Help! Got a job offer... working days vs. a job I want more

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Jul 17, 2020

Have you ever worked night shift? Some people can do it, some cannot. I myself, could not handle it. Certainly try to get more input from manager # 1, no harm in asking.

It would not look bad to ask when day shift would be available for the night shift job. However, be prepared to be lied to.

Ask to shadow both positions. Best wishes with your decision.

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2020

I wouldn't recommend putting magnet status in your formula of evaluating possible employers. I've just heard too much (bad) stuff over the years about what it truly does and doesn't mean.

hcurry1 · Jul 17, 2020

Personally I feel like night shift isn’t all that bad. Sometimes you just have to do your time to get your foot in the door. I was offered a night shift position coming out of school that I took on night shift. It was a great decision for me because once you start working for a department you can talk with them about getting onto day shift. You never one when a position might become available and theyll move their own people to days first before bringing other people in typically

Nursy Nurse, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2020

First find out if the offer is for an RN position. Then take the night position. It'll give you time to focus on your learning. no families or management skulking around questioning you. If you reread your post, you'd see the pro's for the night shift position outweigh the day one. Go with your gut feeling though. you'll be using that a lot in your nursing career. Commute can be a huge factor too. good luck

Lynker, LPN · Jul 17, 2020

I started with night shift at my first job, and now I'm per diem and pick up all shifts just fine. You'll have plenty of time to learn on the night shift as it's a little slower. The choice seems clear to me, definitely go with the first!

Good luck!

Wuzzie · Jul 17, 2020

Short commute, good management, supportive staff vs unit with high turnover and bad gut feeling. Hmmmmmmm, that's a puzzler!?

CharleeFoxtrot, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2020

16 hours ago, Nursy Nurse said:
... Commute can be a huge factor too. good luck

Especially working your first RN job on nightshift. A short commute can save more than just time on the road.

OUxPhys, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2020

Id pick job #1. It sounds like it would be a great experience and has everything most dream of. If you are offered a dayshift position as a new grad then something is wrong with that floor. Night time is the best time to learn too, IMO. It is cool you get to learn vents (I worked on a step-down and we didn't take vents).

Like someone else said don't factor magnet into your decision. Magnet only benefits upper management. It does nothing for floor nurses.

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Jul 18, 2020

20 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:
I wouldn't recommend putting magnet status in your formula of evaluating possible employers. I've just heard too much (bad) stuff over the years about what it truly does and doesn't mean.

Exactly. Some are good, some are not. It's a paperwork game that means 0 to actual floor staff. In fact, the money spent on the certification and recert could be better spent on other things

**LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM** · Jul 18, 2020

It's very reasonable to ask to speak to manager #1, since you haven't technically spoken to them about this particular job, to ask more questions. IMO, it's also not unreasonable to ask about time frame for moving to days. No matter what that time frame is though, it sounds like job #1 makes the most sense. It sounds like it's set up better for a new grad experience. You could always move on after a year or two if you can't move up to days. Nights are really hard, but there are lots of tips on AN about how to make the best of them, and they're not forever (unless you want them to be! some people turn into die hard night shifters).

speedynurse, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 18, 2020

On 7/17/2020 at 7:46 AM, NewGradNurse3 said:
So, I just got a job offer! Job #1 Pros:
-I liked the manager
-it's a medsurg unit where they also manage vents (I want to build a foundation to go into critical care eventually)
-He said the charge nurses on his unit are very willing to help (they get few or no patients of their own) and are SUPER experienced
-It's really close to my house - short commute
-It's not a magnet hospital, but in the process of becoming magnet certified. my classmate who works there as a CNA said that it's a great place to get experience and learn, and people there are very willing to help each other out.
The ONLY con is that it's night shift. I'm prepared to work night shift as a new grad, but nervous about being able to function on that type of schedule. AND, I had scheduled an interview with Job #2, a day shift job, for the day after I received Job #1 offer. So I asked for time to think it over. They gave me until Tuesday morning.
I interviewed with Job #2 yesterday, it's for a day shift position either on a tele obs or medsurg unit (both units are managed by one manager). But I didn't get as good of a feeling about it. It sounds like there's been a lot of turnover on both units recently, but she didn't go into why. I don't know much about tele obs units, but I want to be in an environment where I'm going to learn as much as possible and I'm worried about being able to learn my skills in an obs unit where patients turnover quickly. And I didn't get as good of a gut feeling. She said she would let me know by Monday if I have an offer or not.
If there's a job that I want more that's night shift vs. a job that maybe I don't want as much that's day shift, what would you do? I've heard of people having to work nights for years before being able to move to day shift, and I've also heard of people being able to move to day shift within months after being hired.
My other question is, the manager at hospital #1 and I didn't have a real interview about the RN position - he just went off of an interview we did almost two months ago for a CNA position on his unit (which I didn't get hired for at the time). We DID talk a lot about what it's like to be an RN on his unit, since the plan had been to hire me as a CNA on his unit to transition into an RN role eventually. But is it reasonable to ask if I can talk to him again before Tuesday, to ask a few more questions? And would it look really bad for me to basically ask, "if I do want to switch to day shift in the future, how long does that usually take on your unit?"

As others have said.....magnet hospitals do not mean much. I work at one, but essentially it means more BSNs and more certifications. Not necessarily better patient care.

Do you think you could adjust to night shift? Many people really like it. I am on nights now and have probably done nights for about 5 years total between different jobs. But in all honesty, I never get used to it. I recently accepted a job to move back to day shift (although the bigger reason I took this job was because my current job is a little shaky right now with job security).

however, I know some nurses that love nights and refuse to ever go to day shift.

If you have questions with either unit go ahead and ask them.....questions are generally a good thing and most interviews actually encourage questions.