The Most Hard Working Shift- Day Or Night Shift?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Icu.

Which shift is the most hard working ..day or night shift..... ? we argued over these during basic skills in class..it divided the class into two camps and instructors kept going after each other..... /

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Specializes in Telemetry, CCU.

Because you can't say that one is more hard working than the other, it really creates an "us versus them" mentality". Not fun, but it probably is reality.

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Specializes in ER.

Both.

Someone needs to point out to the instructors that nursing involves teamwork, not competition.:stone

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Specializes in Critical Care, OB/GYN.

I agree... teamwork, teamwork, teamwork!!! In my experience, days or nights both have their periods of difficulty... it just depends on the day and the patient mix. One night might be quiet, but the next your putting in a v-cath, running your pt to ct scan, and getting several admissions on the floor, etc. Its just depends...

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I have always been a night nurse, because I did not want the pace of dayshift.

I know days is terribly busy, but nights has its own set of problems, too.

I do try to do some things at night that I know dayshift nurses can't get to, due to time constraints.

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Specializes in Everytype of med-surg.

As a nightshifter, I will admit days probably moves at a more hectic pace. However, as a human being, we are meant to sleep nights, so nightshifters have to fight their own body clocks in addition to being awake. I think alot of dayshifters forget this. I have had coworkers ask what I do at night. :yawn: And I honestly replied, clean up your mistakes(fix your orders, give the meds you didn't have time for, empty all the overflowing trashcans etc). However, I am tired of fighting my body on night shift and will make the switch to days when there is a space.

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Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.

I work nights and I say nights is busier. We have more patients, and half as many aides. Patients sleep, eh? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

I think each shift is a different kind of busy. I worked nights for a long time and a lot of the day shift nurses I worked with just thought the patients slept all night, but nope they are just as awake as they are on day shift.

There really is no "hardest working" shift. I think equally days and nights work hard just in different ways.

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Specializes in PACU.

The answer will vary depending upon setting, staffing, and many other factors. Overall, I'd say they're about equal. If night shifts were WAY easier, there wouldn't often be differentials to work them as people would be fighting for night shifts.

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Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.

There really is no "hardest working" shift. I think equally days and nights work hard just in different ways.

I'll tell you what, out of 3 nights a week that I work, I literally do not get lunch breaks on 2 of those nights. When I was on days, without fail, the dayshift always managed to get a breakfast break, a lunch break, and a linner break (lunch/dinner).

You better believe I make sure I get paid for those missed lunch breaks!! (ps...i save tons of money on food and ive lost 20lbs since i started night shift...)

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Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

They are both equally hard, but for different reasons. There are two many variables between institutions to generalize.

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I have always been a night nurse, because I did not want the pace of dayshift.

I know days is terribly busy, but nights has its own set of problems, too.

I do try to do some things at night that I know dayshift nurses can't get to, due to time constraints.

I'm a day shifter...and we are lucky that we work as a team (days/nights) we treat each other with respect and we try to help ea other out - sometimes we have to pass things on - and if I anticipate a prob with a patient starting to sundown - I will put the call in as early as possible for posey or meds or whatever the night shift will need.

Nights gets slammed with admissions (esp when we've been discharging like crazy all day - days is so busy - but nights have probs too plus there are less people around to help out in rapid responses/codes etc....

I tell my orientees that they need to think ahead - it's a 24 hour job and we all need to work together.

You sound like the kind of nurse we like on our unit!

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