Day shift vs. night shift

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 6, 2005

i am a nursing student trying to decide which shift (day/night) is generally recommended for new graduates. i would like to know the pros and cons of working during the daytime verses nighttime. are there differences in workload, stress, nurse/patient relationship, amount of patients, etc.? is it different for different units? is it easy to adjust from sleeping at night to sleeping during the day? for the most part, i understand that the decision is highly individualized, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! thanks! :)

as a new grad, if you decide to work in the hospital setting, you're undoubtedly going to be doing some nights. the question is how many, not if.

the biggest disadvantage to night shift is that you're expected to work at night, when your body would rather be sleeping. (conversely, that's the biggest advantage to day shift. for most people, anyway.) nights has fewer people around: no administration, fewer medical staff, less (if any) management and families (for the most part) have gone home. there are fewer road trips, fewer students (if any), and fewer distractions. you pretty much get to plan and organize your work with less threat of someone ordering at stat head ct or deciding that they're going to put in a line right now! the pace is slightly slower, so you have more time to look things up. (as a new grad, if you're not looking things up, there's something wrong with you! look up drugs, procedures, policies, phone numbers, etc.) there are no meals to be fed, no flowers to be arranged, no irate visitors to be placated. (all right -- there always seems to be one of those!)

days has a faster pace with a lot more going on, and as a new grad you're going to be hard pressed to keep up with the tasky stuff, much less to worry about phone calls from 17 extended family members and the girlfriend who wants to know when the wife won't be around so she can visit. there are meetings, attending rounds, road trips to tests, and all sorts of other things going on. you generally have less control over your day, less time to look things up and more people watching and evaluating your performance. but you do get to meet the attendings and at least know them by sight, also administration. and some people just cannot ever adjust to nights.

nights has a cameraderie going on, that day shift seems to lack in many institutions. there's also an attractive differential in most institutions. if i weren't 50 years old and my body could take it, i'd work straight nights. however, when you get older sometimes you just can't take it.

ruby

student4ever · Nov 7, 2005

I agree totally with everything that Ruby said. Nights (which I work full time) generally has a cameraderie that I love - you get to know the people you work with better because there are fewer of you, and you rely on each other completely because it's just you guys. It is a slightly slower pace (though I work in the ER, and we all know that ANYTHING can happen there!), which I would think would be good for new grads (I'm still in nursing school, so I haven't experienced that yet). The differential also makes a huge difference.

But the bottom line is, no matter how attractive nights can seem - if you can't stay awake at night or really hate sleeping all day, nights won't work for you. I work with some people who do their 3 12hour shifts, go home take a nap, then are up the rest of the day and go to bed at night, and are up during the day the rest of the week until they go back in to work. That doesn't work for me. I love being up at night, and I always have. I work my shifts, sleep all day, and on my days (well, really nights) off, I stay up all night. In fact, I'm not working tonight, and I'm home, just got up at 11pm, and I'll be up until I get done with classes in the morning. That's just the way I operate with things.

There are all kinds of tricks to help you sleep during the day - I covered all my bedroom windows with tin foil - works better than anything else to keep the sunlight in. I do miss seeing daylight sometimes, but on my days off, I usually sleep in a little later and stay up part of the day. That way my schedule is a little different, but not too hard to switch back. Switching back and forth between being up in the day and then being up all night was killing me. My body didn't know when to sleep.

Good luck to you whatever you decide!

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Nov 7, 2005

I'm a new RN (graduated in May 2005) & have been working on a med/surg unit for the past 4 months on the 3-11 PM shift. I did most of my orientation on the day shift & I did learn a lot but it was very crazy & chaotic. I am much happier working the evening shift, plus we get paid $3 per hour more on this shift (nights is $5 per hour more).We get a lot of discharges and admissions, but generally I think it's more manageable than the day shift.

-Christine

KatieBell · Nov 7, 2005

Personally, I HATE NIGHTS.

It isn't actually the nights that I hate, but the fact that I am having a harder and harder time switching from day sleeping to night sleeping- so it sort of messes things up- especially if you will be going to some classes (ACLS/PALS/EKG/TNCC) during the day in your first year.

Night shift does tend to be "quieter" but when wierd things happen, then things can get very crazy- this is especially true of smaller hospitals that have to call in techs and teams for prodecures. When I worked level one, there wasn't too much difference between day and night- the pace didn't really change in the ED...and patietns still went all over for tests.

