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.
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
This is my strategy. I don't flip flop either......just too hard for this old body. I will flip for family emergencies or vacations though. I am pretty miserable when I do. I find that I just can't stay sharp at work if I flip flop.
I find night shift more challenging in a non-teaching hospital. No doctors around and really have much more autonomy.....perhaps too much!
Specializes in Peds,ER, Management, Critical Care.
In my younger days after working 3-4 12 hr nights I'd stay up the next day, found that it was easier to get back onto a day schedule for the family. Now that i'm older, i need my sleep for a few hours. The day still seems to be a wash as I'm still tired and grumpy. If I only have a few days off, I just stay on my night schedule. I seem to function alot better.
Specializes in Peds Cardiology,Peds Neuro,Pedi ER,PICU, IV Jedi.
I've worked nights for ...a long time. I've found that it's easier for me to work a staggered schedule (Sunday, Tuesday, Friday)..7p-7a. This allows me to take a nap during the days I need to (Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays) and still get a good night's sleep when I'm off.
I used to do 2 and 3 shifts in a row (years ago), but I just can't anymore...there's too much going on with the family to miss out on anything.
Good luck!! It's all a matter of preference. Whatever works for you is what you should do.
Ohys it's definitely possible to go back to a "normal schedule" on my nights off and I definitely do that. I work four 10-hr night shifts and after my "friday night" I come home, nap for 3-4 hrs so I can do something productive the rest of the day and sleep quite well that night. Like yours, my hubby also works day shift(we have different days off too) and I usually get up with him to have some coffee and chat. Kids are grown and gone so it's just the two of us here so the schedule differences don't affect anyone else.
Cool. Thank you for all the responses! I am glad to hear that nights may not be too hard on me. I don't have kiddies so that is a plus I hear. We will see!
I've been working nights for about 20 years now. I don't flip unless I am going on vacation or going to be off at least a few days in a row and have a really good reason to. You can do stuff around the house at night, go to Walmart or the grocery store, catch up on TV shows on the TIVO, etc.
When I worked nights, I was usually a night owl on my days off. I usually napped off and on the whole time I was off. I didn't force my body into a daytime schedule. Usually when I tried to sleep at night I was up anytime from midnight to 3AM and got up for several more hours.
I always ask them if they get up at midnight to clean house??
Actually I did. I would get up and go to Walmart, do laundry, houseclean, and go to the 24-hour gym. It helped that there are no kids in the house, and that my spouse worked nights and was either at work, are awake. I also spent many hours through the night on Allnurses (which is how I got so many posts. )
After 13 years I never ever thought I would go to day shift, but eventually I did, with no regrets.
hey, what about a 3p-1130p shift? I don't much care for the idea of working 5 days a week but shift diff kicks in at 7p so for 4.5 hours I would make more plus it might give me a feel for what nights would be like later in the evening??? It would give me some opportunity to cash in on the shift diff but wouldn't screw up my whole life??
5 days isn't probably that horrible, unless you get used to 3 days a week...which is pretty nice! I can't imagine going back to only have 2 days off a week. I need time to be lazy now and goof off. I can't remember what it was like to work 5-6 days a week (40-52 hours) plus go to nursing school...how did I live??? Now I whine about pulling 40hrs vs 36!
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.
Your post is soo nice, so reassuring! So glad that you have found the balance of home/work life!!
The thing about working full-time evening shift is that you tend to not see your family and friends except for those two days off you have per week. Most of our socializing goes on in the evening around dinnertime.
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Hoozdo, ADN
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This is my strategy. I don't flip flop either......just too hard for this old body. I will flip for family emergencies or vacations though. I am pretty miserable when I do. I find that I just can't stay sharp at work if I flip flop.
I find night shift more challenging in a non-teaching hospital. No doctors around and really have much more autonomy.....perhaps too much!