Newgrad nervous about nightshift..

[Skylar86]

The good news is that I just recently graduated from nursing school last month and received a full time position in the emergency department (my passion).

My preceptor is amazing and I am going to be buddied with her for 6 weeks (or longer if i feel i need the extra support). The only issue is that she seems to be put on more nights (11pm-7am) than the other staff (her request). Unfortunately I have had major issues with sleeping in the past (to the point where i had a dependency on zoplicone for 4ish months and had to be weened off it with an anti-depressant). I havent had ANY sleeping issues for a long time now but am a wee bit worried that the nights are going to disrupt my sleeping again. I find it EXTREMELY difficult sleeping in the day... i can't even nap when i am exhausted.

I know what you're probably all thinking... why the hell am I in the ED in the first place? I TRULY love it.... everything about it.. i actually look forward to going to work (haha yes i'm very new!)

So my question is... do you think I should ask the charge nurse (the one who does the rosters) to maybe put me on less nights (maybe i can be paired with another preceptor to do days?) or should I just suck it up and deal with being sleep deprived and ask again when I've put more time in?

My other concern is that I am a fitness freak.. I am wanting to run a marathon in a few months and really don't know how to manage training and nights...

any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[cityknitty_RN]

I would try talking to your nurse manager about your sleep issues. She may be able to work with you. I think it's a valid concern of yours and worth asking if there's a way to work around it without having to mess with your health.

The marathon training, however, might be more tricky. This is where you'll have to get creative and make it work if it's something you'd truly like to do. My hospital has a fitness center for employees to use at a discounted rate/mo. I know a few nurses who will go down on their hour-long breaks (on night shift) and will use the tredmills. Otherwise, investigating gyms like 24 hour fitness or anytime fitness would be beneficial for nights off; you could train at night without disrupting your sleep cycles on your nights off.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

you like your job and your preceptor -- i'd advise you to try to find a way to make nights work for you because you're going to have to do them sooner or later. as far as the sleep issues . . . i sympathize. i've had sleep issues my whole life as well, and for a long time (years) would get only about 45 minutes of sleep a day when i was working nights. there are a number of threads on making night shift work for you . . . do a search on that and read every post. somebody's wild, off-beat suggestion might be just the thing that helps you get a good day's sleep. one thing that i found made an enormous difference for me is staying on the night shift on my nights off . . . and treating my sleep time as sacred. i had to retrain friends and family, but it was worth it. good luck!