Help me feel better about this - Full time 8 hour nights

[amyshell]

I just graduated in May and was thrilled to get a job within a month of graduating with the hospital system i most wanted to be a part of..

I have gone through 2 months of orientation and am in my last couple weeks and have now been put on my regular shift.. 8 hour nights..

I've only done 8 of them (5 in a row, 2 off, 3 more, now i'm on 1 off, then 5 more in a row) and i am feeling horrible, and depressed and trapped, and upset.. and to top it off i'm sick! omg.. i feel like a big complaining baby, but i really dont think i can handle this. I have 2 children, ages 9 & 10, and i feel like i am just completely miserable or sleeping now all the time.. not really how i had envisioned this going..

so has anyone done this and survived?? am i stuck? Should i just find another position somewhere else, even for less pay? i am just feeling horrid.

[amoLucia]

You're only just starting out! I think that even if you were doing a day shift, you'd be wrung out also. Like adjusting to any new physical exercise gymnastic program, you will have your 'aches & pains". Heaven knows, starting out on NOCs isn't helping you any.

And if you add in the stresses of being a newbie, it's no wonder you're feeling it!

Night shift people will tell you that it took a while for them to adjust. Our internal body clocks are just wound up differently. And PPs have given you some very good techniques to help out. I'm one to say, give it a chance to acclimate yourself. I don't know how much luck you'd have trying to change things re your job since you're a newbie.

One other thing, develop a support network to help you out. If you can, rely on others for some little help in the beginning. And remember, no one died from dirty dishes in the sink!

Good luck!

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

I cannot imagine doing 5- 8 hrs 3rd shift. I did 5- 8 hr 2nd shift work for 3 months when I was childless. I hated it because I missed EVERYTHING. I would try to find a 12 hr shift elsewhere. Nights themselves aren't too bad (although some can never adjust), but doing the 5- 8hr shifts would be a killer.

[duskyjewel]

And remember, no one died from dirty dishes in the sink!

I used to feel bad that my house isn't as clean as it "should be." Then I took a look at my life, everything I do and am responsible for, and said screw that. There are clean clothes and dishes as needed, I cook almost every night, my kids know how to do chores, make their own lunches, do their laundry, and are successful at school, the dogs are alive, fed, and hydrated, and my husband usually doesn't feel neglected. So dishes in the sink or floors that don't get swept as often as they should....let it go. :)

[MallysMama]

I agree with many of the previous posters! I have only ever done nights- and love it!! However- I do three 12s and can't imagine having to do it 5 nights a week!

Give yourself some time to adjust to nights...part of your stress and probable depression is from the difficult adjustment. I wouldn't give up on the job completely yet- but definitely start looking for a job with 12 hour shifts!

Hang in there!!!

[amyshell]

Thanks everyone. I've learned that I cannot move to a new position or even a new schedule until I het 6 months in. So I have at least 3 more months of this. I'm just going to try to stop fighting against it and accept it and try to make the best of it. I pray that my body adjusts soon and that there is a position I can move into easily at the end if the 6 months.

[Caffeine_IV]

Just tough it out and I'm sure something will come your way. I would only do that schedule on a PT basis as in 24hrs per week. Maybe that would be feasible at some point.

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

I have a longish(35 minute) commute and I just can't do 5 8s. I do nights but when I was full time I did 2 8s and 2 12s(I wanted 3 12s but they wouldn't do it.) now I do weekends Thursday/Friday/Saturdays 8s. But we have a weekend track that is 2 12s for $10/hr more base pay. I would love to do that but you don't get much PTO which freaks my husband out.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Nights is no doubt the harfest position for employers to keep filled because so few people want it, not many can adjust to those hours. I worked it for over 17 years and really liked it. I started on nights when I started school, it was an easy schedule to maintain full time work while taking classes during the day. It was tough, but I was much younger then! After school I stayed on nights because I liked it and it worked with my daughter being in school as I could sleep while she was in school and then we had evenings together before I went to work.

Since you are committed to at least six months of this schedule try to get a routine. It is easier on your body to just stay on your night schedule even on your days off. It works well as long as you have a 24 hr Super Walmart so you can do your grocery shopping at 3 am! Plus the stores aren't so busy that time of night. Feels strange at first to do housework and laundry when everyone is sleeping, just don't vacuum at night and you get used to it quickly. An advantage is you can get so much more done while everyone is is asleep...no interruptions!It helps if you have the support of your family, they really have to not bother you during sleep time unless it is a true emergency. There isn't much you can do about occasional appointments during the day, but minimize that as much as you can and when it's unavoidable try to make appointments early in the morning and just stay up for them after work. Do you banking online, it's 24-7 that way even with bill paying if you feel comfortable doing that online.

As others have said, get room darkening curtains and use a fan or white noise machine. It won't totally block outside noise but it helps.

If you still haven't fully adjusted at the end of the six months then definitely try to transfer to a position with a different schedule. Good Luck!!!

[caliotter3]

I have worked full time night shift for long periods of time and prefer that arrangement, however, it wreaked havoc with my health and my life. I would not recommend it for anyone who can not adapt physically or who is not in a no win situation. If that is the only job you can get, then put up with it as long as it takes for you to get something else. That is about the long and short of it.

[kmarie724]

I worked full time 8 hr nocs for a few years and I actually kind of liked it. On my nights off, I would stay on my awake at noc, sleep during the day schedule and stay up until 4 or 5 and sleep until noon. Of course, I didn't have any kids then, so it was easier to sleep whenever I needed to sleep. I now work .8 day shifts and I dread getting up at 0500 4 days a week, but i do it because it works better for my family right now. I would much rather stay up all night than get up early. I'm considering going back to nocs when both my kids are school age and I can sleep all day while they're at school.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

While you will (and already have had!) people telling you how awful nights are, how unmanageable, etc, I'll offer this: NO ONE who is new ever gets right into the swing of floor work and goes home happy and chipper. Doesn't matter what the shift hours are, you are "wrung out" as someone put it, and you will be tired, and achy, and feeling like you need more time off to recover from work.

Follow the very good suggestions about dark curtains (I even put towels up around the top of my curtain rod and tucked them between the wall and the curtains, so that not a speck of light came through!). White noise (fan, AC, whatever). Unplug the phone, put the answering machine in another room. DO NOT get up to see who sent you a text! If you are solely responsible for your kids, then keep the cell phone where you can get to in an emergency, and turn off the notification sounds for texts. THEY DON'T MATTER. In an emergency, the school will call, otherwise, NO PHONE.

Rest is better than being up and walking around. Meaning that even if you aren't sleeping resting quietly in bed, dark, eyes closed, is still good. Patterns will take awhile to establish, and even then, there will be jags of difficult sleep. Frankly, this is the same for people who work 'normal' shifts, too!

Don't let those who couldn't adjust (or didn't want to adjust) talk you out of at least giving this your best shot. Usually, because of staffing needs, the money is better, and once you get your Land Legs, so to speak, you might appreciate having less (or no) administration around, less (or no) physicians and few residents around. You can always get someone in a pinch, but you don't have the white coats hanging around just because they have to be somewhere Nor do you have a steady glut of visitors; they have to go home :)

I did 12 hour shifts for years, they were long and hard on my body, but there were fewer of them so more days off. But you know what? I also tended to pick up an extra shift here and there, so STILL was overworked and tired! Then I did 8 hour shifts for years, they were long and hard on my body; I tended NOT to pick up any extra shifts, but there were pluses and minuses to it all.

Hang in there. Give it a good go, and see what happens.

[amoLucia]

Wish we had a 'super like' button to click. RNsRWe said it all so well.