Night Shift = Second Class?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Med-Surg.

I am a new nurse, working night shift for close to a year. It seems like the day shift is treated in a superior manner. For example, if a day shift person does an extra shift on nights, they end up being put in charge. I've seen it happen even if the day person is a per diem, part time, or has less seniority. Another thing that happened a couple months ago... when I arrived for my shift, there had obviously been a celebration. A semi-demolished cake was in the break room, along with other remnants of party stuff. When I asked what the celebration was about, I was informed that it was a thank you for a job well done. (We'd had a particularly grueling week before, the details of which I can't share as it would make me more identifiable.) I must have had a WTH look on my face because I was told by the charge nurse that we night people weren't forgotten, we'd get our party too. Glad I haven't held my breath waiting.

I could go on, and on, and on... So is it just my hospital, or do other people experience this?

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What you describe is par for the course for night shift. Every time there has been something nice at any facility that I have worked at, night shift got the shaft. One of my night shift supervisors actually went and dogged out the DON for how we were treated. One more reason why I idolized that nurse.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.

I believe it depends where you work because our manager makes sure that there is an equal division of congrats/celebration stuff on all shifts. He will go out of his way to make sure both shifts recieve the exact same attention. Hell he comes in at 4 or 5 am for the night shift staff meetings.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

Seriously?? Wow, maybe it's different in the south or something. I love my night shift. We have dinners/parties all the time, our management is great...I never feel like we get the "shaft," so to speak.

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Specializes in LTC/SNF, Psychiatric, Pharmaceutical.
Seriously?? Wow, maybe it's different in the south or something. I love my night shift. We have dinners/parties all the time, our management is great...I never feel like we get the "shaft," so to speak.

Nope. I live down south, too, and night shift is treated like the scum of the earth. They got everything dumped on them and it seemed like night shifters would get reamed by administration if day shift came in and didn't like something. Meanwhile, night shifters were regularly P.O'ed the second they walked in the door and saw they'd been left a gigantic mess, no staff, and a laundry list of whining from 7-3. There's not even a shift differential in most facilities.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

I have yet to work night shift at my new job, but I do know that they never leave full meals for them, only a snack while the eve. shift and days both get full meals, most of the time anyway.

Blessings, Michelle

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Specializes in med surg, LTC, ER , OB, PSYCH.

Oh yeah, I know where you are coming from and to make matters worse they leave their mess and leftovers for us to clean up !:madface:

And have you noticed how staff meetings , inservices etc. are geared for dayshift?:banghead:

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

I've worked at another facility where night shift was treated poorly. We were short staffed and it was busy as it had been on days. Management bought pizza for the day staff for lunch and a night shifter suggested we get the same and a day shift nurse threw a fit like we were suppose to just deal with it.

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................There's not even a shift differential in most facilities.

:eek: Seriously?!?!?!

Jeez, we get $7.50 night diff.

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Specializes in peds and med/surg.
:madface:

And have you noticed how staff meetings , inservices etc. are geared for dayshift?:banghead:

Yeah, we were told once that there was a staff meeting at 2pm!! Mandatory....one of our senior nurses asked if they could schedule one at 2AM....and recieved a scoff and a "No, that's the middle of the night, noone can do that"...to which she replied.."well, 2pm is the middle of my night."

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I understand your frustration with feeling getting the short end of the stick, but I'm afraid that every shift has it's disadvantages. Days nurses have to deal with all management, docs, PT/OT,family, getting everybody up,bathe 2 meals,meds,treatments, disgruntled LNA's who are sick of hearing only the things and trying to keep the peace,to trying dealing with issues that went on throughtout the eve/night in the the 8-12 hr. As far as benefits of parties or treats I can honestly say I have never had the time to indulance in cake or pizza during my shift. I feel like if I get time to go to the BR and grab a drink I'm having a great day. Lunch that is what you have on your day off.During the course of all this fun we are suppose to attend careplan meetings,inservices & other misc meeting in our spare time AND then have our Mangers stand over us asking why are you not getting out on time. I really do understand your frustration, but remember that grass that you think is green is really astro-turf:thnkg:I am not really to be mean but when you rec'd "stuff" pass on from days it usually is from issues that we listen to from the powers that be :smackingf

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I understand your frustration with feeling getting the short end of the stick but I'm afraid that every shift has it's disadvantages. Days nurses have to deal with all management, docs, PT/OT,family, getting everybody up,bathe 2 meals,meds,treatments, disgruntled LNA's who are sick of hearing only the things and trying to keep the peace,to trying dealing with issues that went on throughtout the eve/night in the the 8-12 hr. As far as benefits of parties or treats I can honestly say I have never had the time to indulance in cake or pizza during my shift. I feel like if I get time to go to the BR and grab a drink I'm having a great day. Lunch that is what you have on your day off.During the course of all this fun we are suppose to attend careplan meetings,inservices & other misc meeting in our spare time AND then have our Mangers stand over us asking why are you not getting out on time. I really do understand your frustration, but remember that grass that you think is green is really astro-turf:thnkg:I am not really to be mean but when you rec'd "stuff" pass on from days it usually is from issues that we listen to from the powers that be :smackingf[/quote']

:yeah:Spoken like one who has been there and done that. Yeah, I know and I feel for you. My favorite thing is when they have a meeting and introduce a new task. Then they say night shift can do it because they are not busy. Managment and bean counters have no idea what goes on at night because they never go near it. To them a job is something you do during daylight hours. They never ask themselves what is involved in working off shifts, what toll swing shifts take on a person. They don't ask because they don't want to know and I think they honestly don't care.

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