new nurse going to night shift

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I just started working on the Med/Surg floor on the 5th. I've been orienting during day shift and of course, I feel lost....like I never went to school. It's very overwhelming to me during the day and my hospital is very small. I'm switching to night shift Monday night. I was wondering if it's slower, less stressful? Do you usually stay busy? I'm sure my sleep cycle will be pretty messed up for awhile. Pros/Cons? Thanks.

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Specializes in neuro, med/surg/, cardiac care.

it can be slower, but it can be alot busier as well. You have more patients and less people to support you as well, so the work is usually a little more independant. I personally love nights, have for 19years. I was never an early bird so I find the nights okay. Sleep well too. Makes a difference if they are 8hour nights or 12hour nights. We only do 12's so you do 1 or 2 then off for 3 or 4 so it's okay. I generally get up at 12 if I am not going back the next night and then am able tosleep again that night. Hope that helps, good luck !!

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I oriented on days and now work nights and I have found nights to be less hectic. There are less doctors, less families, less procedures, etc. On night shift we seem to bond together more, we rely on each other so much more since we don't have docs and NPs on the unit all night. I was overwhelmed on days and nights has allowed me to get a grip on things and get my routines worked out. I love night shift. Best of luck to you!

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Pros:

no meals/visitors/doctors

more time to spend comforting/reassuring

shift differential

less stressful as a rule

more time to look up P&Ps/familiarize yourself with them

the phone is quiet

Cons:

may be difficult for family to adjust to your schedule

may have sleeping problems

I think the noc shift is pretty black or white for most nurses. They either love it or hate it. I think it's the best shift to work, personally.

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I went to night shift when I first got my license. At first I was apprehensive, but I found that the crew on nights were helpful enough. Everything about it normally being less hectic is what I found. I was able to concentrate on what I was doing and plan my learning without having everything thrown at me all at once. You don't know how pleasant it is just to have the phone quiet during the night. I wouldn't trade nights for anything. I work PMs or days when I do overtime; but never in place of night shift if I can help it.

As far as nights being hard on your body, yes that is true. You have to try the various tips for dealing with it, and find what works for you. Good luck.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Tele, ER.

Whooo I love night shift!

In some ways it is more difficult than days, in some ways it is easier. I agree with the posts above in that there is less going on in terms of MDs and families running around, but also less support from other departments to help you get through the shift. At the same time, I have found that on nights we work as a team, whereas on days you're likely to not even know if your co-worker is having a rough time. We hang-out and bond more on nights as well. I think it has a lot to do with our layout, frankly. Our floor is set-up with one huge nursing station in the center, with 4 satellite stations in each corner of the unit. On days, most of the nurses set-up in a satellite station, with ward clerks and MDs in the central station. On nights, there are no ward clerks or MDs, so everybody settles in at the work stations in the center. We're not isolated from one another, so we see what is going on with other nurses and can help each other out. The running joke on our floor if someone is being a tool is "oh my god, I'm going to go hide in a pod [satellite station] just to get away from you!".

Regarding the sleep schedule - I really don't have much difficulty. I sleep like a baby when I get home after working all night - much better than I ever slept at night! On my nights off, I have difficulty sleeping and generally stay up a lot later than everybody else. I could stay up all night long with no problem. I would like to have a life, so I don't do that. If I'm really having a hard time sleeping I take some Benadryl and/or drink chamomile tea to help me sleep at a reasonable (aka 2am) hour. Still up late enough to kind of keep the same cycle going, but not so late that I can't function the next day.

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I was originally hired for day/night rotation as a new grad (almost a year ago!) but last month I requested permanent nights just because days were getting too hectic for me..even though I could catch up and everything, but I'm not a morning person! I really like nights a lot better than days. It can be pretty busy on nights but it is more steady than on days. I sleep fine when I come home after a night shift, and on my nights off I do have a little trouble getting to sleep, but I do sleep ok. And yes, you work more as a team on nights than days..and that's what I really like. I also find it to be more paperwork during the night..since I work on a surgical floor and we have to prep them for surgery the next day, do med recs and stuff. But nights are good. I like them a lot!

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I HATED night shift. As someone else said, either you love it, or you hate it. You have to give yourself several months to get used to it. I gave it three months before I gave up. Some people swear by it. I never could get enough sleep during the day, so I was really tired all the time. I think if you can get enough sleep, it might be ok. I worked in a small hospital, and I found it really boring at night because most of our patients actually slept. The ER was more interesting at night. Good luck to you!

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Love nights! Unfortunately my manager won't let me do all nights yet because she has personal issues of having people work 4 nights in a row. That is what she told me. Um... guess what. Am working my 6th shift in a row tonight, 4th night consecutively. Now I just have to avoid making any stupid mistakes and enjoy my night off tomorrow before I come back for another night.

Nights can be lovely and slow, or they can be hectic and hellish. Last night was lovely. The night before I was on the phone paging the docs, or charting out the wazoo to cover my butt when the issue kept unfolding the pages kept being unanswered. Still, I

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I, too, am a new nurse and will be going on nights in about three weeks. I have heard all of the above "pros" from all the nurses that I work with. The general feeling, overall, is that those who work nights, love it. I am not a night person, but I am looking forward to exactly what the others are saying about getting your routine together without all the craziness of days, which includes too many doctors, visitors and ringing phones, to name just a FEW distractions! I can't wait!

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Specializes in most of them.

I worked nights many yrs ( over 10 yrs) while my children were young. First thing, the VERY first is get a floor fan and run it on high. Put extra blankets on the bed but leavie ti ON!!. Two turn the phone OFF. Get someone to be the day contact person for schools and such if you have children. Three put up dark shades and curtains.All these things may sound silly but you are going to be living an unatural life style.

Grocery shop on your way home from work. There are less people there then anyway. Set your self a absolute minimum number of hours you must sleep and DO NOT change them. We are all different, some need 8 some need 10. Do NOT try to live a day lifestyle when your working nights. Make all your appointments that must be during the day for 8 am and then get your usual number of hours of sleep.

I used to have all the school teacher meetings at 8. Its amazing how much bull you can cut through if your tired from being up all night. LOL. I could go on and on. But you get the idea.

Good luck.

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Specializes in ER Nurse.

Hi everyone,

I just graduated in May and went through a 12 week internship in the ER. I oreinted on Days, but my permanet shift is nights. On most days our pt ratio is 3:1. My first night i had three pt two of which were time consuming and ended up being admitted. My third room was like a revolving door. To get to the point my charge nurse put a pt in my third room which turned out to be two pt. in one room and did not bother to do the assessment. I was under the impresshion that she was taking the Pt., but an hour later the assessment hadn't been done on either pt. The same thing happen the next night, again i had an involved pt that was admitted, but the charge nurse was different. On days it was a team work effort and if you had more involved pt. others would help you pick up the slack. Am i wrong to think i should get a little team work or be notified that the assessment wan't done so i can do it. Any suggestions?:idea:

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