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Discussion

11-7 shift

I'm contemplating working the 11-7 shift at a nursing home when I start applying to jobs. If you don't mind me asking, these questions are for all you ladies (and men ;) ) working the NOC shift as a nurse assistant...

1) Do you like working nights?

2) Was it hard to adjust at first?

3) Do you get enough sleep during the day and on your days off?

4) Do you still have time to spend with your family and friends?

I was going to work the morning shift, because I have no problem getting up, but after doing clinical during the day, I've decided that it's too stressful to get that many residents dressed, bathed, and up for breakfast when they're supposed to. I don't know if I'd be able to do it. And 3-11 just takes up the whole day, so I wouldn't have very much time for my family, friends, & my boyfriend.

Thanks in advance!

Featured Replies

1) Do you like working nights?

2) Was it hard to adjust at first?

3) Do you get enough sleep during the day and on your days off?

4) Do you still have time to spend with your family and friends?

1. LOVE working the night shift. No management and for the most part co-workers are really laid back and fun. The only frustrating part about night shift are the few people who think it's okay to come to work and curl up and go to sleep for the bulk of their shift.

2. I'm a night owl, but I'll still admit that it's hard to adjust. It takes at least 3 months for the body to really get used to working nights.

3. I try to. It depends on what else I have going on. If I have school, appointments, things that pop up it's sometimes really hard.

4. Friends? Family? Whats that? When I am in school it's hard to do anything other than eat/sleep/work/go to school, but does that not happen to anyone who's going to school and working. Since I've had a couple of semesters off of school I've had a lot of time for friends and family. You just have to adjust times.

1) No, I didn't like working nights in LTC. I would be the only aide for 35 residents and no nurse. There was only 1 nurse for the whole building. So, when it came time for turns you had to do it yourself. About broke my back. Make sure you ask at the interview about this. It's unsafe (especially when you're in a lock down unit and the paranoid schizophrenic is pulling door off hinges). And it will burn you out faster. It's really hard to do a complete bed change on a resident that does not roll and weighs 300lbs. Not good care, IMO.

2) Not hard to adjust for me, but I'm a natural night owl.

3) Yes. No problems sleeping during the day.

4) Yes, you just have to plan better so you can get a nap in before you have to go to work.

  • Experts

I worked the night shift as a nursing assistant when I was in nursing school and as an RN in many different jobs.

  1. Yes, I love working nights. It's quieter, there are less people around and you can hear yourself think. I like quiet.
  2. Yes, it was hard to adjust at first. What I have found over the years is that I had to develop a regular sleeping routine. What worked for me was to make 1 or 2pm in the afternoon my bed time and 8 or 9pm my wake up time for the days I was working. I found that it was easier to schedule appointments and do my shopping in the mornings when I got off work.
  3. As long as I stuck to my schedule I got enough sleep. When I had a couple of days off, I usually went back to a traditional sleep schedule usually staying up as long as I could on the morning of the last day I worked until I just dropped dead tired into bed that evening. However, I was well-rested and could be up and about the next full day off of work. After I had worked night shifts for a long time I was able to go back to my first shift of nights after only about 4 hours of sleep the first night as long as the sleep was just before going in to work.
  4. Yes, I had time to spend with my family and friends. I just had to adjust my schedule a bit, is all. Once you learn how much sleep you can get away with, you can make time for special things to do with friends and family, or learn to split your sleeping time throughout the day.

1. I enjoy the night shift where I am, but that is because I have the ability to nap. :)

2. Yes, it is always difficult to adjust, but especially so in my case because I go from nights to eves & back to nights again in a 3 day period.

3. I tend to go without much sleep, but I nap here & there. Some can sleep during the day while others cannot. I am usually tired enough by my days off that I can sleep at night no problem!

4. Yes, I still spend all my time with hubby...

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