Does anyone like working 7p-7a?

kwagner_51 · Mar 9, 2006

I work 7p-7a on the weekends [F-S-S] and 11-7 during the week. Believe it or not, the 12 hr shifts allow me to get the job done better than the 8's.

I worked days [7-3] for 2 months and absolutely can NOT stand it!! On days, you have to deal with bosses, drs. etc. On nights its you, your aides, and another nurse.

I love it.

When I come home, I have a cup of "Tension Tamer Tea" by Celestial Seasonings. It is available at WalMart on the tea and coffee aisle. The tea helps me relax and sleep. It is natural and tastes GOOD!!

Good luck!!

______________________________________

In His Grace,

Karen

Failure is NOT an option!!

SmilingBluEyes · Mar 10, 2006

Prefer 12s to 8s, clearly, you get more days off-----

but I am not going to kid anyone by saying I love night shift. I really dislike it....goes against my biorhythms and makes me feel sick at times. I also love how many dayshifters (not all!) are under the impression patients sleep all night and therefore, so do we........so they staff accordingly, of course.

And they expect us to pick up things like all the PKU/hearing testing, etc on newborns, restocking, cleaning, making chart packs and putting together gift bags. Well, sometimes, we do have the time, but it's assumed we always do.

The doctors are definately harder to deal with on NOC than day shift. They are crankier, more tired and just harder to get to work with you. They are human too, they no more want to be up all night (esp if they have office hours that day) than we do.

One more thing that can be tough, most of the meetings and classes are at times that clearly only consider dayshift schedules-----who wants to attend a class or meeting at 3 or 4 p.m.? It's like asking dayshifters to do this at 4 a.m. The differential is surely substantial, but does not make up for the inconveniences to my body and my time off. If I were not PRN I could not do it. Full time NOCs would do me in.

Now there are some I work with who LOVE NOCs. Less "suits" around to bug them. It is a slower pace, most of the time----and some just do great being up all night. I know a few who would not have it any other way, that is for sure.

Dayshift is certainly not easy; you work very hard----but I definately prefer it much more than nights.

Personally, I hope one day soon, to be done w/NOCs forever. For now, it is what works for my family schedule. So that is why I do NOC shift.

PS: Melatonin is my friend.

AllisonLP · Mar 10, 2006

I'm kind of curious how people with smaller, school aged and toddler aged kids make the night shift thing work.... some insight would be great. Are you the ones that get the kids to school? pick them up? do you get enough sleep? I'd prefer the night shift for many reasons but this seems to be a problem.

Allison

SmilingBluEyes · Mar 10, 2006

Such people usually have excellent day care or family that helps out. Or they do as my dh and I have for 6 years: work opposite shifts and days.

Luv2banurse2004 · Mar 10, 2006

I just returned to 12 hr NOCs after a 3 month hiatus (d/t relocation). I LOVE it. I work three and even though I am not much of a day sleeper (I usually get 4 hours) I have my schedule arranged so as not to be totally exhausted. I don't have any trouble staying awake--I keep busy most of my shift. Also, I work w/a great crew of folks on nocs. Even when I previously worked in acute care on nocs, we pulled together and no one was ever just left to fend for themselves. I did not have this experience on days--it was a "dog-eat-dog" environment with lots of staff "wars."