Successful night shift stories...

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I'm going to be working nights for at least the first year of my new job in the ER. After reading all of the horror stories on here, I'm skeered :eek:

I know there have to be people out there who are working nights and aren't miserable...right? :o

0 Votes
Specializes in ICU/ER.

I love nights! I work in the ICU and prn in the ED, and not all nights are wild, but the ones that are, are REALLY WILD. Coworkers are awesome, there's not as much staff so a lot of really cool stuff you might miss because of being really busy, meals pt ot etc, you're in on. Plus there aren't people piling on top of each other at codes and traumas. Just the necessary staff!

0 Votes
Specializes in CVICU.

Horror stories about nights? Seriously? I love nights. You couldn't pay me enough to do days. I love that there's no administration breathing down my neck, that the families are gone (unless the patient is circling the drain) and that the staff on nights is so much fun and so laid back.

0 Votes
Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I never worked nights as a nurse (yet), but I've worked night shifts in computers/IT for 3 years (8p-8a as well as 5p-1a) and loved it. The work environment is far more friendly and laid back, mostly because administration is not there :) Plus, it's great to get off work and hit the bank, store, etc. and not have to deal with crowds.

I'd love to go back to working nights, and with nursing I can...but right now my lifestyle won't allow it. In a few years though...

0 Votes

I used to work nights, and not having to fight traffic is AWESOME!!

0 Votes
Specializes in ED.

I just started working nights while I'm still in school and the thing I love most about working nights is NO MED STUDENTS!!!! I do my clinical on the same floor I'm working on and there are usually 5-8 med students at any given time hovering around the *nurses'* station and they can't seem to get out of the way. In fact, it seems like as soon as they see you wheeling the Dinamap machine toward a patient's room they step RIGHT in your path and look at you like, "You can go around me." F'ers. I swear, one day I'm gonna run one of em over.

The other great thing about nights is not many family members are around. Yeah, there are a few but they don't seem as needy most of the time.

This sounds selfish but I also don't miss giving as many bed baths and changing sheets and stuff. I really don't mind doing those things but it is also nice not to have to do it.

m

0 Votes
Specializes in Cardiac, Ortho/Neuro, Hospic, LTC.
Horror stories about nights? Seriously? I love nights. You couldn't pay me enough to do days. I love that there's no administration breathing down my neck, that the families are gone (unless the patient is circling the drain) and that the staff on nights is so much fun and so laid back.

Ditto This!:up::yeah:

I LOVE NIGHTS! More pay, Better time with my patients, less doctors, less families, less hustle and bustle. I could never work days.:down: I HATED day shift. I do 12 hour 7p-7a. I do wed-fri (or wed-sat during idiot season):jester::clown:

With working night shift I get to spend so much more time with my kids this way. I just sleep while they are at school and I get to see them off to the school bus when I get off in the morning, go to bed and then get up a bit before they get home. I am just finnishing my workout and ready for shower when they get off the bus. I get to do after school with them and not miss dinner with my family every night. Who can beat that? Heck...all I miss is them sleeping anyways?!! What is to miss? THEY SNORE anyway! LOL:lol2:

The joke about patients sleeping, yeah right! I work in a hospital on an Ortho/Neuro floor that is sistered to a Gen. Med/Surg Unit. We float back and forth alot. I transfered down from 2 yrs of Cardiac just over a year ago. I love my patients. We stay hoppin all night long. Really busy this time of year! ( Idiot season ya know!) I live in Panama City Florida and It is SPRING BREAK Y'ALL...roflmao and my floor is always full of broken college students who think they are superman and wonderwoman from hotel poolsides and balconettes, mario andrettii with a side of jack daniells, or mike tysons practice dummy. Like I said....Idiot Season...:jester:

I have worked the night shift ever since I have been a CNA in both LTC at a county home, in the hospital, and at a hospice care center in the Altz ward. All were different, all had the good and the bad, and all were challenging. BUT, I would always take a night shift over a day shift any time. I love the comraderie you get with your coworkers, the other staff of the facility, the patients, the pay,and the time you get with your patients is the key for me. AND HECK, you can't beat the shift diff! All that AND I get more time with my kids, and to be here when they get home from school and available if they have a school thing? Yep. LOVE IT.:redbeathe

Good luck and I hope you have a great time!:nurse:

Just a bit of advice, IMHO.... If you go in with a great Attitude of " This is gonna be great,I am gonna love this, I am gonna learn so much, and gonna have a smile and positive outlook on the whole thing" then You will do wonderful!!!!

I am rooting for you! CONGRATS BTW!!! GOOD JOB!:yeah:

0 Votes
Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

It depends... right now I am working five night shifts a week, 11p-7a, and am hating it with every fiber of my being.... mainly because I have two rather young children at home and a house to take care of that seems to be a constant mess. I am ALWAYS tired; I ALWAYS want to sleep!! If I get two nights off in a row, it really seems like I only had one FULL day off. I have coworkers who absolutely love this shift, but they are much younger than me and don't have the life demands that I do.

Now, 7pm-7am is a much different story! If I could get that shift I would be happy, but there isn't one currently available where I work. I highly recommend the 12 hour shifts, and I recommend getting them all in a row if you can; it's nice to have the four straight days in a row off. Where I worked before coming here; I worked 12's but would often have them split up some way; that didn't work as well for me.

I am currently trying to get my first day shift job in about 11 years; it's a Baylor weekend shift, on a unit that is somewhat isolated from the rest of the units, so hopefully, won't have too many people walking around such as doctors, SW's, administrators, etc, who I really don't want to see! =)

0 Votes

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the night shift!!

Better pay, great hours, 3 nights a week. I work while my family is asleep, I see my kids and hubby off in the morning and pick them up from school. More time spent with my family.

Love it!! And, so much fun sometimes... I work in an ER. :)

0 Votes
Specializes in ICU.
I'm going to be working nights for at least the first year of my new job in the ER. After reading all of the horror stories on here, I'm skeered :eek:

I know there have to be people out there who are working nights and aren't miserable...right? :o

At around 4 or 5 am get ready for the chest pain rush. Thats about the time people wake up with chest pain. Atleast in my own little stent in ER nursing.

0 Votes
Specializes in Telemetry.

I just started working nights as a new grad, and I'm loving the night life. The occasional doctor shows up, and families are scarce on my floor. Much less chaos.

0 Votes
Specializes in Critical Care.

More pay. More autonomy. Co-workers that are the bomb.

"Oh, you guys must not do alot because the patient's just sleep..."

Ha...what a joke, I've had more codes since coming to nights than I ever did when I worked days/eves. I get to actually KNOW the patient, get their history, review the lab/imaging results and delve into their problems. Then, I get to pass my suggestions onto the day shift.

It's really nice when your suggestions are taken up and ran with.

Nights are the way to go. Welcome aboard, and enjoy the party!

0 Votes
+ Add a Comment