New nurse - switching from nights to days.

[stephalina6, BSN, RN]

I'm still a new nurse, been on my own for 3 months on a telemetry unit. I've been having a hard time dealing with the confused patients, also the lack of staff during the nights. I'm going to be talking to my nurse manager about the possibility of trying day shift before switching permanently. I know the confused patients will still be confused during the day but there are a lot more distractions - meals, visitors (hospital staff or family/friends), procedures, etc. I know day shift is a lot busier than nights but with having more staff around there will be more help if needed. And I love the day nurses. I was wondering if anyone switched from nights to days and liked it a lot better....or please let me know if it was a mistake to switch. I know there are a lot of family visitors also who can be a pain but I'm a personal person so I hope with my personality and answering their questions will help ease their minds that they won't be an issue during the shift. Anyway....any advice/information you should share with me would be greatly appreciated. I just hope this switch is what I need to be happy again that I switched from the business world to nursing.

[crashcartqueen, BSN, RN]

For me it was a no brainer to switch from nights to days. Night shift was breaking me down to where I could never sleep properly or have a normal social life. I found the sacrifice of the "quieter" less busy hours to be well worth it. Night shift is just a different type of busy. You typically have more patients so it somewhat balances out the extra business of the days. The distractions are just one of those things you have to deal with on days and you learn to get past it with time. You do have a lot more resources during the day to utilize as well. Trying a few day shifts would be a great idea if your manager will allow it. Then you will know if it is something you really want to do!

[stephalina6, BSN, RN]

My manager allowed me to try out days for 2 weeks and just the thought of working days is making me feel more happier. I told her about my troubles with nights and she did say there's a lot more support during days. Plus she's been keeping a close eye on me and believes that I won't have an issue with day shift being so busy, she sure does believe in me which made me feel real good! 6 more night shifts to go then days - just hope my 2 week try out really works out!! I've been watching YouTube videos about day shift routines and how to stay organized....my biggest fear working on days is the feeling of drowning every shift! I know some days will be better than others but hoping for more better days than anything else!

[bridg0809]

I just switched from nights to days and couldn't be happier! The day goes so fast...love that and a Tremendous amount of resources!

[stephalina6, BSN, RN]

After tonight only 4 more night shifts, lol! Can you tell I'm excited? I'll be using these last night shifts to really work hard on my organization skills and time management!