Nursing and night shifts

Published May 28, 2011

33 Posts

I am thinking of going into nursing. I have an appt. with the admissions counseler at my local U on Tues. to discuss my options for educations and am looking at working as a CNA to get experience. There is one question on my mind that is making me a little hesitant about going into the field. I know it is hard, physcially draining work and I am prepared for that but one thing I don't think I would be able to do is work the night shift.

I know I cannot do evenings bc I have little kids, and by the time I start they will be in school. If I do evenings I wouldn't get to see them. I just don't think I could do nights though. I have had problems with insomnia and anxiety and the periods of my life where I wasn't able to have a good sleep schedule my health really deteriorated. I also think if I had to keep on a schedule where I had to sleep during the day even on weekends (to keep my schedule regular) I would become really depressed. So, my question is, in this tough job market would it possible to have a nursing career without having to accept the night shift? Is that the least desirable shift that is most often available to new grads? I have a B.A. so I was thinking of getting my BSN and RN since I already have a lot of the prereqs but this issue is making me think that maybe an LPN would be better since they usually work in clinics and doc offices which have more regular schedules. Also, are nurse's schedules usually 12 hr or 8 hr?