New grad starting a full time nights position...need advice!

Published

Hi there! I am a new grad RN whose just accepted a full-time nights position. I will be working five 8 hour shifts per week (not sure the exact schedule, but I know I will be working every other weekend). I am just curious about some methods/tips to switching to a night-shift nurse's schedule in regards to sleeping/staying healthy/social life/avoiding burn-out, etc. Let me know if you have any advice. Thanks! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

3- 11 is hardly night .

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am not sure what you mean. The shifts are 2300-0715...

Up Vote Up Vote ×

5 nights a week? That's a lot, but you don't go in until 11, so that helps. It's takes several months to get used to. And you need a routine. I would always go home, eat breakfast, drink a glass of wine and wind down to sleep. I did three twelves and it seems like you will have a little more flexibility with it being 8 hours. Get blackout curtains and get rid of daytime noises. I always sleep with the tv on a night, so I made a playlist of shows on my DVR and ran that for 10 hours. It was a familiar noise so I could sleep better. Like a white noise machine.

It takes some getting used to, but doable. I did nights for over 2 years.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion