Nights: Normal schedule on days off??

Published

Specializes in cardiac/education.

New grad....considering nights......wondering if it is possible to go back to a normal schedule on your days off? For instance, 2 on then 3 off, could you come home on Day 2 and take a nap only to sleep that night? My hubby works days and I fear if I go to nights I will never see him.....I don't want to live my life staying awake in the middle of the night on my days off while my husband sleeps.

I need advice because I am finding that all the new grad jobs are for nights. Plus, some of the stuff about night shift appeals....less docs, more pay, more time to critically think and learn, etc. There is such a demand for nurses here that I think if I absolutely hated it I could either move to days or change units entirely.

Also...how would a night shift position differ in a teaching hospital as opposed to a non-teaching hospital. I am considering a teaching hospital but it is farther away for me than the non-teaching.

??????????????? :uhoh21:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in nursery, L and D.

I do take a nap and then try to sleep the nights I am off. Doesn't always work, but then I have to be up the next day, weather it works or not. 3 kids, ya know. My dh works rotating 1st and 2nd shifts, so when he is on second I don't see him (except asleep) at all, when he is on first and I am off we see each other. If I am working we don't. It is confusing, and sometimes we go weeks at a time without every seeing each other awake! He is lucky, he gets to work and sleep, thats it. Me, I have to work and sleep, and take care of the kids, and do laundry, and clean the house, etc, etc, etc, LOL. Not that I actually do all those things, but I'm supposed to. If the kids are taken care of, I feel like that is most important. Now weather or not they are naked b/c I haven't done laundry in a week.......:rolleyes: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in L&D all the way baby!.

I work nights (1800-0630), usually 3 on 4 off (if I can manage it that way) and I do flip back on my first day off. I might not be able to go to bed right at 11 with him but I do go to bed by 12 and by my 2nd day off I am on the family's schedule. It's not that I'm not a night person, it would probably be easier to keep that schedule but the simple fact of the matter is that the world doesn't operate on a pm schedule (except Walmart thank goodness!) and for me it doesn't make sense to try to make the world fit with me. It's much easier for me to just adjust and get over it. I am usually tired that first day to the point of being kind of catatonic but I will typically make an appointment that afternoon (sometimes even a pedicure or something for me that I look forward to) so that I HAVE to be up and ready to go by a reasonable hour (like 11 or 12). I find on the days I don't have somewhere to be I will just find any excuse to stay in my pj's all day (which is OK but I start to feel a little frumpy after a couple of weeks of that).

Still even with the general inconvienence of nights I wouldn't trade it. I really do feel like I am cheating! I work while my kids sleep and I miss very little of their lives! If you can make it work it's awesome...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU.

You're going to find that about half of night shift nurses try to have normal schedules on their days off, and the other half are at least partial night owls all the time. It's going to vary widely, so really you'll just have to see how it works out for you. Most people adjust eventually but it will take some time to get into a rhythm.

As far as teaching vs. non-teaching hospitals on night shift, I'd much rather work in a teaching hospital. The difference is that there will always be doctors in-house. At a non-teaching hospital, usually you are calling or paging a doc that is at home sleeping if you need something. At the teaching hospital, while it's true that docs are allowed to sleep in the call rooms, they are right there and are used to being woken up. They have their nights on call and they can't expect to sleep every single minute. It is so comforting knowing that a doctor is only minutes away (sometimes seconds away, like in my NICU where the call rooms are on the unit) should an emergency arise. There are always docs in the ER anyplace you work, but if you're in another unit there might not be such a quick response time. And it's not just newbie residents on call at night - often they need to be supervised so there are either attendings or fellows in house as well.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in critical care, PACU.

My mom is an RN and has a lot of friends who do nights. She says the night schedule actually works well for seeing your hubby because they sleep all day while he is at work and are waking up right about the time that he gets home :)

I think I want to do nights too when I get out of school but thats not for a while hehe

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have worked nights for many years and would have it no other way. I work 3 on 4 off 12 hour shifts. My first day on I sleep in till 11 am and then go to work at 7 pm. on my first day off I come home and sleep til noon or 1 pm. My first day off I clean my house and do laundry. I go to sleep around midnoght and am then on a normal schedule. The key is on your work days you have to sleep for me a ggod night sleep is 8 am to 3:30 pm. So many young girls get up at noon and end up killing themselves on the way home!! I always ask them if they get up at midnight to clean house??

Nights is a great shift to work I would not trade it for the world.:sleep:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

If I have at least three days off in a row, I flip the schedule. Otherwise, I don't. If I'm "flipping", that means I go home in the morning after work, catch a few hours of naptime, just enough to get me through the rest of the day (fair warning, I tend to be bleary-eyed for most of that day). Then I go to bed at night when my dh does. However, I find that if I get more than just a couple/few hours of sleep (so I'm functioning well for the rest of the day), I CAN'T go to sleep then, and I'm up until two am anyway. Still not a big deal, as I'll still get several hours of sleep between then and when the kids get up for school. And then I'm "normal" for a few days, until I pull an all-nighter after having been up all day (with nodding off for an hour or at about 3am) and then I'm ready to sleep that last day, before going in to work again. Whew!

So, for the most part, I stick to a nighttime schedule so as not to be all goofed up if I can help it. Like someone else said, thank goodness for WalMart! And other 24 hour grocery stores, LOVE that.

You'll find a groove that works for you. And remember, if you do need to be up for a daytime family event, whatever, you can always schedule yourself for those extra days before/after so that you can flip it around, no problem :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

where I work, we rotate between day and night shift every few months. When I do night shift, the night before a night shift, I stay up until I feel very tired, but don't force myself to stay up. I try and sleep as much as I can then when I can sleep no more, I wake up and stay up until I come home in the morning from work. Then I sleep as much as I can...usually can't sleep past 3 hours or else I'll develop a major headache. If I'm working again that night, I'll stay up again until the next morning. Then I try to sleep as much as I can. If I'm not working the night, then I take it easy during the day and then I usually go to bed at night really early...around 8 or 9 PM and I'll stay asleep until the next morning. I'll sleep between 12-14 hours. That's how I make up for lost sleep during the nights that I do work. By the next morning, I'm already back to normal hours.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Telemetry, Nursery, Post-Partum.

I usually sleep my first day off after working a bunch (I have a weird pattern, 4 on, 2 off, 2 on, then 6 off) till the afternoon, and then I'm usually pretty tired still that I am able to go to sleep when my husband does and just wake up early. For example, yesterday, I slept from about 9-4, we went out to dinner, watched some TV, etc, went back to sleep about 1:30 or 2 (he stays up late, bonus!) and then I woke up around 6am. I'm starting to get the urge for a little nap now, since I've been up since 6, but I will do my best to stay up late tonight because I work saturday and sunday. The worst part about nights is sleeping the first night back to work after being off. Its hard to stay up late (say 3 or 4am) then have to walk the dog around 8, feed the cats, etc but stay sleepy enough I can go back to sleep by 10 or so and get a good nap in. Fortunately I have no kids and that makes it much easier! The house gets a little untidy, but we can live with that.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Rural Health.

I flip but I flip because I want a life with my family outside of my bedroom and Pj's. I work 3 on with at least 3 off in-between (rather have 4 but that's another topic).

The night before my 1st day back, I stay up as late as I can (usually 1 or 2) then I get up early - get my son on the bus, eat a light breakfast and have no caffeine. Around 10 I lay down and I stay in bed until at least 2. I sleep probably 3 or so hours during that time. I get up at 3 do all my stuff I do and work at 7p.

My last day I come home around 7:45 and I go straight to bed, sleep until around 11 or 12 and then I clean house and do laundry - I might go outside and do yard work but I don't operate the mower or anything that requires a lot of concentration. I try very hard to not leave the house that 1st day off because I'm grouchy and mean. That night I usually have NO problem going straight to bed by 9 or 10. I don't always sleep thru the night though and I tend to wake up 4 or 5 times.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I have worked nights for many years and would have it no other way. I work 3 on 4 off 12 hour shifts. My first day on I sleep in till 11 am and then go to work at 7 pm. on my first day off I come home and sleep til noon or 1 pm. My first day off I clean my house and do laundry. I go to sleep around midnoght and am then on a normal schedule. The key is on your work days you have to sleep for me a ggod night sleep is 8 am to 3:30 pm. So many young girls get up at noon and end up killing themselves on the way home!! I always ask them if they get up at midnight to clean house??

Nights is a great shift to work I would not trade it for the world.:sleep:

I do the same thing! I really like nights, I was dreading it, but it is great. I work at a teaching hospital and we have a resident or nurse practioner on the unit every night. There is a resident room where they sleep and we page them if we need them.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU of all kinds, CVICU, Cath Lab, ER..

I have worked nights for 20+ years. I agree with everyone that nights are best. I also think you become a better nurse because you must be - you have to know when to call the Docs, what orders to expect, etc.

I work Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights - no problem sleeping. Monday is MY day - I sleep, lay around, watch television, sew, read, etc. Tuesday through Thursday are quite normal - up early, chores to do; errands to run - to bed like a normal person. I love my schedule and my life. Best of luck to you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion