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.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Even if I could work nights (have epilepsy & bipolar) I wouldn't want to. Nights is easier for a bunch of reasons but my health always suffers.
My husband can switch from days to nights like it's no problem. He works nights & on his days off he up & active. I could never do that. I will always choose days even though I will never make as much money.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I worked 12-hour nights on the floor for nearly six years.
Yes, the working environment and coworker camaraderie is better on nights. Yes, the pay is better for night shift. Yes, the parking is more ample on nights. However, my health suffered even with visits to the gym after working all night.
I decided on a happy medium. Since there was no way I could mentally manage the hustle and bustle of a floor position on days, I accepted a day job away from the bedside. It has been one of the best career-related decisions I have made.
Specializes in POST PARTUM/NURSERY/L&D/WOMENS SERVICES.
Princess Bride
Night shift is awesome!...
I have worked nights for 11 years, and would never dream of going on days....nightshifters are just different personality wise than dayshifters...
You say you are always tired...your problem is you are trying to live days while you work nights. Who says you have to live a conventional 9-5? I have readjusted my schedule so I am 12 hours off from the norm...as in if it is 12 noon, that is midnight to me...
I live it, and it works.
I am able to have a very full social schedule, I managed to raise children who were in school, because I would get them off to school, and go to bed, wake up by 4 when they came home and stayed up until they left in the am. It works...
One of the hardest things is getting people to understand that you are a nightshifter, so you don't answer your phone during the day. No one dares to call me before 5 pm or after 9 am. I leave my phone off while I sleep, because I am sleeping and will not be available. if an emergency should arrive, the cops can come wake me.
I worked 12-hour nights on the floor for nearly six years.
Yes, the working environment and coworker camaraderie is better on nights. Yes, the pay is better for night shift. Yes, the parking is more ample on nights. However, my health suffered even with visits to the gym after working all night.
I decided on a happy medium. Since there was no way I could mentally manage the hustle and bustle of a floor position on days, I accepted a day job away from the bedside. It has been one of the best career-related decisions I have made.
I have never thought about working at home but...
As much as I enjoy working bedside (well, most of the time), I just find the schedule to be too brutal and in the instances I am dealing with crazy family members/patients, I do long for a nice "normal" job with "normal hours" away from the chaos.
I was never much of a gym rat, but when I had a more normal schedule, I was more active and productive on my days off. Now, most of my days are spent sleeping and when I am up at night, I don't do much of anything.
Looks like I am staying on nights as management thinks they are too important to answer an email I sent.
Screw them.
You sure they got it? Or aren't still considering it? I work with one Admin who I have known for years, trust and like on a personal level who is horrible about answering my emails at times. Its infuriating and then I start getting worried I've pissed someone off etc. which all turns out to be silly when I get a sheepish response of sorry I forgot, sorry we've been really busy, sorry I was waiting on an answer to your inquiry. I usually send a second email to ensure I am not being ignored and or spark their memory to at least respond to me.
You sure they got it? Or aren't still considering it? I work with one Admin who I have known for years, trust and like on a personal level who is horrible about answering my emails at times. Its infuriating and then I start getting worried I've pissed someone off etc. which all turns out to be silly when I get a sheepish response of sorry I forgot, sorry we've been really busy, sorry I was waiting on an answer to your inquiry. I usually send a second email to ensure I am not being ignored and or spark their memory to at least respond to me.
Yeah, I emailed twice and was ignored on both accounts. That left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Looks like I am staying on nights as management thinks they are too important to answer an email I sent.
Screw them.
Did you try sending another, or stopping by his/her office after your shift? I know that if I don't answer an email immediately, it gets buried under all the emails that come after, and then I forget about it unless I'm reminded again. I promise, it's not because I don't care, but I'm also caring about 20 other things, and you are only thinking about this one thing.
OrganizedChaos, LVN
1 Article; 6,883 Posts
Even if I could work nights (have epilepsy & bipolar) I wouldn't want to. Nights is easier for a bunch of reasons but my health always suffers.
My husband can switch from days to nights like it's no problem. He works nights & on his days off he up & active. I could never do that. I will always choose days even though I will never make as much money.