Night Shift vs Day Shift

RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2008

Sounds like nights are a perfect fit for you. I work night, I sleep fine. Help is just as available at night as day.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2008

i was a notorious despiser of day shift when i worked medsurg. however, i do think it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. there are pros and cons to both, and it also depends on your department. for me, night shift wasn't good on my body, but i wouldn't work anything else because the staff on nights was a team, a family. even though there were less of us, we were always there for each other (perhaps it was because there were less of us and we couldn't afford to not be a team). i also think it gave me a great sense of autonomy. if there are less people around, you will have more decisions to make because you have more patients and the other nurses may be harder to find because they too have more patients. my assessment skills were also improved, because i had to assess people and watch them overnight, which is challenging because people might sundown in the evening, brady when they sleep, have nocturia, etc.

i think the most important lesson i learned, though, is how to decide when to notify a doctor. on day shift this isn't hard because the physicians tend to be in house anyway. on nights, i would either have to wake a resident up in the on-call room, get a specialist out of bed at home, or talk to a hospitalist who was at our large suburban campus and had never and would never lay eyes on the patient.

i worked a couple of day shifts, and that is where i learned a lot of different skills. time management is a big one, because your patients are going to different tests, therapies, surgeries, etc. at different times and you have to still assess them and medicate them, that kind of thing. also, diabetic management is tricker during the day especially if you have multiple diabetic patients. plus, management is around, and things are just...different on days. not that on nights i was unprofessional, but during the day there's the sense of big brother being around the corner! speaking of that, dealing with families is a strength day shift nurses tend to have over their nocturnal counterparts. also, i was a chart hog at night. i knew where all of my patients were all of the time, and where all of their charts were as well. during the day, i had to learn to get over my chart-clinginess because doctors, case managers, dieticians, and therapists may be using a chart - and if the patient's at a test, so is the chart! and finally, i think delegation is more prominent during the day because there are more opportunities for it.

and time for this girl to go to bed since she's no longer a night owl!

jess

Pretty in Ink · Sep 8, 2008

I love love LOVE nightshifts as a new grad!!! Like the post before me stated, you have alot of autonomy and you must be an independent thinker. My assessment skills really come into play and you don't have to rush through from one to the other. It really helps me get to know my patients and get connected with them the nights I am on shift. I never really feel that "frantic" state of mind like you get on days. There is no admin hovering over your shoulder, no dr. barking orders, feeling like there is no time to chart and still charting 30min. after you are supposed to get off, no rushing to get all your morning meds passed and insulin checks 3x a day. None of that. Nightshift has a much nicer flow and gives you much more time to make sure everything gets done. My nightshift team also feels like a second family. It may have to do that there are less of us like the earlier post stated and that we are forced to depend on one another but then again if there is a rotten apple it can spoil the bunch as well. No one on my nightshift is like that. We are a very cohesive group I have no problem juggling my family life and nightshift work life so if that is what is dealt to you in the future it is very much do-able as long as he supports you :) The hardest thing I face working nightshifts is flipping myself back around to days on the nights that I am off. On my last night I try to stay up as long as possible during the day, take maybe a 3 hour nap and then get up again so I can go to bed at night at a reasonable time and be ready to wake up in the morning the next day. Other than that...did I mention that I LOVE Nighshift??? lol

futurenurse1710 · Sep 9, 2008

Thanks!!! I really think night shift is the way I am going to want to go. :)