Days vs nights?

[nursing9462]

Worked nights for years. Debating applying for day shift. Thoughts? Days vs nights?

[Sweetheart2005, ASN]

I’m a day shifter currently 7a-7p, but I’ve done 3a-3p a  full test a couple years back and I have picked up a couple nights shifts. 
The two shifts are very different. Dayshift there are more people around giving you information, asking questions (therapies, social workers, imaging departments) as well as patient family phone calls, visitors (depending on covid regulations and your hospital’s policy... we have a limited visitor approach for now). 

Sleep schedule is more traditional and I could see an improved work life balance related to that. I personally prefer dayshift. I have night shift coworkers that would never dream of doing days because of too many people. 

Would you have opportunity to shadow a large portion of a day? What is your reason for considering days and what is your hesitation? 

[nursing9462]

22 hours ago, Sweetheart2005 said:

I’m a day shifter currently 7a-7p, but I’ve done 3a-3p a  full test a couple years back and I have picked up a couple nights shifts. 
The two shifts are very different. Dayshift there are more people around giving you information, asking questions (therapies, social workers, imaging departments) as well as patient family phone calls, visitors (depending on covid regulations and your hospital’s policy... we have a limited visitor approach for now). 

Sleep schedule is more traditional and I could see an improved work life balance related to that. I personally prefer dayshift. I have night shift coworkers that would never dream of doing days because of too many people. 

Would you have opportunity to shadow a large portion of a day? What is your reason for considering days and what is your hesitation? 

I am newer to this facility, so that's my hesitation. Also, means unlikely to get it. I know days tend to be busier, but the opportunity to apply for days is rare... My old facility would never announce day shift openings. 

[Sweetheart2005, ASN]

22 hours ago, nursing9462 said:

I am newer to this facility, so that's my hesitation. Also, means unlikely to get it. I know days tend to be busier, but the opportunity to apply for days is rare... My old facility would never announce day shift openings. 

It sounds like you want dayshift but concerned because you are new you won’t get it?  

If that is the primary hesitation, I would apply for it. If you don’t apply you for sure won’t get it. My facility hires nights only but when dayshift is available they email the unit to see if any current employees want to switch. It’s often the newer nurses who get it because the longer term nurses are happy on nights. 

If you don’t get it, I would think it would just let them know of your interest on moving to days. Some facilities have a list of interest and when a position becomes available they offer those people first. 

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

If it's something that you think you would enjoy, go for it! You know for sure if you prefer, you can always switch back to nights since we're always the short shift, right? I've been on nights going on four years. I really enjoy it. The thing I enjoy most is the autonomy of it (which maybe sometimes borders on over reaching my scope of practice). When stuff goes down and we can't get a doc there right away, we sometimes have to do it ourselves, like start a code, address an emergent situation, or get creative with stuff. I really enjoy that aspect. The extra pay is nice, but depending on your hospital it might not be much. For me it's been helpful because I'm free during the day to drive my kids around after school when a 7a-7p position wouldn't allow me to do that, or see many of their after school activities.

The downside of night shift for me is the slower nights. When I was newer I used that down time to learn a lot of things like reading all the consult notes and test results. More recently I have time to study for school work and my APRN licensing exam. But, I would really like the busier setting of days to see more of the providers in person and get more interaction around plan of care. Our unit is very collaborative with the docs and I would really like to learn more from them in person, but right now a shift change isn't feasible for me. 

Good luck with your decision!

[speedynurse, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

The good side of nights is you don’t generally have to deal with management or administration. It’s generally slower paced and the team is often close knit. It’s more laid back. The downside is your sleep schedule is messed up and you are often out of sync with the rest of the world. 

The good aspects of day shifts if you are on normal people time, generally have more resources, and you aren’t constantly trying to reverse your sleep schedule! The downside is it’s generally busier, you have to deal with management and administration, etc.

At one point, I loved nights.....however, at one point my body didn’t. I was sleeping about an hour before every shift, was physically sick from lack of sleep, and was always in a lousy mood from constant sleep deprivation. It really just depends on your personality, what you like, and what your body can handle.

