Day shift or night shift - Which do you prefer? Why?

Mully · Sep 16, 2012

Nights is the life! Especially when you're young and single w/o kids.

7p-7a and I love it

SarcasticLVN · Sep 17, 2012

When I first started my job I oriented on days and then a bit on nights (3-11). I work full time 630am-3pm but would work like 2 pms out of the month and HATED it! I'd dread going in.. A lot of it had to do with the way things were run.. More kick back and slow paced. I am a morning person, LOVE the following about am- administrator nurses/don because there is always someone if I need help, family- I like introducing myself so they know who is taking care of their loved ones, it goes by so quick and I'm a on the go kind of person.. And lastly I'm a lazy bum at night and like my butt parked on the couch watching tv lol. Everyone is different though plus my facility does pay more for pm or noc.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Sep 17, 2012

I work a weekend of nights and a weekend of days. I like the staff on both shifts, and because it is the weekend the suits aren't around. It's possible to have crappy days as well as crappy nights, so on that things are equal. I stay just as busy on one as on the other, it's just a different type of busy. My body much prefers days to nights, though. Coming home tired on days just does not hold a candle to the sheer mind-numbing exhaustion of coming home tired after 12 hours of nights.

tejon, DNP, NP · Sep 17, 2012

I definitely prefer working nights. I'm a pretty extreme night owl already: left to my own devices, I get tired around 0200 and wake up around 1000. So staying awake all night isn't particularly difficult. This schedule works really well with my family, as well. I go to work after my sons go to bed and am back in time to take them to school in the morning. Then I sleep during the day and am up in time to pick them up from school. On my "off" nights I make sure to stay up late so I'm not entirely off the same sleep schedule. I'll admit, night differential is pretty nice, too!

Lame · Sep 17, 2012

I'm a nursing student, but I just started my new job as an AL caregiver.

I've trained AM and PM. I like both, but I've found working PM is better for me. Today after I came home from my AM shift, I fell right asleep. Before I knew it, it was already 6:30. I'm not usually the type that likes to stay up late or take naps, but working AM is so exhausting! PM seems way more relaxed, although I start getting sleepy around 9. It doesn't help that I have to be up at 6 the next day for an 8AM class. However, I feel like it's better for me to work PM because of school. When I come home from an AM shift, I don't wanna do anything.

acunurse · Sep 17, 2012

I use to work night shifts 11 to 7am, and it was great, i sleep all morning get up around noon and stiil had some time around the day to do stuff, my nights off, i got good night sleep, it is a little hard on the body, so i take chinese herbs for nourishment. May not be good in the long run, but i stopped doing them cause my job started cutting hours,....so im back to job hunting. I also done 3 to 11 shifts, busy as heck but u learn more.

sapphire18 · Sep 17, 2012

I love the evening shift: 11-11 or 3-3. Just works with my body's schedule.

DeLana_RN, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2012

Nights is awful if you have young kids have to change back to a day schedule on your days off (the first day off is a total waste if you worke nights). I have never been so tired, I have absolutely no energy to do anything... used to exercise 3 times a week, now I'm lucky if I manage it once a month (need I add, weight gain/inability to lose weight as result?! Hate it). I've never been sick so much in my life, I've even had to call in twice and I never did this in my work life...

And I am naturally a night owl, really am, but this does not mean anything. Getting up at an awfully early time (at least, there's little traffic) beats not having life - which is what I feel on nights.

If the manager doesn't hire my replacement soon, she'll have to find two night nurses!!! I'm desperate to go on days, but they can't find anyone willing to work nights :banghead:

P.S. The other night nurses love it - none of them have young children, they can sleep as long as they want to, stay on a night schedule. Makes all the difference.

CruzanNurseRN, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2012

No Kids. So night shift works for me! I have never been/and will never be a morning person! To each it's own.

peasandonions · Sep 17, 2012

I work 6:45 pm to 7:15 am. I really like the night shift because

1. it allows me to see my baby more (If I was working days, he would be asleep when I went to work, and by the time I got home he would be asleep again)

2. The shift differential :)

3. Not all the management

4. It is easier to stay up all night and study or do classwork if I need to on my nights off

There are also cons though

1. The transition from nights to days on my days off (this is usually not that bad because I usually schedule them 3-4 in a row)

2. We are not allowed as many nurses aids

3. Patients are not leaving for tests and procedures like they do during the day, so you do not have the benefit of having a lighter load at times like they do

4. It is hard to attend meetings and mandatory seminars

5. We get admissions every night at the start of our shift, because the physicians discharge them at the end of their day shift

Overall, I like nights way better than days. Even though there are more cons than benefits, the benefits still far out weigh all the cons. It works really well with our family schedule because my husband is a full time student, so he stays at home with our son when he is not in school. I may try and move to day shift when my husband starts working, and our son is in school so that we are on the same schedules. I think if you are debating on days vs. nights, you should look at which shift may suit your schedule better. If you are leaning towards nights, try it and give time for your body to adjust.

LTCNS, LPN · Sep 17, 2012

I will officially start my new job this afternoon on 3pm-11pm shift. Kids are in their twenties and doing their own thing, hubby works days but we make the best of our time together. I have worked days for YEARS and no matter how hard I try, I am just not a morning person. Never have been and can get some really good sleep during the day. I am much more active in the afternoon and can't get to sleep until after midnight anyway, so getting up at 6am has been very hard. I like being able to have the time to do things I can't do on banker's hours as well. Shift diff. doesn't hurt either

happyinillinois · Sep 17, 2012

PM's and nights suck! You are off schedule with the rest of the world. All the kids activites are after school or in the evening. You miss out on everything that the rest of the world takes for granted and is able to do when you work a normal day schedule. The shift diff. is nice, but I honestly think it should be higher, because staffing is much lower, and when there is a call off, nights often doesn't get filled. I constantly felt "hung over" when working nights, and found it impossible to get to get decent sleep. The benefit is that staff often are very close and work well together as a team.