Switching to night shift?

[JacelRN]

Hello everyone,

I'm sure this topic has been dragged through the dirt several times, but I needed to know from those of you who may have decided to switch to night shift.

My situation is this.

I am a new grad, about 3 weeks out of orientation. I helped cover a night shift last week. Despite the terrible strain it put on my sleep schedule, I liked it. After recouperating, I'm still doing so even today as you can see from my post time, I feel that it may suit me better than days.

My most recent day shift after this night shift I worked was horrible. Doctors throwing demands my way, interruptions to my organization, etc. I felt so out of whack I wanted to leave the floor crying and never come back.

I realize I'm a new grad and this is my time to learn, but perhaps I could learn more smoothly on nights.

Can anyone give me any thoughts or advice on what they believe night shift could do for me?

Thank you and have a great day,

JacelRN

[zacarias, ASN, RN]

6. Another plus, is that I do have some control over the actions of the nurses that follow me. In my facility the day shift, or (day *****es as we call them) think they are far superior. If a particualar am nurse is well unfreindly, she will quickly find I will not do the extras for her..

All the nurses I work with seem to like me on all shifts. There is on nurse though on nights (I'm now on nights too) who barely talks to me and is hardly civil to me unless she is charge. She doesn't like me probably for some imagined slight but I haven't the foggiest. I am nice to everybody.

Mornings are really busy and one time she had an IV antifungal due on her shift at 2100. She told me that she was way too busy to hang that antibiotic then so she rescheduled it for me to give at 0800. What timing, just starting my shift...anyway, the admonition of Rodney King comes to mind, "Why can't we all just get along?"

[lilcajunnurse]

I have worked night for 13 years. I would never work days if given the chance. Too many chiefs and not enough indians. Nights also allow you time to really get to know your patient. You often discover things that need to be handled to aid in the plan of care. I found that the stronger nurses are on nights (please ,day nurses do not get offended)in my facility (a small one) we are down to 6 workers in the entire hospital. You cannot depend on someone else to do something for you, most often you are doing it yourself or in a small group. We have to be able to function alone and on hetic days be able to prioritize our work. Here we have no ward clerk, no emergency room clerk. If there is a code in ER, the CNAs mind the station while the nurse run to ER to assist. Same thing happens if a code is on the floor, the ER comes to us.

I started working night when my children were little and needed me during the day..now they are older and still need me during the day. But that is ok with me..I LOVE NIGHTS! Every week I work 4 --12 hour shifts and take call for ER on my days off. We are a great team and I am proud of my little hospital. Where we are Small Enough to Care but Large Enough to Serve.

[TooterIA]

JacelRN: I think you will find nurses talking badly about each other on any shift. What you have described is exactly my hospital: night shift is very much a team, very good rapport with each other, etc. Day shift: not so much. I think it really depends on the facility you are in.

I think nights is an excellent shift to start on, granted we are super busy some nights, but most nights we have the time to sit with our new nurses and go over things. And although there may not be the oppurtunity for as many procedures as day shift, my personal opinion is we get to use great critical thinking skills. As in, 'do I really want to call the Dr for this at 2am or is there something else I can try?'

Jessica

[jodmark]

I have been working night shift for almost 7 years and would not want to work another shift. People on the night shift work much better together than other shifts (at least in my experience). I too find that day shift people do back-stab each other, much more than night shift. Afternoon shift people have too much to do to be talking about each other. Although there are not as many people around on night shift, if you need someone, they will be there. I have two daughters that are nurses and both of them work midnights also, must be in their genes somewhere. We all agree that you actually spend more quality time with patients. They may not remember your name when it comes time to fill out their surveys but you know that you left your mark in your care. My advice for those working the night shift, get as much sleep as you can. I come home from work and sleep right away. When I get up, I can have dinner ready and spend the rest of the evening with my hubby and family. Good Luck!!!!

[ZippyGBR, BSN, RN]

Thank you all so much,

You each gave me a new perspective on the night shift.

I do have a follow-up question.

When you talk about less politics, do you mean less upper management only?

certainly where i am on the right side of the pond nights means no unit nurse manager mflitting aobut the dizyy little butterfly she is (god along knows how she even got a navy uniform nevermind a unit manager post) , no Matron / divisional Nurse manager, lay management via on call managers who tend to either plainly say no or just go with the Night Nurse Manager's ideas, and only see very senior nursing management when it all goes tits up

Here's is what I need additional advice on.

I am finding that during the day shift, the nurses talk badly about other, patients, nurses, doctors, EVERYONE. You just assume they talk badly about you when you're not around. I just try not to give them too much to talk about :)

But when I worked my night shift, it didn't see too much of that. We were more a less a working unit, we helped each other out, they bent over backwards for me and I was able to ask as many questions as I needed.

Just wanted to know if any of you had feedback about that? Day shift vs. Night shift back-talk.

Thanks again, I am compelled to try this.

JacelRN

all clinical areas have a degree of this sort of thing , good units have minimal amounts - finding a good unit is hard and then subtle changes can ruin it ... the Emergency Dept i (was) moved from 9 months ago has gone down the tubes since but then again moving 8 experienced members of nursing staff and another 8 or 10 going to other places of their own will will do that , plus the appointment of a racist sexist bully of a Nurse manager ( which no one will accept is racist and sexist because she's the female coloured one in the equation )

[leslymill]

I worked night-shift most of my 22 years. I don't think your body ever totally adjusts. I have worked with those who run to walgreens to buy NO-Doz. or those who say they are going to eat but they have a pillow and a blanket in their hand.

So far as the politics. Your just not confronted with it. This is not just upper management. It is Doctor's and families too. There is an increased need for PR skills on the day shift.

GOSSIP is another monster though. It is nothing but destructivve and should be NIPPED in the BUD.

[pinoysn]

I find that night shift nurses seem to get along better and work more like a team. maybe it's just at the hospital i work at or is it the same in a lot of other places? I currently work as an aid working on night shift. i'm in nursing school. and when i graduate i plan to work night shifts as an RN. maybe not forever, but to build up my organization and time management. and i just like how its peaceful on the floor. i love the time when its time to hit the hallway light switch and turn em off hahaha

[Jennerizer, ASN, RN]

I believe night shift teaches you better time management skills and prioritizing. You basically have 3 or 4 hours to do the majority of your hands on/bedside nursing tasks. Most patients want to go to sleep at a decent hour, so you're a little more selective about going in and out of the rooms.

I also agree that you use your critical thinking skills differently because most of the time you don't have the luxury of waiting for a doctor to round or freely calling an md or having any md available on the unit. Calls at night are based on emergent necessity &/or pt requests.

Night shift tends to work better together because there is less staffing as compared to days. You have to help one another to get through the shift. Working as a team builds trust, which decreases the gossip.

Sleep pattern is the drawback. I wish they would change shift change to 5 instead of 7, but I doubt that would ever happen.

[Katie5]

WalkMyGardenPath very well written. you captured the heart of all GOOD night nurses. i would be proud to work night shift with you anytime. lots of times i work with the nurses that read the newspapers.

Please cut the crap. This is how it starts, what's with the "good" vs "bad" nurses. She just wrote a nice testimony. Let's thanks her for it and not bring in labels.

Ps- Gotta have my coffee:)