I used to want all nights, then I went to a off-shift (2p-2a) which worked out super, then I accidently switched to days, and I was shocked and amazed at how much more normal my life became. I was awake with the majority of the world. It just sort of normalized things for me. Currently I'm on a nights travel contract. I will not do it again, because I'm just so maladjusted.

For a new grad, I recommend orienting on days and starting on nights. Don't do rotation, unless it is a long rotation like one month of days transition, one month of nights.

Raevyn · Nov 8, 2005

I am about to graduate, and I have been working nights for a few years as a CNA then as a nurse extern. You couldn't pay to me to work days. I have been there during clincials.. and its just pure chaos.

I love nights, because there isn't any management, very rarely are there doctors, I get to do more patient care... and YES.. to those of you who do not work nights.. patients can still be demanding in the evenings too..LOL

I mostly work with the elderly patients on the oncology floor, and we have our handsful. I am usually the only UAP for 33 patients and I run my legs off... but still... there is a "family" type environment at night...

Im not saying its all roses and champaign... cause you know you have family members you just can't stand.:balloons: .LOL but you work around it... Besides.. I can sleep while my kids are in school... and be there for them if they are sick or if they Need mom at one of their school functions.. just love it!!!!

HUGS

RAE

SarahLovesNovember, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2005

For those of you who work nights are we talking 7pm -7am? Is it a really funtional shift for having children? I want to have children one day but also dedicate a lot of time to my career in nursing so I can excel. Any moms out there who find it difficult or is it true that nursing is a good "mother's" hours career? (My mom always said that)

Raevyn · Nov 9, 2005

For those of you who work nights are we talking 7pm -7am? Is it a really funtional shift for having children? I want to have children one day but also dedicate a lot of time to my career in nursing so I can excel. Any moms out there who find it difficult or is it true that nursing is a good "mother's" hours career? (My mom always said that)

There might be some mom's that feel its bad... but I love it. I have 4 kids, working nights (only three days a week mind you) gives me the flexability to be with them, save a fortune in Daycare... (of course.. when the kids are younger, you will need to decide if daycare is right for you)... What I did was work weekend shifts work two 12's and got paid for 32 or 36 hours depending on the facility. That way my kids didn't have to go to day care... I abhor daycare's.. but at any rate... now.. I wouldn't work anything but Night Shift.. so I can spend time with my family... three days a week is all I ever plan to work... it is perfect for our family... you just have to see if its right for yours.

HUGS

Rae:balloons:

SarahLovesNovember, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2005

I think a lot about doing night shift but how do you do when you come home from your shift? Are the kids in school or do you have a husband or family member to watch over them while you re-coup? Does night shift get paid more?

Raevyn · Nov 9, 2005

I think a lot about doing night shift but how do you do when you come home from your shift? Are the kids in school or do you have a husband or family member to watch over them while you re-coup? Does night shift get paid more?

Well.. I have a wonderful husband... and on the days I work.. his boss lets him come in late so he can take the kids to school. I sleep while they are in school and I get up just before the bus brings them home.

Yes.. night shift usually pays a shift differential. Most hospitals have a certain percentage of your base salary.. for instance.. our is a 15% differential. Lets say.. you your base salary is $16.00 you would actually get paid: your 15% shift diff = 2.40 + your base.. which is 16.00 for a total of $18.40 yeah.. I say its worth it.. !!!

HUGS

RAE

SarahLovesNovember, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2005

Thanks so much!

LoriAlabamaRN · Nov 10, 2005

It depends on what type of nursing you plan on doing, and how comfortable you are with working on your own. At my LTC facility, I work night shifts only and I am the only RN in the facility during that time. I don't take patients or give meds so I do not have to worry about that, but any emergency situation falls squarely on my shoulders. With 165 residents, emergencies tend to happen more often than one might think. It is up to me to assess and decide if someone needs to be sent to the ER, it is up to me to do CPR on codes, it is up to me to make split-second decisions every night that could have very serious ramifications if I get them wrong. I would never have taken this job right out of nursing school. During the day, the management is here and the RNs only have one hall apiece. Now, at a hospital, you would have people with you to assist you in making decisions and in handling crisis situations. Ultimately it boils down to how comfortable you are with relying on your nursing skills and your judgement alone.

Lori