Does anyone like night shift?

[gohogs]

My gf when she worked it hated it with a passion. Said it was hard to see friends and family etc. Does anyone like it? Was is good about it? Doesn't seem like anything to me.

[Sparrowhawk]

Have you worked it?

[Nursetastic]

Love it. But only if I get all my nights scheduled in a row. If they are staggered, then it stinks.

[NPinWCH]

I loved nights, even after I moved to days I missed night shift. The thing I liked the most about it was that I had more autonomy on nights. Also a big perk is that with no management around there was a more relaxed attitude. Fewer visitors/doctors and other interruptions meant more time for patient care.

The bad parts were that some ancillary depts. weren't around, no pharmacy, no housekeeping, no dietary staff, which meant we had more to do. Sometimes not having the docs around was a pain because at night they could be difficult to track down. I didn't like having my nights split up, but other people did, so I think that is dependent on how you like to work.

Overall though, the good for me outweighed the bad. I think it might depend on the hosptial and the unit. I was in a rural L&D department.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

My gf when she worked it hated it with a passion. Said it was hard to see friends and family etc. Does anyone like it? Was is good about it? Doesn't seem like anything to me.

I worked nights for about four years. I loved it when I worked it, but now that I have switched to days I have to say I will take crazy family and busy docs over weird sleeping schedules, not seeing my husband, and the lack of resources.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

Let's see the 20% differential to work nights is a plus. Free parking, and generally less craziness on the floor (ie 20 docs aren't all writing orders on the same pt). I currently rotate, but am debating starting working straight nights so I can have more time to study during the day. I have done straight before and it's really not bad, I can run errands, go to business typically open 9-5, etc.

[gohogs]

Do more new rn's have to start nights?

[PackersFan]

Do more new rn's have to start nights?

Every single New Grad position I either applied for/interviewed for was for night shift. Although, my best friend did land a New Grad position in Tele on Day shift.

I accepted a night shift position. The shift differential will be nice, but I always have the option of transferring to days if there's an open position.

[gohogs]

So how much more does one make (in you own individual experience) working nights? A couple dollars an hour?

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

So how much more does one make (in you own individual experience) working nights? A couple dollars an hour?

Some places I work only gave me $1/hr more, which isn't much of an incentive. However the last two hospitals I've worked had a 20% differential on your base hourly rate for night shifts--typically $4-5/hr more. It adds up after a while

[gohogs]

Do you get extra if you work holidays?

[gohogs]

How do they choose who works the major holidays? (xmas, thanksgiving etc.)