Day VS Night shift...help

Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN · May 25, 2016

It's totally different for everyone. I'm a night person and bouncing around at 3AM with no effort. Other nurses I work with can't keep their eyes open. Working during the morning makes me feel physically ill ...nauseous, mainly.

3-11 is also my ideal shift, but I haven't run into any hospitals in my area that offer it. I don't always sleep well during the day, but I think that's more from the stress of working the night before and knowing that I have to go back. I have the same problem with sleep when I have to sleep no matter what time of say it is.

My shift differential for nights has usually been about $4.00 (if I remember correctly).

Joanie49 · May 25, 2016

I am in the same boat as you are it sounds! I as well feel ill in the morning if I have to get up early, mainly very dizzy and nauseous and like I am unable to function X10. It is SO difficult to go to bed early enough in order to get enough rest to work day shift and then I just feel constantly exhausted throughout the morning.

The shift differential is more then I was expecting- that alone and being new I might give nights a try it can't hurt any!

Thank you for your reply! :)

WheresMyPen · May 25, 2016

When I worked as a cna I hates nights but as a nurse I love it. Doesn't drag on at all. Depends where you work and if you're a night person. I find pros and cons in all shifts. I have double the patients at night with less staff but it's not as hectic with other departments and consults, things like that. Very task oriented with chart checks and checking machines, changing out all the tubing every week etc, but my boss loves my assessments cuz I get to take more time with them. I rotate sometimes and it's nice to have "a life" so to speak when I come home at 3pm and get to see friends and family but I am most comfortable on nights. Hope this helps!

thebeccalc, BSN, RN · May 25, 2016

I LOVE night shift! I worked nights as an aide; I work them now as a nurse. It's the only shift I work, both NH (10p-6a) and hospital (7p-7a). I've always slept better during the day and functioned better at night so it really is an idea shift for me.

While the activity level *can* be lower at night, it really depends on the unit, census, and patient acuity level. I've absolutely had nights that dragged (thank the gods for Netflix), but I've also had nights when I didn't even think about charting until 3am because I was running nonstop, just like on day shift.

As far as pay, our shift diff works out to +$1 from 7p-11p and then +&2 11p-7a for LVN's. I believe it's about $2 higher for RN's. I think it's a flat +$3 for weekends (Friday-Sunday), plus $100 shift bonus for working additional shift (regardless of day/night).

Some things to consider:

1) Are you comfortable calling a doctor at 3am for any reason, a doctor who will usually not be your patient's doctor but merely the one on-call for his/her group?

2) How do you feel about the idea of not having management around to answer questions?

3) Do you prefer autonomy in your daily routine, or are you someone who needs more guidance from management?

4) Does the idea of attending a 1pm "mandatory unit meeting" when you've worked the night before and will be returning that night make you want to rip someone's face off? (Totally rhetorical, of course it does.)

Night shift is a different world at the hospital. In my experience, the staff is a closer-knit group that tends to work very well as a team because we're, quite literally, all we have.

I'm about to have to switch to days to better accommodate my school schedule, and I'm seriously dreading it. I love my night shift.

Maevish, ASN, RN · May 25, 2016

Soooo, I just graduated nursing school and would LOVE to get a 3-11 shift. That would be PERFECT for me but unfortunately most hospitals where I live are 12hr shifts that are 7a-7p and 7p-7a. I HATE getting up early in the morning for the 7a shift but I am worried about working the 7p shift because I have never done it before and don't really know what to expect or if it will drag or what exactly..

I know what it is like to work 7a-7p but can people tell me what their experiences have been with working nights 7p-7a? How is it different, do you find your sleeping patterns are drastically disturbed, do nights lag? What is a average shift differential?

Any help would be SO much appreciated!!
:)

I've never worked day shift permanently at any hospital job except for a month and I thought I was gonna die. If you're usually a night person, you shouldn't have any trouble with adjusting to the night shift.

