RNLauren05

Everyone has given you great tips so far....my top 5 are.... 1. Allow yourself to sleep during the day without interruption. Just because everyone else is awake doesn't mean that you have to be! 2. Definitely pack your own food. If the hospital you are working at is anything like the one I am at....the night food is either reheated or deep fried....ick! I like to eat foods that aren't too heavy....a big meal at 2am just makes me queasy. 3. If you have down time, use it to really research the patient, review their labs, etc. If the patient is going for a procedure, make sure consents are signed, paperwork is done, etc, etc. 4. There will be a certain time of night that you get really tired. If you drink coffee, have a small cup. For me, a little bit goes a long way & can keep me going until things start happening at 5am. 5. Don't think about sleeping or your bed while you are at work....it will make you wish you were there..... Good luck! I've worked nights for a year and a half. It wasn't really for me, as I had a tough time sleeping during the day, was on the opposite schedule of my husband, etc. But, overall, it wasn't too bad & I got through it. Now I'm looking forward to starting a day job in a couple weeks! Have fun!

I only WISH that I could sleep all day. The fact is, that my body just will not sleep. I go to bed around 8:30 or 9am, then I usually wake up at least once around 11 or 12, then I will wake up somewhere between 1:30 and 2pm. At that point, I just don't feel tired and I cannot go back to sleep. Of course, this means at about 2am I am so tired I can barely think straight. I have tried everything, but I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. No one is at home during the day, so it's not that I am being bothered by noise or anything like that. And I have tried just about everything, but nothing seems to work. Ironically enough, when I first started working nights, I had no problems sleeping at all, but now a year and a half in, I am really struggling. I am generally a really good sleeper, but I just think that some people are not programmed to work nights. But I'm sure glad that there are people that like the night shift!

I feel the same way about working in a hospital. I know that it isn't what I want to do for any extended time period....and that really has nothing to do with the hours. I just don't really like having different patients almost every shift I work....I would like to really get to know my patients and be able to follow their progress. I would eventually like to get into community health nursing. That was my favorite rotation in nursing school & it was something that I truly enjoyed (unlike some of the other clinicals). And a great perk to that is normal hours! Good luck!

I completely agree about the money issue. All the money in the world isn't worth sacrificing time with my family. So, yes I am looking for a new job. It's going to be difficult, because there isn't as drastic of a nursing shortage here as in other areas, but I'm going to keep with it. Thanks to everyone for your posts....your advice & support is much appreciated!

Oh man, I'm thinking I made a big mistake by going into nursing....let me explain. I've been working nights on a cardiac/tele unit now for 6 months. The staff that I work with is absolutely wonderful...we only get up to 5 patients...and I enjoy the patient population that we receive. So, I should really like my job right? Well, I don't. I feel really comfortable in my role as a nurse....it's not that I don't feel confident in my abilities or anything like that. I think it has more to do with the schedule. Nights has been really crappy to get used to. My husband works a Monday-Friday, 8-4 job. By the time he gets home, I am just getting up and it's all I can do to get dinner, get ready, and get to work on time. So basically we hardly ever get to see each other because I'm home sleeping all day when he's gone and he's home all night while I'm at work. Plus, we miss out on a lot of weekends together because I'm working every other weekend. I guess I knew this was coming when I started working nights, but I never imagined it would be this hard. Some nights I just start crying on the way to work....I really don't know why, maybe it's just that I don't want to go and I want to spend time with my husband. I find myself wishing that I didn't have to go to work, and that is totally unlike me. I'm usually a very positive person but I just feel like my job is bringing me down. Aside from quitting, there is really nothing that I can do...my manager has already told me not to even include the word "days" in my vocabulary for a "long time." There are people on my unit that have been trying to get to dayshift for 3 years, and I KNOW that I won't be one of those people....3 years of this would send me to the psych ward! Well thanks for letting me vent....if anyone has any ideas of areas outside the hospital setting that I could work (with normal hours) feel free to suggest! At this point I will do ANYTHING...lol....well within reason. I even considered becoming a pharmaceutical rep, but I don't know if that would be any better. OK...I'm done now. Sorry about the long post! :)