Switch Shifts?

Published

  1. What should I do?

    • 3
      Go to days
    • 10
      Stay on nights
    • 0
      Other (please specify)

13 members have participated

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

Background: Have been on my unit for almost one year, working nights and every other weekend. A few day shift positions have opened up. On nights, I have more seniority than more than half of my coworkers, and many of the ones more senior to me have no desire to work on days, so I have a decent shot.

Pros of stay on night shift:

WAY MORE money (I will be taking almost 9k/yr paycut...OUCH)

WAY better parking (no need to get on a bus...night shift parking is within walking distance)

No management

Fewer disruptions from pt family members

Nice® coworkers

Cons:

Feeling socially isolated outside of work

Tired all the time

Health is going to hell

Pros of going to day shift:

Better sleep schedule

Better work/life balance. I find myself wasting most of my days off because I am too tired to do anything else. Plus my boyfriend and family work more normal hours

More learning experiences. I want to further my education someday

Cons:

Coworkers are...yikes

Management and lots of patient family members

HUGE paycut

Undesirable (but manageable) parking

I am a diligent saver and hope to save enough to shave 10-15 years off my prison sentence (lol), so the biggest issue would be the pay cut. However, I have a PRN job with the state where I can pick up pretty much anytime, and the base is 12 dollars more than my FT base. I KNOW if I worked day shift, I would be more apt to picking up more hours instead of the minimum.

Another issue is that I am not sure if I see myself here long term. I hope to get a state gig in my specialty within the next year or so. Leaving after being put on days wouldn't be great, and I fear that I will get used to the nice schedule that I wouldn't want to leave to go to nights (with mandated overtime, no less) at another facility.

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"I find myself wasting most of my days off"

" Health is going to hell". Focus on what matters, it's not better parking and money.

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Maybe a combo of days and nights. I work with some nurses who work a couple weeks of days then a few weeks of night.

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It sounds like you have already compared the two different shifts and days are still in the running.

My opinion (the opinion of an anonymous poster on the internet) is to switch, especially if you think your current schedule is negatively impacting your health/happiness. Money matters, but isn't everything. Also it sounds like you have a plan to partially offset that.

One thing to to consider is that it is likely easier to switch back to nights if it doesn't work than it is to get on days. Nothing is forever.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Ahhhh this is a tough one! I'm all about the money and good coworkers. My personal preference is off shifts weekends, evenings, overnights to avoid all the annoying ancillary happenings on days. Although I have always worked more than one job I'm not in favor of adding a second one with more hours to simply get your main gig up to previous income.

Seriously is your "health is going to hell"? or are you suffering from the expected implications of working a shift opposite a majority of the world? Are there sleep hygiene or scheduling things you could attempt to become more rested? Just stabbing in the dark, I know but again I'd hate to see you leave a good situation with better money for a cluster. In my experience night shift has actually been harder to find openings due to the nurses who love it never leaving so there's that.

I have enjoyed "watching" you grow from a new grad struggling to seek employment to what sounds like a skilled, confident RN so I would bet you know the answer already and will make the correct choice for your situation. Either way you will learn something and that's cool too. Best to you. :)

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Your health is everything. Go to days.

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Specializes in NICU.

I work the weekend option plus Monday. The premium pay for be obligated to work every weekend makes up for missing night diferential, plus day shift. I get to park close on the weekends.

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I am a diligent saver and hope to save enough to shave 10-15 years off my prison sentence (lol), so the biggest issue would be the pay cut. However, I have a PRN job with the state where I can pick up pretty much anytime, and the base is 12 dollars more than my FT base. I KNOW if I worked day shift, I would be more apt to picking up more hours instead of the minimum.

This is very very valid. I recently switched to 5 8s, and found that, despite a pay increase, I'm earning around $1000 a month less because of lost overtime/per diem opportunities. If working nights is impacting your ability to pick up extra shifts, it may well not be the financially better option, even if the hourly rate is better.

As someone else said, your physical and mental health are the most important considerations. If you can't bear to switch back to nights after working days, then maybe that job isn't a good career move for you. Some people can't do night shifts. I'm pretty sure I'm one of them (though not totally sure, as I've never had a really ideal night shift schedule -always split days/nights, which is worse).

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

Thanks for the input.

I guess I should add that I am debt free and childless. Part of me feels that now is the time to work my butt off and save save save before big expenses start coming up (kids and mortgage), but night shift is exhausting after awhile.

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Specializes in ICU.

I am 100000% in the same situation as you, lol. I've been on nights at my hospital for almost two years now, and it was always my intention to switch to days after a year. But as much as my husband hates me working nights and I have no social life/am a vampire, I've found that there are so many advantages of nights right now that I'm hanging in there. Way more money, great coworkers, more opportunity for overtime, less traffic, better parking, slightly more relaxed atmosphere, more opportunity for growth/moving up, etc. I decided to set a deadline for myself, which in my case is going to be when I have children. At that point it will make more sense for me to be on a more "normal" schedule and I will switch. Until then it makes more sense from a financial/career standpoint to hang in there, even if it's less pleasant in terms of work-life balance.

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If your health is going to hell, do not go to nights. If you're not healthy, how can you work?

I have taken paycuts twice while having to make increased housing payments. Ways you can adjust:

-Write down every dollar you spend. I have a free app on my phone. Every single dollar.

- Stop shopping at stores like Bath & Body works, Victoria's, etc. You can buy the same things you need elsewhere for less money (This is tough for me sometimes)

- Do one "out" social event a week if you can afford it, if not, cut it all together. Invite friends over if you want to socialize to save money on going out.

- Sometimes you have to say no. If it's been a bad month for the budget, decline politely. I had to do this once for an out-of-state wedding. I was sad to miss but flight, hotel, etc...just wasn't in the budget.

You can make a pay cut work! More money can be nice but your health is priceless.

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I would go days. You should compare how much you lose from switching from nights to day and then try to estimate how much money you will pick up at your PRN job. You say you want to work for the state within the next year or so. It might be a good idea to start moving towards that direction.

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