2nd shift vs. 3rd shift

[kennybania]

I searched around on the forums but couldn't find anything that answered my question specifically. To give a little background I am a new nurse that has been working at an inpatient psychiatric facility for the past 8 months. I started out on 3rd shift. I really thought that I would enjoy this shift because I would be able to get up early during the day and get the things I needed done and have somewhat of a social life. Also I have always been kind of a night person. After working for a few months, it became much harder to sleep and I had to take medications to fall asleep. I sleep much more than I used to and just cannot find the energy to get up early. I never have much energy anymore. I believe the worst part of working third shift is there is hardly any patient interaction, nor is there a lot to do. I specifically joined nursing for the patient interaction and being able to be involved in the patients treatment, and I don't feel as if I am accomplishing much working third shift. I was thinking about going to second shift. It would be great if any of you vets could give me a little insight into the pros and cons of both shifts. Thanks.

[Orca, ADN, ASN, RN]

I have worked all three shifts, but if given my choice, I would opt for swings. I have never been much of an early bird, and I am generally at my best during the evening hours. There is plenty of opportunity for interaction as you have the evening meal, visiting hours and a good portion of physician rounds.

Night shift isn't for everybody. I hated driving home in the morning with the rising sun glaring in my eyes after a long shift. It's also tough to try to sleep when most of the rest of the world is at their time of peak activity. It isn't a natural thing to work at night and sleep during the day. That said, God bless the people who can do it and do it well. I'm not one of them.

[TerpGal02, ASN]

I love second shift. I'm not much of a morning person, so driving to work before the sun is even up is not my ideal, but I can deal with it. 3-11 is perfect for me. Let's me sleep in, work during my most productive time, but I can still sleep at night and have a life. I don't have any kids though, I think it would be different if I did. Only thing I don't like about evenings is that's when most of our admissions come in. Sometimes you feel like all you're doing the whole shift are admissions. When I was younger working nights wouldn't have been a problem. I used to stay up until 5 am sometimes watching Law and Order reruns LOL. My body likes to sleep at night now LOL.

[Heavenly4505]

Back in my younger days, I preferred second shift because I didn't have to get up early. However, now as a mother of 2 school age kids, I HATE second shift! The only time I see my kids is for about 30 minutes in the morning before they go to school and on my days off. They are in school when I leave for work, and they are asleep by the time I get home. Second shift is the WORST shift if you are a parent, unless your kids are not yet school age. Then you could spend some time with them before you go in. Otherwise, you will never see your children. I used to work 12-hour night shifts and I LOVED it. I was home at 7:30 AM to get my kids off to school, slept during the day while they were in school, and then got up at 3:30 to get them off the bus. I was still able to have dinner with them and get them started on homework before I had to leave for work at 6:30 in the evening. However, night shift messed up my body. I ended up gaining weight from eating at night and drinking tons of soda just to stay awake. I became pre-diabetic from the weight gain/unhealthy habits. So I accepted a 1st/2nd shift split position (one day on 1st shift, one day on 2nd shift, and one 1st/2nd double shift each week for 32 hours total). But I hate the days that I have to do 2nd shift and the double shift. I don't see my kids at all. But at least I'm able to sleep at night and am not up all night eating. Different shifts work for different people. If you can, I recommend asking if you can "shadow" or "orient" a couple of days on 2nd to make sure you're going to like it.