I believe it depends on where you work. In California there are mandated patient to nurse ratios. It will always be 1:4 or 1:5 (depending if they are on telemetry) which is very nice. I worked both day and night shift in the hospital I am currently working in. I started nights, went to days for a couple months, then went back to nights. In my personal opinion, the difference was night and day (pun intended). During day time you have to deal with family (which can be the hardest thing you will deal with), physical therapy, administration, 10 doctors giving orders for one patient, a discharge, an admit, another discharge, another admit, and 3x a day accuchecks before each meal, and alot of other things that only happen when normal people are awake. At night, its usually busier at the beginning of shift and slowly dies down. Most patients that have discharge orders would be gone before shift change, or leave an hour or two after the shift starts. The nocturnal doctors will be in and out throughout the night. Most daily meds will be given during the daytime, which leaves fewer at night (for most patients). Admissions can come any time of the day, but at least at night you will typically have a bit more time to work on it. What I really hate about nights is trying to get a hold of certain doctors. Then again, this is based on my experience at my current workplace. Alot of things must be factored in such as your boss, your coworkers, your facility rules, and alot of other things that are workplace specific. Best of luck!