Day vs Night Personalities

ivyleaf · May 18, 2018

WHat would you say about midshifters (3-11/11-11 ED)? ; )

ScottMedicRN · May 18, 2018

I don't work with mid shifters often.

bugya90, ASN, BSN, LVN, RN · May 18, 2018

It's the opposite one my unit. Day shift tends to be more go with the flow type (we have to be with the amount of random last minute things that happen). Night shifters tend to be more stressed out and on edge.

Sour Lemon · May 18, 2018

Has anyone else noticed that day shift personalities tend to be very strict type A, and night shift usually is much more relaxed?
At my hospital the day shift is constantly writing people up, gossiping about eachother, and very dramatic when emergencies happen. It's like their first code every time.
Night shift is very laid back, loyal to eachother, and relaxed during serious emergencies.
Don't take this the wrong way day shifters, as I mean no disrespect or over generalization, because there are exceptions. Just something I noticed when switching and wondering if it's just my hospital and I'm legitimately afraid to apply for a day shift position for my next job.

That sounds like a place with "shift wars". We don't have them where I work, thank goodness. If day shift takes things a bit more seriously, at times, I think that has to do with management hanging over their heads and around their necks.

brownbook · May 18, 2018

I kinda agree. But that wouldn't stop me from applying for a 7 am to 3 pm shift. If you find yourself not liking the day shift personalities it shouldn't be too hard to switch to 11 pm to 7 am shift

mrcleanscrubs, BSN, RN · May 18, 2018

@ScottMedicRN

Great observation!

I too have noticed this in the hospitals I have been in.

I think it has to do with the culture of the unit and the people on nights.

Also, it should be noted that during night shift (depending on your facility), all you really have is each other (nurses). Usually, the on call physicians and nurse practitioners are not around and you really have to work as a team.

Days may be more hectic and high stress due to the pure business of the morning- everyone has a million things to do and may be on edge.

Also, families are around and that might add to the stress.

Again, not saying this is written in stone- just saying this is what I have personally observed.

Kindly,

MrCleanScrubs

Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN · May 18, 2018

Please stop this.

What is it about the night shift that you have to keep posting about how great you are and how terrible day shift is.

We dayshifters work just as hard as you nightshifters and believe it or not, we do work as a team.

Our nightshifters are a very tight bunch , so tight that when I did a night shift to help out with a staffing crisis , not one of these fabulous Night nurses spoke to me the entire shift. Never again.

brownbook · May 18, 2018

Whoa there fella. Just kinda joking around. I think days and evenings are way harder than nights.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience when you worked nights to help out. That is wrong in so many ways.

AceOfHearts<3 · May 18, 2018

Please stop this.
What is it about the night shift that you have to keep posting about how great you are and how terrible day shift is.
We dayshifters work just as hard as you nightshifters and believe it or not, we do work as a team.
Our nightshifters are a very tight bunch , so tight that when I did a night shift to help out with a staffing crisis , not one of these fabulous Night nurses spoke to me the entire shift. Never again.

I unfollowed a page on Facebook because it promoted shift wars so much. It was always about how great night shift was and how hard they work (and how easy day shift has it). I work both shifts. I like both shifts. There are pros and cons to both shifts, but in my experience day shift is harder. That's also not set in stone- sometimes night shift has a horrible night, but day shift is nice and smooth.

As others have said on day shift we have management to deal with, families, tests and procedures, PT/OT, speech therapy, admissions AND discharges, etc. There is a different feel and flow to day shift, and nights on my unit tend to be much more laid back, so it would make sense that the night nurses seem more laid back. I have a different flow to my nights than others who work strictly nights and that's ok. I bust my hiney to get everything done as early on in my shift as possible and others don't. My philosophy is that you never know what's going to happen- I like to hustle at the start so I can chill or help others with admissions and issues without worrying about getting my own stuff done. I know part of my habits come from the fact that if you don't hustle on day shift you are going to fall behind.

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · May 18, 2018

I think it's more of a unit culture, not a day shift/night shift thing.

I've always been day shift and have never seen a huge difference in type A/type B shift assignment, it's usually 50/50. I have never worked on a unit that has time to worry about writing each other up on either shift.

PeakRN · May 19, 2018

We definitely have a different culture on days and nights. Days plays by all the rules and are generally more up tight. Nights are much more relaxed and has a more get it done approach.

There isn't any secret to this and both shifts know it, and we don't hold any animosity against each other for it. Much of it is the result of different patients that come in during the day compared to the nights, the lack of suits running around at night, and the difference in resources between shifts.

I think to a large extent people end up attracted to one shift or the other. We have new nurses who fight tooth and nail to get to days, and nurses with decades of experience who will never leave nights.