Day or Night shift in L&D

[MissyKrissyRN]

First off, I would like to say that I LOVE allnurses.com! I'm practically addicted and get on here almost every day to read the forums. :redpinkhe After months, I finally decided to join and here's my first post!

I'm a new grad (Dec 2010) and like most new grads I took my first job offer & have been working on a med-surg floor for about 4 months now. I can honestly say that med-surg is not for me & give all respect to med-surg nurses that have worked/been working the floor for years! I don't know how ya'll do it. I have always wanted to work in L&D. It's the only reason why I became a nurse.

So I have been continuing my search for a career in L&D and I finally scored an interview for next week . I think that there is a night as well as a day shift position available, and I just wanted to get an opinion from the seasoned nurses as well as other new grads in L&D to see which shift (day vs. night) would be better for a new grad to work (if I happen to ever get hired in L&D). I currently work nights and eventhough I don't like having to go into work at night, I like the night shift. Its busy but not as overwhelming as day shift with all of the physician rounds and new orders and we have great team work. I know that there is a lot to learn during day shift (and in L&D period) & I'm sure nights on L&D is just as busy, but I'm afraid of getting too overwhelmed and drowning.

Can ya'll give me your opinion on which shift may be better for a new grad, and also the differences between night and day shift??

Thank you all in advance for your responces! I appreciate them! :heartbeat

[sunshine1216]

1st of all are you a day or night person? I am a firm believer in not working the time of day that is not your time of day. If you really don;t care then I would definitely say days. It is so rare to be offered straight days. Plus you will learn so much more. Think of all the scheduled c/s they are usually on days. I prefer more seasoned nurses on nights because they tend to run shorter staffed.

[beachyfe]

Its busy but not as overwhelming as day shift with all of the physician rounds and new orders

First, you don't have rounds in L&D like on med/surg floors. One doctor from each practice will usually stop by the hospital each day to see postpartum and antepartum patients and will stop by L&D if any patients from their practice are there. But mostly you just get doctors coming in for deliveries when you call them to come. They will write orders if they're on the unit, but the vast majority of orders are given to you over the phone.

I agree with Tinkerbell - day shift will provide you with more opportunities to have labor inductions, C/S's, BPS's, etc. Night shift staffing is lower, so you don't have as much help available for problems/emergencies. Night shift usually has more spontaneous births (as opposed to inductions on day shift), so an inexperienced nurse can get overwhelmed more easily. I started on nights, but it was truly a "trial-by-fire" way to begin (and I was a new grad!). It all worked out though - I did it for 16 yrs; 9 on nights and 7 on days.

[MissyKrissyRN]

Good point! I would love to be there for all of the c/s. & I would def need all the help I can get. I'm usually more productive at night, but I really don't care about time of day. I actually wouldn't mind having a day-time job and get back on a regular schedule like "normal" ppl. Thanks for the input!

[luv4nursing]

Keep in mind you will more than likely train on days even if u are hired for nights because there are more learning opportunities....sadly nowdays most labors are scheduled inductions and scheduled c sections which happen during the day. At night u will see mostly spontaneous labor and emergency sections.

If u prefer days and are offered it, is take the opp bc its not common to get hired on days in OB...too many nurses with seniority who would get the spot first. On my unit I know a nurse who is next up but has been waiting 7 years! I worked nights at my last job so I don't mind and it works for my family. I also really enjoy the differential! Id have to work extra to make up for the pay cut. I'm training on days now and pick up here and there on my old unit.

[MKS8806]

When I was a new grad, I was hired for nights. However, my unit trains for labors on days so that you get the induction routine and scheduled sections. After labor training, you come back to nights. I would say there is a big difference in days and nights - at least on my unit. Don't get me wrong though - the training on days is necessary. But, everything on days is generally scheduled. On nights, you have to be able to do things more on the fly. We do not have in house anesthesia or surgery crew either. So it makes things a little more intense when situations arise - we don't have all the resources available that the day shift does. That's part of the reason I like it though!

[MissyKrissyRN]

Thanks ya'll for the replies! They gave the opportunity to the more experienced nurses. The manager called me personally to tell me that she like my interview and I would have been offered if there were more nurses to precept me (being a new nurse and all). So I'm encouraged to continue to search and keep applying after I gain more experience.

In the mean time, I'll just keep looking for a way out of med-surg. I actually interviewed to transfer to post-partum at my hospital, but since they are getting rid of the weekend program the open positions have been filled. I'll just keep my fingers crossed and pray that something comes along.