What is the best shift in the ER?

xos4eva · Jan 11, 2009

I work 730 a - 8 p I prefer it because its the day time and I still get to sleep at night. Truly it depends on the person and how they function. Day shift is good for new grads because there are more resources available, versus working at night and pretty much depending on each other. He can always start on days until he is comfortable and then make a decision. I've worked nights and don't like it personally, so that's just my 2 cents worth.

Good Luck

rjflyn, ASN, RN · Jan 11, 2009

It depends. Based on my 20+ years most EDs volume starts to hit around 10AM and peaks mid-afternoon. You can continue to have heavy loads all night but often it lets up around 1-3AM if you are lucky. I would avoid the 11Am shift as you often get to be the lunch coverage. or worse being the new person you will get somebody's full load thats a mess. Then again the same happens at 3p or 7p, but with those there is hope of some slow time at the end.

That said I am not a morning person so personally I hate getting up at 5-530 to work at 7 so i would rather work something else.

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Jan 11, 2009

it has been my experience that during the day you tend to get more acute and most geriatrics. The evenings and nights were more psyc. I worked 11a-11p and it was okay, however that was the busiest time in the ED. A day shift tends to be a little slower first thing in the morning and night it is super busy when you first walk in, but eventually it starts to scale back, of course there are always exeptions to the rule.

If your friend gets to pick it would really depend on what is a good fit for him.

I tend to be more of a night person, but I have kids and finding an overnight babysitter is hard, but finding one to sit untill 2330-12 isnt as bad.

back2bRN · Jan 11, 2009

The best shift depends on a few things. I am a morning person, so 7a-7p or 11a-11p woukd work best for me and my family. The first little bit (as a new grad )I would start on the 7a-7p simply b/c the resources are around, with the option of going to a different shift as my experience deepened. But it really depends on your friend and what is best for him. But I would take a long look at days for the first bit. Just my 0.02.

TNRad RN · Jan 11, 2009

I was a new grad in an ER on the 11a-11p shift. I had several problems with that shift. First, I was not part of day shift or night shift, so I felt like an outsider. Second, I had twice as many personalities to get used to. Third, I hated having my room assignment changed mid-shift, it caused too much confusion for a new grad. I changed to 7a-7p and I was much happier. Hope that helps.

Love-A-Nurse · Jan 11, 2009

for me, 11a-11p is a shift i tried working through agency as an er nurse. i do not ever want this time frame again. it seemed as if though i got the charge nurse patients most of the time and he would only have 1 to 2 patients and they were ready for d/c in the medical rooms [2]. my trauma rooms would fill up and the other two rooms, too. all at once. granted if it was a true trauma, someone would help with the patients in the trauma, but, i was busy none stop until leaving time in a different way that it is when i work the night shift.

in the er, 7p-7a works best for me.

I_LOVE_TRAUMA, RN · Jan 11, 2009

I also love 7p-7a. I think that it is a great shift for a new nurse. It is very cohesive with learning. When I pick up day shifts I still notice after all of these years that there is always a lot of politics and drama going on, you have to put up with the NMs and big bosses, etc.. that leads to a lot of extra work that you don't want to be busy with. At night we have a skeleton crew, so we all learned very early on that we must draw from and learn from each others experiences, and that we must be their for each other, we also do not have a NM to go crying to everytime something goes wrong, we must learn to work together and work things out ourselves, which has made us like a family. I, however think that I work with an exceptional bunch of nurses, MDs, NPs, and PA-Cs. We are a family, I mean I spend more time with them than I do my own family. I also think that this is the best shift to gain the most knowledge and skills on. I work in a level 1, and we are a teaching hospital, we get new med students and residents rotating through every few months, so you learn from watching the attendings teach them-you have much more time to do this on nights, when you can just focus on the pt. and not all of the other pr crap. Night shift nurses tend to be much more laid back and eager to teach also. Even if someone wants to wind up on days (management or whatever) I think it would be better to start on nights and get your feet wet before you go to days, you will look a lot more impressive to the big bosses. Also, the very best parts about night shift-1. the freaks come out at night...much more interesting traumas, drunks, psych pts, etc.. and 2. on the rare occassions when you get a little down time-you can have so much more fun when the bosses are not there!!! I don't want to give away any details and make anyone start watching out, but we have really learned how to make the time fly by when needed!

nghtfltguy, BSN, RN · Jan 11, 2009

I will tell you flat out... THERE IS NO BEST SHIFT IN THE ER!!...

the best shift is the shift that is most fitting of your lifestyle... ie. kids...school... whatever.. and your sleep pattern... the best shift in the ER is the best shift that works for you~~~ imma night person myself :)

:cool:

northshore08 · Jan 12, 2009

Unless he is going to have a preceptor to work with for a long time, I would recommend a new grad do either 7a-7p or 7p-7a. The mid shifts require nurses that are skilled and flexible; the new grad doesn't fit there yet.

Great responses from everyone! :clown:

cookienay · Jan 13, 2009

Well, it depends on if your friend has kids, other obligations, etc... But my $.02 is this. Pick the shift with the most experienced nurses if possible. Especially if these nurses are good at mentoring, coaching. Day shift usually means more resources as posted previously. In my ER our busiest times are usually 2p-2a (we see over 70k a year). hope this helps, good luck.

JD228 · Jan 14, 2009

i agree with the other posts. the worst shift is 11a to 11p. the other shifts just depend on your personal internal clock. i worked days when i started and hated every minute of it, because i was sooo tired all the time. nights just fits my schedule better and so i am happier. he could always ask for a trial run of the times and see what works better.