If you don't have kids or a S/O that makes it easier too, because you can stay on your own schedule when you're at home. If I have only a night or two off, I'll stay on my NOC schedule because I can (heck, that used to be when I'd do my grocery shopping and the gym-at 2 am!). If I have a chunk of 3+ nights off then I might go back to "daywalker" hours, especially if I'm going to see my family or have things planned with friends.

You'll have to try it to know, but I've always felt that night shift is better when you're getting your bearings because there is typically (NOT always) less going on and less management and ancillary staff about. At least, that's how it was for me. I wouldn't have learned as well in the craziness of the day shift and, while I do stay over or come in early from time to time, I can usually handle myself just fine.

You get more procedures and stuff on day shift, though, and I'm crap at discharges, for example, because I never have to do that on nights in ICU.

Differential depends, but it's usually anywhere from $4.50 to $10/hour (though the latter is rare, in my experience). Usually between $4-6/hour.

And yes, any shift will lag if you're bored and have nothing to do (like a great many of the shifts in the "ICU" I'm currently travel nursing), but in a real unit with truly sick patients that doesn't happen to me very often.

Try it, you might like it!

xo

NewMurse1014 · May 25, 2016

Like the previous posters said, it's typically less busy at night, almost no discharges, and more teamwork as a whole. I work 7p-7a and keep my NOC schedule on my days off too. Sometimes it can be hard to sleep in the morning with noises from outside, but I'm used to the schedule already. If you're a night person definitely give it a try

quazar · May 25, 2016

I love the night shift for a lot of reasons, but definitely not for what it does to my body. It has absolutely ruined my sleeping patterns. However, the benefits of working nights, IMO, vastly outweigh the drawbacks.

I love the night shift staff, mostly. IMO, night shifters are different personalities that I seem to mesh with much better. They tend to be more laid back, have quirkier senses of humor, and (in my experience) work together very well as a team. The night shift can be really hard, because you're working with skeleton staff not just on your unit, but in the entire hospital, so you have to be self sufficient and find solutions "creatively" sometimes.

The hours can be hard to adjust to if you're not a night person, but if you are a night owl, they aren't bad at all. 4-5 am is "the witching hour" for just about everybody, but then you get your second wind around 5:45-6am because you know DAY SHIFT IS COMING IN HALLELUJAH.

I love the wickedly delicious feeling of coming home and chirping "goodnight!" to everybody who is trudging off to school or work, and snuggling into my bed in a quiet house for a day's sleep.

I love the fact that because there aren't many scheduled procedures during night shift, you don't have 8,000 extraneous staff members and administrative staff members up under your feet, running around, bumping into you and clogging up the nurse's station. I love not seeing my nurse manager for literally months at a time if I don't want to.

The shift differential has varied for me, depending on where I worked. It has been as little as $4/hr., and as much as $16/hr.. I don't work nights for the money, though. I work nights because it works best for my family situation, and because of all the factors I just listed above. Also because I loathe getting up at 5am.

Maevish, ASN, RN · May 25, 2016

preach!

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · May 25, 2016

3-11 is my preferred shift . I did find some facilities that staffed with 8 hour periods. Keep looking!

I worked 7 p- 7a , for me it was a nightmare. My circadian rhythm could not adjust and I slept the entire time I was off.

You may have another experience. I have friends that love the night shift.

The differential will vary by geographical area 2 or 3$. Who cares? No amount of money will get me back on night shift.

Good luck, let us know where you landed.

Joanie49 · May 25, 2016

Wow! Thank you everyone for replying- you all have made this a much easier choice, I am going to apply for nights and see how it goes. Anything is worth trying before having a wake up at 5 am in the morning for a 12h shift which I consider HELL and I dread.

You all have been SUPER helpful

Julius Seizure · May 25, 2016

I've worked at hospitals where the shift diff. was $5, and other places where it was a percentage, like 15% of your pay. I did it for a few years when I was fresh out of college and handled it great....and then suddenly my body couldn't do it anymore. I started getting physically ill every shift, and unable to safely work or drive home. But other people do great with those hours. No way to know till you try it. You could always try to test it out by putting yourself on a "night shift" schedule for a few days.