Do you like day or night shift better and why?

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Nov 3, 2006

At my hospital, the majority of new grads start on nights because the nurses with seniority prefer day shift. Most people say that it's easier to stay on a regular sleep schedule if you work days.

An advantage to nights is that it might not be quite as hectic. Fewer physicians and other providers will be coming and going on nights, so there are often less new orders and the like.

puglie · Nov 5, 2006

I work the graveyard shift . I dont like it for sleeping purposes because I work every other week. I work this shift because I dont want to work with the bosses, the people who want to be boss, the people who think they are the boss , the people who wish they were the boss, the doctors, the nurses who think they are doctors, the doctors who want to be any place else but where he/she is, the doctors that I cant understand because of heavy accents and then get angry because I cant understand them, the family members (no explination there) and all the people who are only there because they have terrible home lives, never leave the building and are miserable. Thats why I work nights and I LOVE IT !!! :)

muffie, RN · Nov 5, 2006

I work the graveyard shift . I dont like it for sleeping purposes because I work every other week. I work this shift because I dont want to work with the bosses, the people who want to be boss, the people who think they are the boss , the people who wish they were the boss, the doctors, the nurses who think they are doctors, the doctors who want to be any place else but where he/she is, the doctors that I cant understand because of heavy accents and then get angry because I cant understand them, the family members (no explination there) and all the people who are only there because they have terrible home lives, never leave the building and are miserable. Thats why I work nights and I LOVE IT !!! :)

well put

jabiru · Nov 5, 2006

The permanent staff where I work (full time and part time) do rotating rosters. Some wards have 12-hour shifts and others 8-hour shifts. Everyone is expected to do everything.

I don't think new grads should be put on permanent nights, just because it suits the more senior staff to do days. How can the new grads be supervised properly? How do they get to see how the ward runs during the day? Days are completely different from nights where I work.

I'm casual for family reasons, so I do only evenings. They're slightly less frantic and suit my personal situation.

Sunny01 · Nov 8, 2006

I love night shift because most of the time everything is slower. I am not a person that seeks chaos and therefore I look for environments that are quiter and suit me better. For some nurses night shift is just boring and they hate it. For me it means having enough time to do things right and less stress. I am also a night person to begin with, have no problems sleeping during the day and functioning during the night.

navynurse06 · Nov 12, 2006

I love night shift! Less people running around the unit, and less drs in the nurses's station bothering me! Also, I sleep better during the day than at night.

gemgem · Nov 14, 2006

I love night shift! Less people running around the unit, and less drs in the nurses's station bothering me! Also, I sleep better during the day than at night.

i agree, ive been working nights since i started (4 years) which i love. ive never slept well at night, so working them helps me. your also able to do jobs, that day staff have no time for. i work on a elderly rehab ward, and although its very heavy, working nights ables us to talk to the patients and be more 'hand on'

love nights Hate days :rotfl:

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Nov 14, 2006

Days. I sleep better at night. I never have been able to adjust to sleeping during the day, and always felt tired when i had to.

crb613, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2006

Days!! when the sun is up so am I. I am on nights & hate it.

hikernurse · Nov 15, 2006

Days. I like getting up early and I may as well get paid for it, LOL.

I much prefer the atmosphere at night, though. Things tend to be a little more peaceful and even with the extra night shift stuff (you know the patients all sleep at night, not requiring med passes or care) that gets added, it just seems calmer. I love not having so many people around and answering phone calls and trying to keep up with the new orders (new nurse here and if it weren't for all the new orders, I think I could do it, LOL). That said, I'm old enough to prefer sleeping at night.

Most nurses at my hospital (except the ones who've been there forever and in certain units) work half days/half nights. My unit is four weeks days then four weeks nights. That works as well as anything.

NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN · Nov 15, 2006

One thing to consider about nights as a new nurse is that while the pace may be a little slower (depending on the type of floor/unit you're on), you have fewer resources. There may only be one person working in pharmacy. There may only be one secretary to float for the whole house. (That's if you're lucky at my place of employment. It's an 800+ bed hospital to boot.) Some floors have their own night secretary or share one with another floor, but many do not. You may not be able to get ordered equipment, tests, etc. like you would during the day. There's just also less staff period. If there's three nurses on and someone codes, usually two are in the room and one is keeping an eye on the rest of the floor. What does all of this mean to you as a nurse? A lot of the stuff that the ancillary staff takes care of during the day falls on you.

Don't get me wrong, I love my nights and wouldn't work full time days unless that was the only way, but appearances can be deceiving.