What do you think of 11 am- 7 pm shift?

Nurses General Nursing

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I signed up for a 11a-7pm shift at my work. The paper to sign up has been there for longer than a week now, and I am the only one who signed up for it so far. Looks like I might get it.

I searched for a 11-7 day shift on allnurses, but there really isn't anything I can find. I saw several 11p-7a shifts.

Has anybody worked this shift? Is it this bad that nobody signed up for it? I currently work 7p-7a, and nightshift is really killing me now. I want to just work dayshift. 7a-7p or 11a-7p doesn't matter. I will probably work 4 or 5 days a week now, but I think I am okay with it. What do you all think of this shift? I am questioning it, because I don't know why nobody else wants it in my workplace.

People seems to like 11p-7 a shift though. But not dayshift 11a-7p.

I know so many people signed up for 7a-7p shift several weeks ago. So it is not that nobody wants dayshift... Is it only because it is 8 hr shift, or am I missing something? Looking forward to reading your opinions on that.

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

This is one of the shifts in the OR where I work. Their responsibilities are to provide meal breaks for both day and evening shift and to take over cases at 3pm for those heading out at that time. It's a rotating shift because nobody wants it full time- things not open in the morning, closed when they leave, interferes with child care, etc. However, in your situation that shift sounds like it would work. Personally, I would have inquired about the responsibilities and expectations before signing up for it though, just to be going in eyes wide open.

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Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

Yes, it is a permanent shift so far.

I have read all the comments. Thank you all for the input!

I better do ask about it and see the expectations before I accept the position. I have been thinking about this since yesterday, and I am somewhat worrying. I will be asking my employer what that shift will be like. Floating, assignments, etc.

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Specializes in psych.

But when I work night shift, it takes me more than a day to recover from even only one shift. I am still losing the same 4 or 5 days per week while I work 3 nights/week, because I have trouble recovering from nights. So, I am thinking that it won't be a big issue days/week wise. At least I can have healthy, awake 2-3 off days...

So, I think 11a-7pm would fit me personally.

I will better decide when I do it, but still... :)

I noticed no one has addressed Seas' comment about taking more than a day to recover? Are you working nights and then trying to flip to a day schedule on your days off? I spent several years working 13 hour and 20 minute shifts to get my 40 hours in (it was a state job, not nursing). I worked 440pm-6am and it killed me at first trying to completely flip flop to a days schedule on my days off like my coworkers. Then I read an article that talked about how disruptive it was to the body to go to sleep more than 4 hours earlier than your "bedtime". So I adjusted my sleeping times. I would stay up until maybe 2am on my 4 nights off and get up usually late morning. By doing this, I still had most of my "day" and all evening to get stuff done or hang with friends and my hubby. Then I still had the time before 2am to get grocery shopping and some cleaning done if I hadn't already or spend some time reading. The biggest advantage though was I didn't feel like I was dragging on my days off and didn't feel like I was jet lagged and had to recover. I say this as a person who is not a night person.

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I'm in home health with a flex schedule and I naturally fall into this 11a-7p or 10-6ish schedule. I love my mornings at home and don't fully become brain operational until late morning. But I can feed my horses, some would take this opportunity to ride, go for a walk, clean my house, get my nails done etc before all pistons are firing.

I usually see patients until 4 then do paperwork at home, while my younger child was doing homework or as older child is at practice. Then I still have enough time in the evening to eat, feed the animals and either have a glass of wine on the patio or snuggle in for favorite sit com before going to bed. (Kids are older and only 1 late teen at home now) It feels natural to me. And in home health, I found 5 sane days works better than 3-4 crammed days.

If I worked a shift and couldn't spend the last hours at home, I would like 11am - 7p only if I were childless.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

As TheCommuter said, 8-hour shifts turn into 10-hour shifts. That's the part that I would hate! When I was an LPN pursuing my ASN, I would go in when called (due to frequent cancellations, I would take what I could get), but when I couldn't get off on time on school nights, I agreed to come in for 8 hours. Ten hours later, I would walk out the door. So, again when called, I would tell them that all I was available to do was 6 hours. Just like planned clockwork, I got my 8 hours in.

The other nurses absolutely HATED my leaving early, but on the days that I was free to do the full 12 hours, as a 'mere float pool LPN', I was ALWAYS either cancelled or placed on call, hence my pursuit of the ASN in the first place.

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Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.
I noticed no one has addressed Seas' comment about taking more than a day to recover? Are you working nights and then trying to flip to a day schedule on your days off? I spent several years working 13 hour and 20 minute shifts to get my 40 hours in (it was a state job, not nursing). I worked 440pm-6am and it killed me at first trying to completely flip flop to a days schedule on my days off like my coworkers. Then I read an article that talked about how disruptive it was to the body to go to sleep more than 4 hours earlier than your "bedtime". So I adjusted my sleeping times. I would stay up until maybe 2am on my 4 nights off and get up usually late morning. By doing this, I still had most of my "day" and all evening to get stuff done or hang with friends and my hubby. Then I still had the time before 2am to get grocery shopping and some cleaning done if I hadn't already or spend some time reading. The biggest advantage though was I didn't feel like I was dragging on my days off and didn't feel like I was jet lagged and had to recover. I say this as a person who is not a night person.

Yes, I try to go to a day schedule, but I am just suffering. I am amazed how many nightshifters don't have issues flipping to day schedule and they still live a normal life. I talk to my coworkers about it, and I am just amazed. lol. I can't do it. Say for example if I have 2 nights off, I will come home from work and sleep until maybe 3-5 pm. I wake up still exhausted. And no matter what time I go to bed that night that I am off work, I still get up at like 1500-1530 the following day. And I am still exhausted! My days are all wasted like that. I am in school to get my MSN, and I have to get up and do homework. If I didn't have school, I guess I would just drop dead in bed.

Night shift is definitely going to be the end of me if I continue doing it. I am hanging in there until I get a day position, but it is just hard on my body.

By the way, I didn't get the position. I was the only one on the list, so normally I would get it. But an assistant nurse manager decided to become a staff nurse and of course got the position without even signing up on the paper. It is okay, because I was second guessing myself on that lately.

I will just wait for 7a-7pm positions to come in my unit.

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You arrive in the middle of the day/shift. You get patients transferred to/dumped on you. And oh this one needs this, but I haven't had time and this one needs that but I just haven't gotten to it, so you feel like you are playing catch up the entire 8 hours. I only did it once or twice and on days I didn't have my boys. I think you'll find that you don't like it in my opinion.

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I would take that shift over nights any day.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, Dialysis, Hospice.

Honestly, I think it sounds horrible if it's five days a week, but not as terrible if it's, say, three days a week. It would be almost impossible to get anything done outside of work on any day that you worked. Do this shift for five days a week, and you will do nothing but catch up on other stuff that got neglected on your only two days off. I would never do it.

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