Last Night Shift as RN EVER!! Advic

[Fergbi, BSN]

I have been a nurse for over 4 years, and have browsed allnurses.com for years but never posted. Today I want to share that August 15th, 2019 is my last night shift ever! I want to know what to expect as I transition back to a normal schedule. I was working 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. for the past four years. I now will be working 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. To nurses that have worked night shift for years then transitioned to days, what changes did you notice in your mood, health, habits, Etc.? I am a morning person by nature, so this will be an excellent change for me. I have struggled with chronic depression ever since starting nights, and I hope that the depression will go away or at least be minimized greatly once I work days. Any and all comments are much appreciated! Also any tips on transitioning or new habits to get into are appreciated!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

3-11 isn't exactly a "normal" shift, and it isn't dayshift. It just isn't overnights. You may or may not notice any difference in mood, health or habits. I worked 3-11 for years and then transitioned to night shift, and my mood improved. I was home sleeping while my husband was working, we were able to have dinner together and spend the evening together, and then I went to work about the time he was going to bed. I thought it was heaven. Your milage may vary.

You probably aren't going to do mornings unless you can exist on less than six hours of sleep . . . get off work at 11:30 or 12:30, get home after midnight and you're probably going to have to decompress before you actually hit the sack. I was never up before 8am (and usually later) when I was working the evening shift.

If you're struggling with depression, I hope you've seen someone about that. Hoping for the best isn't the best strategy for dealing with a very real problem.

One of the most difficult things about evening shift for me was that I always had that shift hanging over my head. It always seemed that I just started getting things done, and it was time to go to work. If you want to get anything done before work (and you WILL want to get things done, because it sounds as though you'll be working five days a week), you're going to have to get up fairly early or stay up and do things after work. You may find that no one else is in the laundromat after your evening shift, and it's a good time to do the laundry. Probably a bad time to do the vacuuming, though, unless you live in a single family home alone.

DON'T get into the habit of going out for "a drink" after your evening shift. That can too easily turn into closing down the bar and sleeping until it's time to go to work. Not a healthy lifestyle. Anyway, I wish you the best.