Would you switch to nights to make alot more money?

[Maco]

Thank you all for all the comments.I wanted to just add that the position is flex-meaning I would be working all over the hospital except in the er or icu. I would can tons of experience. I'm hoping maybe eventually I could move to days but there is no promise I could move to days only if a position opened up on days.My manager now did tell me I could come back to days if I didn't like it.

[Zookeeper3]

I've worked nights 13 of 15 years. I do less work, no meal trays, less family, no management and suits and I make lot's more money. No doc's rounding like mad that take your charts, no ancillary staff mucking around.... I've got the best deal, I promise.

[Daly City RN]

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I totally agree with zookeeper3. Night shift has less management people who do their rounds and pound on their chests to let everyone know who's the boss!

Night shift also has less docs and less med students who come to your unit to write orders long orders, and then come back half an hour later to change the original orders.

If you have small kids, you could take care of them during the day while your spouse is at work (presumably during the day), then go to work at night... like a zombie! I was like that for many years!

Oh yeah, you could earn a lot more money, but then statistically your life would be shorter compared to day shift workers.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[keakea]

love night shift!!

[LTC Lady]

I'm a night shift nurse all the way! I feel better on nights, i'm more alert, more energenic, and yes the shift differential is a nice perk!! Downside, depending where you may be confined to the vending machine for food, and no access to coffee.

[Chapis]

i remember you posting this not long ago, did you decide on taking the new job, i believe you said for 15 more?

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

of course i would switch to nights to make a lot more money!!! oh, wait, i am already on night shift.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

I'm nightshift, and on our floor, I don't think we do less work at night. Yes, we don't have to deal with meals, management on the floor, etc.

However....

We also have less support, less help, if we call ANYBODY we have to deal with a woke up grumpy person. You have docs where you are trying to get a patient on a pressor drip because their BP is climbing thru the roof and you get, "Hey, Dr. X, this is Nerd and Ms. J's BP is 209/103--" z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z "Dr. X? Dr. X, WAKE UP." We have docs who have small kids who don't want to wake them so they turn off their phones (ever sent the cops to wake up a surgeon on call? I have.). We've got 1 radiology tech for the whole hospital, so a stat portable CXR on the floor has to hold for the MVA in the ER, and you're watching the patient die while you wait for one of the 2 RT to come and give an asthma patient a breathing tx. We've got 1 doc in the ER, and you have to call a code to get him to come into the main body of the hospital for something like a ripped out trach. Often you're also taking turns spelling the telemetry tech, the secretary (if you've got one) and the house supervisor will call wanting a "spare set of hands" to go the ER if they're slammed.

To top that off, you've got all the paperwork for the AM surgical patients, the COBRA packages for the transfers, chart checks and all the normal q2h neuro checks, FSBS, that every other shift has.

But you learn to be a lot more self reliant. For 2 extra bucks an hour.

[lab211]

When you say nights, do you mean exclusively the 11:00 PM to 7:30 AM shift? I am a permanent 3:00 PM to 11:30 PM shift nurse. Do we do more work than day shift? It is comparable. We get the most admissions to do while day shift get the most discharges. Admissions have more forms plus the assessment for the nurse to complete.We pass just as much medications as the day shift. I can only work evening shift because I need the shift differential in order to keep my head above water. In this area shift differentials are between 5 to 8 dollars an hour.

[Mollypita]

I already did, and have no regrets. However, I had experience working night shift, so the staying awake part wasn't a problem like it is for some people. Why make less for the same number of hours?!?!

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Night shift makes about another extra $5k/yr at my hospital. They're now force-floating people to days. Plus it is much less busy and more fun! No rush hour traffic, either. I laugh at the people on the other side of the median as I speed by them at 70 mph qAM.

[hawkfdc]

I've been flipping back and forth for the last month or so. I hate all the "required sleep" needed for night shift (gotta sleep in preparation then sleep more on your day off to recover). My differential isn't great. But day shift is so busy that the day flies by.