Days = Administration around/lurking and watching, phone calls out the wazoo, family asking/demanding, doctors, pharmacists, 2 meals, baths, therapies, social workers. IMO, too many distractions from actually taking care of patients.
Evenings = Admin (and most other office types) gone by 5pm, one meal, visitors, HS cares, sundowners.
Nights = no office types :-), no meals :-), rare family/visitors/phone calls :-). Pt load usually a little higher, but fewer "tasks", usually a much "tighter crew" - you are forced to be a team player and help each other out due to lower staff numbers. It is also an opportunity to do a really good assessment and review the chart to, possibly, find things that may have slipped through the cracks because of the pace on other shifts. I can't tell you how many times one of us on nights has said "did anyone notice ....." and that one little piece is the missing link in that patients care. Oh yeah, and you are forced to be a good critical thinker.
It depends on the type of person you are. I am a night nurse at heart, always have been, always will be. Some people just can't adapt to the hours and get physically ill. For other nurses, it works well because they have children at home and they can be there for them after school. Evenings is hard if you have kids. Many people think day shift is the best shift because it is "normal" hours - I just don't see it. :-)
