Are you one permenant nights?

Nurses General Nursing

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I just did my fist night shift and I think I may have found my calling! everyones unconcious so they cant ask you to fluff their bloody pillows or do something they can easily do themselves, no relatives on the phone. you get to wake up doctors and treat them in much the same ways as a kitten would a ball of yarn, the majority of arrests happen at night (and call me sick, but I love participating in an arrest, especialy sucessful ones, theres no better rush)

And I spent 3 hours holding a patients hand and telling him he'd be okay as we sorted out his SOB (resps of 45-50) which is the kind of one on one care you cant give duiring the day....

yup yup yup, no more evil day light for me! I will be that strange skinny guy with skill the colour of alablaster who only comes out at night to care for the sick, sociability and friends are for the weak!!

you get to wake up doctors and treat them in much the same ways as a kitten would a ball of yarn

I never thought of it this way before!!!!! Now I won't be so hesitant to call dr's at all hours of the night. :)

Leigh

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I think that most of the "Day Lighters" problem is that they suffer from sensory overload. ie...to many people, intercoms shouting at you, the phone nonstop. Plus, it's way to bright!!! Night shifters have to rely on themselves and each other without fourteeneleven people putting their 2 cents in.

20 years of nights, and counting.

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Welcome to the noc shift. I love it as well. I tried dayshift for 3 weeks and suffered nothing but misery. It is that small percentage group in nursing that relishes night shift. I love it. You will never have to worry about employment that is one shift that is usually the shortest. You will have an unique bond with night shift. :-)

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Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.

I work nights (6p-6a) in LTC and it's great...yeah you are busy...try making the alzheimers patient try to sleep on YOUR schedule...see how it works! :chuckle But there are no "higher ups" breathing down your neck, there aren't any doctors, dieticians, PT or anyone else throwing orders at you. :D

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Specializes in Interventional Pain Mgmt NP; Prior ICU and L/D RN.

:p I have been working night shift for 5yrs and absolutely LOVE IT!!! Although I would have to say that where I work (step down ICU med floor) rarely does anyone sleep!!!!! Then come rounds in the a.m. the docs think they are too drugged or too lethargic and d/c ALL THE SEDATIVES:( The day nurse agrees with them despite what they were told in report!!!! I have always been a night owl so I don't have a prob with it. And like most have said no MD's, PT, OT, Speech, Administrators, etc milling around getting in the way. If I want a doc I will CALL THEM!! I find on my floor the night shift have better critical thinking skills also...maybe b/c we have to use our heads instead of simply asking a doc, etc that is there!! I still have to carry people to CT, radiology, (we have vents, gtt's, ect) so everyone must go with a RN and monitor; R.T. has to come along with the vent pt's. I will never change my shift unless I get a nice cushy position out of staffing....LOL:roll

NIGHT SHIFT RULES THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!:D

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

If nightshift "rules the house", how come they are treated like red-headed stepchildren everywhere I have worked? Can SOMEONE puuuhleeze explain how a hospital can treat roughly 1/2 of their staff like crap routinely? Just wondering.....

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I used to work permanent nights

but it was TAKEN FROM ME

cry sniffle pout moan complain gripe

I want it baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

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Specializes in LTC, Alzheimers, hospice.

Shhh.... britishstudent dont let the cat out of the bag, best kept secret in nursing the night shift. No families, no management, no doctors & all things pretaining to the day shift.

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Specializes in cardiac, diabetes, OB/GYN.

God yes...Prepare to take 10 years off your life..

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Specializes in General/Trauma/Neuro ICU.
Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

If nightshift "rules the house", how come they are treated like red-headed stepchildren everywhere I have worked? Can SOMEONE puuuhleeze explain how a hospital can treat roughly 1/2 of their staff like crap routinely? Just wondering.....

No Kidding!!! As much as we all know how hard we work regardless of what some day-shifters persist in thinking (I don't know why they don't understand that if someone is sick during the day, they ARE STILL SICK AT NIGHT), after a while it gets so disheartening to be treated like we do nothing but sit on our bums while patients sleep. Sleep, yeah right. Who does all the baths? My patients are vented and sedated, and are all bathed at night. Or worse, why do DT's seem to hit or climax at night? We seem to do all the IV changes, tubing changes, etc, and are treated like we don't do a thing. Not to mention most codes and admits happen at night.

Before I went into ICU, a wise old nurse told me that it would be the most exciting and the most boring job I'd ever have all at the same time. I think it's that much more true on nights, and I don't think I'll want to switch anytime soon! Long live the night owls!

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I used to work nights in the NICU, and I loved it for all the above mentioned reasons--especially no family members around. No moms around insisting that they want to breastfeed their 2 lb premies on vents! But the thing that got to me was, well, having to be up all night. These were 12 hour shifts so I worked only 2 or 3 a week, but I was constantly tired. No matter how much I slept in the daytime, I was tired. And I was getting sick all the time. When I switched back to days, or an occasional pm shift through the registry, I felt like I'd been injected with a zillion mls of caffeine. My energy returned, and I returned to a normal state of good health. If only nocs didn't mean having to be an owl...

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