As a young new graduate nurse, most of us know that we will be stuck working the night shift, as those are usually the only job positions open. When I had my first nursing job after I graduated, I did get hired on the night shift, and boy do I remember being so anxiety-ridden for my first one. It was different for me because all throughout nursing school I had worked at the same hospital in the same department, but on days; therefore, I did not know the people on nights, let alone what I was getting myself into especially because I was working in an ER/Trauma center. It’s safe to say though, I fell in love with working nights and now that I am working days at my new job (rotating shifts to be exact, but more time on days), I prefer nights. For starters, nights work better for us young nurses who have minimal responsibilities (I’m talking no children, no house payments, etc. that is if you live with your parents still) and our bodies can handle it at such a young age, in my opinion. As to getting myself to the point of loving night shift, I had to start somewhere, so I most definitely can lend a number of good and plentiful tips to survive your first, and succinct shifts thereafter:
- I found that I was turning the shift into a day shift – meaning, 7pm was 7am for me and dinner time (midnight usually) was lunch time for me. Once I got used to that, I found that I was splitting the shift into three separate shifts, a chunk of 4 hours each, and I found that I’ve carried that over to working days as well, and it is a good trick for the students who do 12 hour clinicals as well. It makes the day seem not so long, but as we all know, time flies when you’re having fun, which it most definitely does in this profession.
- Sticking to a similar routine on your days off of work helps as well. Stay up until 3/4am on your days off and sleep until 11/noon and go about your day if that is what will keep your circadian cycle on track. For example, if I wasn’t working the night before I had a shift, I would wake up and work out early (around 9/10, noon the latest), get the things I had to get done for the day, and then come home and “sleep” until 5ish, wake up and go to work!
- It also can’t hurt to pick up a few preceptor night shift clinicals while you’re still in nursing school (I know that’s what every senior nursing student worries about… getting stuck on the night shift clinical).
- And lastly, and most importantly, EXERCISE! When I work back-to-back night shifts, I get home and unwind in bed around 8am, sleep until 2/230ish, go to the gym around 4 until 530/6ish, go and get dinner for work and head back on to save some more lives and do what I love! Not only is it important for us to exercise regardless, but in this profession, we all know how important it is to unwind and mentally stay on track, so it’s super important to find a way to squeeze in a good hour or two of self-care.
I know most people dread, even fear working nights, but I ended up being one of those people who loved the night shift (most of the people I work with have been on nights for YEARS). At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what shift or what day of the week you are scheduled to work; we are doing the career we have long worked hard for and doing what we love, and that’s truly all that matters. Until next time CON’ers!
Sydney Adelstein is 2016 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Nursing.