[MyAimIsTrue, BSN]

I just started nights and it is not for me.  I hate leaving for work when my family is heading to bed and then sleeping through all the beautiful sunshine. And night shift at my hospital is S L O W. I am bored. I worked day shift at a different hospital and it was crazy busy and mentally and physically exhausting, but I was never bored. I am wishing for a compromise between the two! Maybe PM shift...

But if you want to try days you may as well apply. At my hospital it goes by seniority, if a day or PM position ever opens up. Which is rare.

[turtlesRcool]

On 3/21/2021 at 10:35 AM, nursing9462 said:

I am newer to this facility, so that's my hesitation. Also, means unlikely to get it. I know days tend to be busier, but the opportunity to apply for days is rare... My old facility would never announce day shift openings. 

I'm still not sure I understand.  Why do you want to work day shift?  Your hesitations seem to be that day shift is busier and you think you might not have the seniority to get the job.  But why do you want day shift?  Is it just because day shift positions don't seem to come up very often and you're afraid you'll miss out if you don't apply this time?  If you're otherwise happy on nights, I don't know that FOMO is a great reason to apply for days.

There are definite downsides to each shift. Some people can't do nights long-term, mostly because of the disruption to their sleep cycle.  Other people thrive on night shift, and would never apply for days, either because of the pace or because of all the additional people you have to work with during daylight hours.  One nurse told me, "I'd get fired in a minute if I worked days," and given her hilarious bluntness, she probably would tick off an administrator or a family member, but she's an extremely competent nurse, and an absolute asset to nights. 

I guess my advice is to consider what you want and why you want it.  If you are really interested in day shift, go ahead and apply because the worst that happens is someone else gets the job.  If you are only applying because you think day shift is where you are supposed to want to be are afraid of missing your chance, consider that if they are announcing this day shift opening, they will announce another one at some point.

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

30 minutes ago, turtlesRcool said:

One nurse told me, "I'd get fired in a minute if I worked days," and given her hilarious bluntness, she probably would tick off an administrator or a family member, but she's an extremely competent nurse, and an absolute asset to nights. 

That's literally 50% of our night shift crew. One is pregnant and for family reason will transition to days after the baby is born. We all have legit concerns for her ability to remain employed after that happens. 

[DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN]

On 3/23/2021 at 12:25 AM, MyAimIsTrue said:

 And night shift at my hospital is S L O W. I am bored.

I work nights in a unit that can swing drastically from mad busy to very quiet.

I ALWAYS have a book in my bag and that occupies the quiet nights. I'm also learning Spanish so a bit of revision gets done on quiet nights too.

I look at it this way: I don't feel guilty because my busy nights really are busy and I've done my time in busy jobs where there is never any let up. And if they want to pay me to read my book - fine with me.

[nursing9462]

Thanks for the replies. The opening was filled.

[dianearc, BSN, RN]

I have had this same mental debate of nights vs days. I used to work night shifts but I was on chronic over-the-counter sleep aids (even on my days off) because of a screwed up sleep cycle & inability to naturally sleep. After years on nights my body started rejecting nights, I was getting migraines & I was so drained even though nights were a different kind of busy that could not be compared to days. Meaning there tends to be more downtime on nights. I however prefer being busy, It makes the shift go faster.

 

I transitioned to days & almost instantly felt better overall. Completely stopped over-the-counter sleep aids. I hate waking up super early 😅 but my body thanks me everyday. I feel so much better. & my work-life balance seems better, I can sometimes meet a friend or so right after work if I'm off the next day (something that didn't happen on nights). My hospital gives a 10% differential on your salary to work nights & trust me it's very tempting because that's several thousands more annually (life is expensive here & that could cover mortgage taxes here) but I don't think I want to feel how I felt after years on nights plus there's so much to learn & see during the day. Plus more resources. I love interacting with more people & I also love the busy & craziness of days. As much as management is around, you're so busy you hardly have time with them or them you. For perspective I don't have kids & I'm not back in school yet. I consider myself a night person but after transitioning to days, I feel like I've become a day person (on my work days 😅) & the thought of working nights FT now scares me. & I repeat, I hate waking up super early but I like getting to work on time & I don't want  to go back on nights. I say if a day position opens up, apply & try it. You may be converted.