advice for a soon to be burnt out night shifter?

[SrnD]

Hello all! I'm a new RN and have worked at this hospital for about 6 months now on a crazy busy med/surg floor and have been doing full time nights for about 4 months. At first, the nights thing was going okay (it's my first job working nights) and although it was difficult it was doable, so i had hope that it would continue to work out. but as time goes on, i'm beginning to feel more and more burnt out and seeing as this is my first nursing job ever, that really scares me. I don't believe it has been affecting my performance at work but i worry that it eventually will.

I have been applying to other hospitals but have heard nothing so far. I even spoke with my manager about the possibility of decreasing my hours since i thought maybe that would help, but she didn't really sound like she was going to take much action on that and is known to be a little flaky anyway.

so i've been thinking of transferring to another position, maybe one with slightly less hours or a different shift but i'm a little confused as i'm so new to all of this. do i talk with my manager again and let her know i'm going to put in for a transfer or do i just do it? should I let her know that between full-time, nights, and my personal/family life it's too much right now? i'm not sure what do to...i love nursing and i know it's going to be stressful pretty much no matter what but i really don't think i can go on like this much longer =(

[Propranolol]

I work nights too. it was difficult switching from days to nights. I don't know how your schedule works, but i work 12 hour shifts. 4 days off. once a month i try to take 5-6 days off in a row. i feel refreshed when i get back. It took me about 6 months to get used to working nights. took me a year to find my groove (i.e. working out my schedule, sleeping/eating habits, etc). good luck.

[dmoney2023]

You need to change up the routine. Is it the number of days in a row you work, or the sleep/wake schedule? I stay up pretty much all night whether I work or not (as you can tell from my time posting this lol) and I think it helps a lot. If doing 3 or 4 in a row is too much space your work days out. Bottom line, try new stuff until you find out what works, but remember it is never going to be easy or ideal. Nursing is hard and no matter how you slice it-night shift sucks!!! Hang in there :)