Night nursing

joanna73, BSN, RN · Feb 7, 2012

I've worked permanent nights for over a year, 1900- 0720. I cook on my days off so I have healthy meals to bring. I drink a fruit and spinach smoothie every morning at 1730 before I go to work. My meal is either pasta, or chicken or fish with vegetables at 2200. Snacks consist of smoothies, yogurt, apples, nuts, cheese. In the morning I'm starving again. Cereal and eggs or a meal again.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Feb 7, 2012

Yes, 7 shifts is a bit much IMO. I enjoy nursing, but it's still a job. I enjoy my personal time a whole lot more, and I detest working full time, so I've stopped picking up shifts over the last 6 months. Within the next 10 years, I plan to work even less.

RNGriffin · Feb 7, 2012

Eat?

I'll usually eat prior to my shift. There's a "Hot & Crusty" on Lexington that I am addicted with. So, I leave home 20 mins earlier than usual to have a slice of the $2.50 pizza and a cup of coffee. Other than that, I am sipping espressos and prancing through the unit like a chicken with it's head cut off.

LynnLRN · Feb 7, 2012

When I worked night shift I would eat at 530pm on the drive into work (usually McDonalds). Then I would eat whatever fattening food the cafeteria offered at 1 a.m. Then on my way home from work at 730 a.m. I would stop at the store and buy a pack of cookies and eat half with a glass of milk before I went to sleep. Then i would wake up around 1pm and eat the other half. Then go back to sleep until it was time to go back to work.... I definitely don't recommend this!

MJB2010 · Feb 7, 2012

When I worked nights I normally had dinner before I left for work so I could eat with my family. Then I would go to work and rarely had a break, we usually had 8+ patients each. I tried to sip a protein shake between running in circles. Normally on the way home I was so hungry I would stop at McDs for an egg mcmuffin, or a bagel place for a bagel. Then I'd eat on my way home. On my nights off, all bets were off, this is really where I had an issue. Up alone all night watching tv and eating junk, that has contributed to most of the size of my rear end.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Feb 7, 2012

Nice way to burn out. 7 days 12 hours. There is a whole world out there. Life is filled with more things than nursing. There is loving what you do and there is obsession.

I work 8-hour nights Monday through Friday and 12-hour nights every weekend. Anyhow, this schedule is only temporary, as I am wanting to amass a substantial amount of money to relocate back to my home state.

Believe me when I say that nursing is not the end for me. Rather, it is a means to an end.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Feb 8, 2012

I work 8-hour nights Monday through Friday and 12-hour nights every weekend. Anyhow, this schedule is only temporary, as I am wanting to amass a substantial amount of money to relocate back to my home state.
Believe me when I say that nursing is not the end for me. Rather, it is a means to an end.

I knew it was for a reason. I'm glad its' temporary. I find myself picking up extra too to pay for my honey moon and wedding. Glad it won't be my life.

lilyflowers2008 · Feb 9, 2012

I knew it was for a reason. I'm glad its' temporary. I find myself picking up extra too to pay for my honey moon and wedding. Glad it won't be my life.

Re: NurseLoveJoy88 Are you an LVN? I am thinking about going to school for LVN but have people telling me its prolly not worth it. Thx.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Feb 9, 2012

What and when do you eat on a 12 hr night shift? I try to be good and eat small healthy meals frequently while at work but then i go home and eat everything in sight. I feel hungry and cant stop eating. this only happens after night shift for me. anyone else experience this? any suggestions?

Yes, after just a few months on nights my health has gone downhill and this is just one part of it. I usually eat at 5pm before work, 1-2 am at work, and at 8am at home. but before nursing I would only eat 1-2 meals a day so I am gaining weight. I think i will try to just eat at 5pm and 8am as i weighed less when I did this .

fiveofpeep · Feb 9, 2012

[color=#333333]i work 7 nights per week. i work 12-hour night shifts (1800 to 0630) every saturday and sunday at one job, and 8-hour nights (2200 to 0630) at another place of employment.

"money money money, money!!!"

i know who's buying us lunch

shawna.k · Feb 9, 2012

I work 7p-a and struggled at first with my eating habits. I have to eat a small meal before I leave for work, usually a bowl of cereal. Or I drink a meal shake on the way to work. Lately, I've taken to getting a plate from the hot line in the cafeteria so I can resist the temptation of cheeseburgers from our grill, or takeout. If time allows, I nibble a couple bites from my plate around 2100 after getting all of my assessments in, and before my 2200 meds pass. I usually take a real break anywhere from 2330 to 0300 depending on what I have going on the rest of my shift. I try to limit myself to a cup of decaf coffee with a dash of milk when I get home because I get right into bed. (not always successful as I'm a sucker for sweet breakfast foods right about the time I get home) I'm still trying to lose 10 of the 30 lbs of weight I gained in nursing school. On my floor, I've been told I'm one of 2 or 3 nurses who have lost weight the first year on nights. :)Interesting to see all of the different eating patterns!

amers_here · Feb 10, 2012

I generally eat my largest meal just before coming to work (about 5pm or so). Most of the time, if I've had a good meal, I can last until about 1 or 1:30 in the morning and take my lunch which is usually a frozen meal or leftovers (basically something mid-sized). Then on my way home, since I'm usually only a little hungry, I either have a slim fast (boost or something along the lines would work too), a juice (like V8 fusion or those naked juices), or possibly munch on some cereal. Sometimes there'll be a snack in there if there's time.