Nights only

[nessib]

Hi. I was struggling doing day shifts on my ward. I was under a lot of stress and it reach a point I could not cope anymore and it triggered my depression and anxiety. I've been off for 2 months and I've just recently went back to work on days again! I have a recommendation from occy health and my Gp for me to do nights but my seniors keep putting me on days even though I know it will make me feel low again. Please help! Is there a way I can get only nights? Some of my colleagues do nights only and they are not contracted for it so I don't think it's fair.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Fair has nothing to do with it. They also have their reasons for wanting only night shift which may or may not be better or worse than yours.

If your current employer doesn't have a place for you on nights and you feel this is impacting your health, you should find a night shift job.

[cleback]

Well, this is a switch. Normally, nights are worse for depression and anxiety and days are highly sought after.

My advice is the same though... if your work is not accommodating (and they don't have to be, unfortunately), then your only other recourse is to find another job that is. In my area, you'd have no trouble finding a straight nights position.

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

Some employers would not let some people work nights because they felt they still had room to learn. Day shift can be hectic, but it also can have more support if you need it. More eyes on you. Not to make you concerned. Night shift has benefits of being "slower", but it is also important to have decent assessment skills and some measure of independence. But, yeah, I switched to mostly/all nights after about a year. I prefer it.