8 hrs night shift, x5/week

tcvnurse, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2012

You WILL ALWAYS be tired, and won't be able to do anything on your days off except sleep. Been there, hated that.

allnurses Guide · Jun 13, 2012

It's what I do. As long as I come home and can actually sleep well for

7-8 hours, I'm fine. I tried day shift recently and felt so backwards.

Bear in mind I've been doing night shift, a mixture of 8's and 12's, for

13 years now. So I'm kinda used to it.

Bklyn_RN · Jun 13, 2012

Did it for 4 years in medsurg right out of nursing school with a young child. Will NEVER go back to nights. In 4 years I aged 10. I felt like a zombie almost every day. You can never get enough sleep and your sleep will be fragmented. I went to work tired almost every night. After awhile I could only sleep for 3 hours at a stretch. I am so happy now on days, nights is not for me even though I am not an early morning person.

lawandaluxnurse, ADN, BSN · Jun 13, 2012

I worked 8 hour nights right out of school, I had never worked 3rd in my life, it was tough, i never slept. I then transfered to a unit that did 3 x 12 hours shifts and that worked out much for life and for sleep

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2012

I once worked five 8-hour shifts per week (Monday through Friday from 10pm to 6am). Although I am a nocturnal person who loves the night shift, I admit that working five night shifts in a row is beyond tough.

My existence was quite lonely and bleak during this time. I always had a headache and felt tired while working five 8-hour nights, even if I was obtaining 7 to 8 hours of sleep prior to each shift.

I now work three 12-hour night shifts per week and like this much better.

MunoRN, RN · Jun 13, 2012

I've done fine with 12 hour nights or a mix of 8's and 12's for years, but only 8 hours 5 times a week is not something I could tolerate for more than 3 months, particularly with a every-other-weekend schedule which produces a 7 day stretch. Even the most acclimated night shifts often won't tolerate this schedule.

MInurse.st · Jun 13, 2012

Ive been working nights 2 12's, 2 8's/ week for almost 8 mos now. I would love 3 12's but my unit no longer offers this option to new hires. Most new grads who hired on for 40 hrs have gone down to 36 (still 8 and 12 combo), but Im still at 40 for now. Not ideal, but it's doable. It does feel like I work a lot and sleep a lot, though :/

uRNmyway, ASN, RN · Jun 15, 2012

I worked 8hr night shifts for around 3 years, and was fine with it. Im a night owl anyways, so I did ok. Wintertime was kind of rough because you dont get to see much sunlight, so colleagues would work with portable UV lights while doing their charting. Also, I found the miraculous melatonin supplements, which helped so much with falling asleep. As far as not having a life, I think you have as much of a life if you work day shift. You just sleep while everyone is working, and work while they sleep. Guess it just depends on the person though. And now that I have a baby, Im not sure I could manage that anymore...

allnurses Guide · Jun 15, 2012

I have to add that right now I'm doing FOUR eights instead of five... I like the

idea of doing four much better.

winter_green · Jun 15, 2012

I was called for an interview and I'm just weighing out the schedule bc at this facility they do 8 hour shifts.... currently 1 open position of full time 5 nights/wk and another position of .9 which is one week 5 nights the next week 4 nights on...

I'm so afraid I'm just going to be miserable on my days off unable to get anything done and no social life...

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Jun 15, 2012

It is bad enough doing 5 / 8hr shifts a week during the day.. I can't imagine doing it on 3rd shift. I did 3-4 / 12hr shifts on 3rd shift for awhile. I didn't like it, but I tolerated well enough. I would say right now I would take the job. You can always look for another.