Is that the general consensus amongst hospital RNs? I for one had a terrible time with night shift... actually I seemed to adjust alright, outwardly. Inwardly, my endocrine system went haywire and I ended up in the hospital with an exacerbation of a previously well managed health condition, and out from work SICK for an entire month.
Due to the health problems, I had to quit that job only 5 months into it. After searching month after month, the only other day shift hospital position I could get was on a HORRIBLE ortho/medsurg unit 70 miles away from my home.
Despite the heavy work load, extreme favoritism, crazy boss, and absence of teamwork, I appreciated the opportunity and tried to make it work for me. The employer itself was a pretty good one I think, but with the commute and the other issues, I only made it for 6 months--- and quit.
Every other hospital job I've been seeing is for night shift.... If I see another day shift advertised will that be a red flag that the unit is very bad?
I was willing to work nights, but I really can't risk getting sick by going on nights again. Should I just stay away from hospitals from here on out?
Yes, leave now and get divorced while you are unemployed, get a job at McDonald's or somewhere to support yourself for a while if you have to or you might have to pay support like someone else suggested. Don't feel bad that you are still in this marriage because no one taught you to expect better for yourself but this community of caring people is saying get out now. You don't owe this man anything, don't tell him you plans, when he is out for something, throw you clothes, nursing books, and other essentials, and your dog and your truck to a motel. Once you get there take him off your credit card and bank accounts. Contact your landlord and give notice, be honest about the situation if you have to. Don't expect a deposit back because this guy will leave a huge mess if he doesn't do worse. Don't contact him for other belongings, you'll have to see him again and he will just use it as an excuse to wear you down to come back, he loves you, he'll change, he can't live without you, no one else will want you, you're fat, ugly or stupid, right. Just see the cost of starting over as an expensive lesson in life. He probably hurts your dog when you aren't there. Just don't go back. Abuse is abuse is abuse and you don't need it. Being alone is scary at first but it will get better. Then find a lawyer and file for divorce. You may have to live off credit cards for a while, especially for a pet deposit, but those can be paid off. The loss to your self-esteem, safety, and your precious years are something you can never get back.
you don't get to decide who is deserving or worthy of compassion. everyone is, simply by virtue of being human. if you think otherwise, that says a lot about you.
You, on the other hand, know nothing about me.
we do know something about you; you're telling us how you view people.
also just like you don't get to decide who is "worthy" of basic human empathy, the fact is people CAN get accommodations and it's not your place to decide if someone's medical excuse is "real" or not. it also doesn't matter - if mgmt moves someone to days and bumps you to a less convenient schedule, you're going to be working nights whether that person was diagnosed with a legit medical problem after making a real effort to adjust to night shifts or whether they took the job with the intention of switching to days.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
you don't get to decide who is deserving or worthy of compassion. everyone is, simply by virtue of being human. if you think otherwise, that says a lot about you.
we do know something about you; you're telling us how you view people.
also just like you don't get to decide who is "worthy" of basic human empathy, you also don't get to decide who has a valid medical reason for working days and who doesn't. the fact is people CAN get accommodations and it's not your place to decide if someone's medical excuse is "real" or not. it also doesn't matter - if mgmt moves someone to days and bumps you to a less convenient schedule, you're going to be working nights whether that person was diagnosed with a legit medical problem after making a real effort to adjust to night shifts or whether they took the job with the intention of switching to days.
I do get to decide. That is the beauty of it. The person who displays no integrity and cheats the system as much as that poster has stated he does, gets no compassion from me. If you decide he does, that is up to you. I don't get to decide where YOUR compassion lies.
Conversely, the person struggling with an abusive spouse or parents, or whomever, and is truly struggling to get to a dayshift because she is sick on nights, and tries to change it honestly, has my compassion.
I am not concerned with what you think of me.
I am good with where my compassion lies. And I am telling you how I view liars, cheats, and people without integrity. If you can't handle it, that is your problem, I suppose.
There is very little glitz or glamour in the hospital! It is a lot of hard work. I am nearing retirement age and have always worked day night rotations. The day lines always go to those with documented health reasons for not working nights.
I don't think I need counseling, I need income. And I need to be healthy enough to work for the income. Not all of us can sit around and wait for the perfect job. I don't know if that's what you and some others are reading into what I wrote, but it's quite the opposite. I do my very best at work, with as stressful as these places have been, and actually have to take the first job that comes up many times. When I graduated, I applied all over because there were so many employers just saying that they didn't want new grads. The ones that did accept new grads didn't "train" for long at all as another poster put it. It does irritate me that nurses (the ones who just LOVE to call themselves crusty old bats as if that's admirable in any way), who have supposedly been caring for others for tens of years are so judgmental, dismissive, and rude.
Good for you for taking care of yourself. Yes, the poster you refer is all those things -- judgmental, rude, dismissive. I think it is time to hang up the stethoscope when one becomes like that. If we can't support one another and work as a team and help a co-worker with health issues, where is our ethics and humanity. Just be grateful you don't have this person as your nurse. Can you imagine? That would be like being in hell.
Roy Hanson
211 Posts
our bodies, are not geared for a night shift. Evolution dictates we perform better daylight.
Artificial light cannot take the place of sun light.
Study your biology and evolution.
I was on the grave yard shift for several years. Valium help me sleep.