Thoughts on rotating shifts

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  1. Which option best describes your feelings about rotating shifts?

    • 4
      It was not good
    • 2
      It was doable, but not my preference.
    • 1
      It was all right.
    • 0
      It was awesome and I chose it (and/or would do it again).
    • 0
      Something else.

7 members have participated

Specializes in CMSRN, hospice.

Just wondering since I've never worked rotating shifts before. Does anyone actually choose them? How awful is it for your physical and mental state? What practices, if any, make rotating doable versus miserable?

1
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Specializes in BMT.

Where I work, it is required for minimum first six months for all nurses. After that, it goes by unit. I personally don’t enjoy it- but it is made better by extending your time between switch. For my unit, that is every 3 weeks I switch. More time on a rotation means less weekends eaten up by the rotation and more time getting used to the sleep-awake pattern.

The one nice thing is you get a bit of a break going from hectic days to more relaxed nights. While this is clearly not always the case that nights are more calm, I have always been able to sneak in some sort of food even on the craziest nights and have gone many a day without even a snack.

1
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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

This body of mine has never adjusted well to sleep schedule changes and has gotten worse since I've gotten older. I worked rotating shifts for a couple of years back in the '80's, didn't care for them then, and would not do them now.

I've found that staying on a regular schedule is good for my mind, body, and relationships.

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