Day shift vs night shift

brownbook · Apr 21, 2018

I worked mainly night shift, 11 pm to 7 am, and occasional days 7 am to 3 pm.

Nights are usually quieter, and with less support staff we learn to count on and help each other.

The "mid" shift is the busiest. Most admits and post-ops get admitted during those hours. Plus the brunt of visiting hours.

You will be very busy. But you have already had an amazing experience with wonderful co-workers. It sounds like you have found a great place to work.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Apr 21, 2018

You are biting off a big chunk. 11A-11P is a crazy shift! You get the worst of both worlds---all the doctors, families, administration, orders, surgeries, PT/OT etc. on days, and the sundowners and less support at night. I was a float nurse on that shift and sometimes I had three different teams of patients during the course of a workday.

Honestly, I preferred the evening half of the shift. The 7P-7A staff was more cohesive and in my experience, less uptight. They looked out for each other. Now, the patients don't all sleep at night, hence the mention of sundowners, and there are apt to be more falls and codes during the night. But the advantages of nights outweighed days by far. I used to love it when 1730 came and the "suits" left for the day; the tension always eased and we felt more relaxed. It got even better when visiting hours were over (yes, they still had those back in the day) and the hospitalists had done their evening rounds. It gets really busy around 2100 since there's a med pass and treatments plus HS cares, but again, it doesn't seem so frenzied as the daytime. I've worked all three shifts and I'd rather work evenings or nocs any day.

Wishing you the very best in your new venture. It's a tough row to hoe, but you can do it.

dmgRN · Apr 21, 2018

I have worked nights as a tech for 7 years and I can say there is a huge difference between day and night staff. Nightshift people are a little more laid back but have a high sense of teamwork. With less resources available at night, you really learn to step up and help wherever it's needed. Now that I have accepted my first job as a RN, the shift was a huge driving factor. I was offered 2 different jobs, 1 on day shift and 1 at night, and I was sold on doing 3 12's at night. PM shift is definitely crazy, but nights is also exciting because you don't always know what to expect. I hope you enjoy it though! Good luck!