[CSHRN]

I like everything about the night shift except that it is at night. For all the same reasons everyone posted already-calmer, better pay, less orders being written, no family members, patients not leaving for tests, and the night crew is great.
What I don't like is how tired I am, or how the night staff is treated. Anything that the day shift doesn't want to do gets pushed to the night staff. Day shift working short?-no way they get a float, not nights. The cafeteria closes at two am, so sometimes we are left to eat dinner out of a poorly stocked vending machine. And some nights I don't get a break. I don't understand how my patents are supposed to be asleep all night, but I and constantly going for the entire 12 hours. But, I like who I work with and that gets me through it.

[ursulanursula]

I work both d's & n's. I am a bad sleeper at best, so I should like d's but i prefer nights.

1- less bs/mangement/other disciplines critiquing you.
2- i am a natural night hawk.
3- you don't have the rush on to have people washed before coffee break.
4- it is generally more laid back (can have hell shifts) ...but usually a slower pace.
5- more $$$ (not much $2.00 / h...but better than nothing)

[nurse414]

They both have thier good points as well as thier bad points. I am working nights again after working days for the last year. Prior to that I worked the night shift for 4 years. I thought nights were hard because my drive home after the night shift took forever and I was soooo sleepy I felt sick. I tried days and just hated it. I found that I really didn't like dealing with all the "attitudes" that the staff had, kinda a snob type. I noticed that the older nursing group wanted days as well as was not into new practice and seemed to always have a chip on thier shoulder. The good part of days was I was not tired after working 12 hours like I was when I worked nights--that is the only good point I was able to find (also the floor mngr was there during the days). So, back to nights where the families go home, the pt.'s are more relaxed and the flow of the floor is much less crazy. I find people die more at night and that is interesting as well. Sorry for going on and on. I guess I pick nights over days if I weigh it all out.

[cheerfuldoer]

Originally Posted by Buttercup7507

Do you prefer day or night shift and why?

Is it more difficult for a GN to get hired for night shift?

There was a time when my preference was night shift because there were less "chief-wanna-bees" to deal with, more autonomy as a nurse, and a calmer nursing staff to work with. Fast forward into this decade.........no longer is night shift an option for me because it greatly affects my health when working night shift in ways that it never used to. Otherwise, I'd probably still work night shift.

I've been a nurse over nineteen years, and when I graduated...night shift was the shift new grads had the market on. Today, the hospital ads I am viewing are mostly for night shifts. Guess nurses on the average no longer want to work that shift.

[doingourbest]

As a nurse who has spent three and a half years on nights waiting to get to days and am finally there, I am so glad! I have great sympathy for the nurse who took my shift and is so tired all of the time. Coming in 2-3 times a week at 2pm for mandatory meetings when you work 11pm to 7am is hell, particularly when you have children at home so that it is not like you get to go home and go back to bed after the meeting. Your weekends are also messed up and if you sleep normal hours on the weekend to be with your family then you are exhausted for the first 2-3 days of the work week. Days is better. It is hard and there are constantly a line of people: doctors, pt, ot, st, dietary, social services, and management that are standing in line to write orders for you to carry out or to tell you what to do all the while you have 5-6 patients on the toilet, IVs beeping, peg tubes beeping, another 5 patients begging for pain medication RIGHT NOW, CNA's disappearing from the floor, staff not showing up, it is hell, but it is still better than working nights.

[crb613]

Originally Posted by nightnurse1107

As a nurse who has spent three and a half years on nights waiting to get to days and am finally there, I am so glad! I have great sympathy for the nurse who took my shift and is so tired all of the time. Coming in 2-3 times a week at 2pm for mandatory meetings when you work 11pm to 7am is hell, particularly when you have children at home so that it is not like you get to go home and go back to bed after the meeting. Your weekends are also messed up and if you sleep normal hours on the weekend to be with your family then you are exhausted for the first 2-3 days of the work week. Days is better. It is hard and there are constantly a line of people: doctors, pt, ot, st, dietary, social services, and management that are standing in line to write orders for you to carry out or to tell you what to do all the while you have 5-6 patients on the toilet, IVs beeping, peg tubes beeping, another 5 patients begging for pain medication RIGHT NOW, CNA's disappearing from the floor, staff not showing up, it is hell, but it is still better than working nights.

I totally agree....I cannot wait for my chance to go to days! I worked days for 3 months during orientation, & yes it was a little hectic as a new grad....hectic I can deal with....nights I can't! Congrats to you!

[danissa]

on days I feel much better, even when tired i don't have that sick jet-lag feeling. It's also better for seeing my children, I leave home at 6.30 am, and am home by 8.30 pm on a day shift, so I still have time to see my teens! on nights, I feel that I don't see them at all, it's just a focus on work and sleep. Also, my house gets messed up when I'm nights, as i haven't got the energy to do any tidying before or after a night shift, (you just know that one hubby and three teens are NOT going to clean the house in the right way! or even at all!) That said, the actual working environment is so much better at night in the NNU, as mentioned NO managers and much more of a team effort.
the half hour drive home though is a killer, worse after a night shift.

[chezie_86]

I prefer... pm shift? as opposed to both night or am shift..
okay.. i'm not yet a registered nurse but a nursing student.. and i prefer pm shift..
in the am there are too many things to do, too many orders and u have to wait till the rounds for the pm shift is over before you can leave the place, coz you hafto endorse to the pm staff what happened to your patient.
if you're on night duty theres nothing to do.. all the staff does is talk to each other.. eat on breaks and etc.. no medications to give coz some patients prefer not to be disturbed..
pm shift is a mix between both because theres not really a whole lot to do, and not many doctors do their rounds. also the great thing about being in the pm shift is that you don't have to wait till the rounds of the night shift finishes.. (although i still don't understand why that is.. )

[elizabeth321]

Days....nights are meant for sleeping....I am going into my second year of straight days and have barely scratched the surface of repairing the damage of shift work on my self and my life. I would not recommend shift work to anyone...bad for the health, bad for relationships.

Liz

[danissa]

:

Originally Posted by chezie_86

I prefer... pm shift? as opposed to both night or am shift..
okay.. i'm not yet a registered nurse but a nursing student.. and i prefer pm shift..
in the am there are too many things to do, too many orders and u have to wait till the rounds for the pm shift is over before you can leave the place, coz you hafto endorse to the pm staff what happened to your patient.
if you're on night duty theres nothing to do.. all the staff does is talk to each other.. eat on breaks and etc.. no medications to give coz some patients prefer not to be disturbed..
pm shift is a mix between both because theres not really a whole lot to do, and not many doctors do their rounds. also the great thing about being in the pm shift is that you don't have to wait till the rounds of the night shift finishes.. (although i still don't understand why that is.. )

OMG!! I am definately working in the wrong place, must come to where you have been a student!! NOTHING TO DO ON NIGHTS??? Our NICU is as busy at night as it is some days! Some times we don't even get the chance to PEE! never mind chat and eat all night!
Maybe you are looking for an easier choice of career if you feel that there is too much work in the mornings and your'e in such a hurry to get out of there! Wake up to shift work and being busy---this is being a NURSE!!!!!