very convenient and I loved how I could have a life before work but still sleep somewhat in the dark.

Just a thought...

srobb11 · Feb 11, 2012

Thanks everyone for your input. You've provided some great advice and I appreciate it. I'm leaning towards 3-3 for the reasons you all have stated.

....I also found that I missed out on the better assignments because no one wanted to assign critical care rooms or trauma bays to a person who was here halfway through shift or leaving halfway through shift. I spent a lot of time in urgent care and in triage (once I qualified) and in general ER rooms that could be closed when I left or opened when I came. In other words, I got the least acute assignment...

Thanks VicedRN. I've noticed that it seems to be the same in our ER and this was a thought in my mind as well.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Feb 13, 2012

In my ER I was hired for 3-3 it's their busiest shift. For my orientation I have to work my preceptors shift. My first preceptor worked 1-1. It wasn't bad at all. I worked 7p-7:30 at my previous job. My second and last preceptor is 7a-7p. I HATE mornings, I am not a morning person at all, I don't get differentials and so on, outside of that I haven't minded the shift at all. It seems to really fly by more so then mid-shift or even night shift.

You would think that 3-3 would fly by since it's so busy but because it is busy and the beds are all often filled with 9 deep in waiting, I find we are often in holding patterns. Waiting for admissions and discharges and waiting for results and so on. So a lot of times we are just stuck. In the day shift we usually always have open beds so the flow is a lot better and the shift seems to go quickly, by about 3 am things start slowing down again and dying off so there is a lot of down time. (things don't always work this way of course, but at least in my ER it's often been this way)

I look forward to working to working my mid shift though. I don't have to wake up super early, I will get to see tons of stuff, and I will have a more human and natural schedule. I normally stay up until 2-3 in the morning anyway. So on my days off I am far more functional and I will still get differentials.

Oh and another thing I love about mid shift is I get to work with everyone. Now that I am strictly a day shifter for the rest of my orientation I really miss working with my night shift peoples. I only see them during shift change now. (our shifts actually start 15 min prior to 15 after) So that will be another plus when I am off orientation and back on my mid shift. I will get to see everyone.

sharpeimom · Feb 13, 2012

i must be the weirdo in the group because i worked for years on 7pm - 7am 3 days per week and loved it! i am not a night person by any stretch of the imagination. i was never able to sleep after i got home after 3pm - 3am, but was home by about 8 am and snoring by 8:30.

sometimes i'd stop at the gym and work out too.