Back to night shift...am I crazy?

[cosmicmama]

I've been a nurse for nearly 30 years. I've done my share of night shift, around 15 years total. About five years ago I left the bedside to do case management for an insurance company, and while working from home has been nice, the work doesn't feed my soul and I find it incredibly tedious and boring. Also, I have gotten a couple of masters degrees while working with this company, and I'm ready to move into nursing leadership but I just don't see a niche that I would enjoy in the industry that I am currently in. I would like to go back into acute care. I have 13 years of labor and delivery experience and I am interviewing for a night shift assistant nurse manager position at a large teaching hospital. I feel this would get me back into the hospital, get me started on acute care nursing leadership, and get my foot in the door for more opportunities in a field that I loved. However I am nervous about going back to night shift after all these years. I'm just wondering if I'm going to be able to manage it for a year or two until other opportunities open up. Has anyone else gone back to night shift after being a "normal person" for several years, particularly if you are a little older?

[Neats, BSN]

Most of my career has been spent working Monday-Friday days, and Holidays in the facility as the host with my family. Night shift does have some perks though...

No management

Best co-workers-tight group

Higher salary

No family member or at least very few

If you treat your body right, sleep at least 6-8 hours uninterrupted, have dark out window treatment and wear noise block out hearing you should be fine. I have thought about night shift but I know I am a morning person.

Good on you!

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

I worked nights for 15 years, have been on days for 5 years now and still haven't fully adjusted to being "normal." My stretch of days off you will usually find me awake until 3 or 4 am, guess I'm just a night owl at heart. Anyway, since you worked nights for so many years you should probably find the old muscle memory comes back pretty quickly and you can join the dark side again without much trouble.

[Rayngler]

With your experience I think you will have nothing to worry about!

[Medic_Murse, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

I love night shift. All the insane people work it, and it's great!

[SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN]

I do night shift when it does more for me than to me. Plenty of downsides; weight gain, fatigue, the world being on day shift.... However, where I am people don't want to work night shifts so their are economic and chance for advancement opportunities that don't present themselves on dayshift. I'm on nightshift now because when we are slow in the ER I can study for my NP boards and when I was in school I could occasionally have the opportunity to study at work & do my clinicals in the day. In the end their is no free lunch. Everything has its plusses and minuses. I'm 56 now and am very much looking forward to getting off nights but every situation is unique.