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Surviving the Night Shift
Megan Malugani / Monster Contributing Writer
Health care isn’t a 9-to-5 job. It’s an around-the-clock profession, and working evening or night hours is a way of life for many health professionals. Such shifts can take a physical and emotional toll on workers, experts say, but there are ways to prevent the damage. Here are suggestions for surviving – and even thriving – despite a draining schedule.
Originally published on Monster.com
Victoria_simon
3 months ago
564 comments
Luckily for me I do not have problems sleeping at any time what I miss is the day light interaction with my kids especially after school.
obnurse92
3 months ago
14 comments
Interesting article, I have worked night shift most of my 32 years in nursing and still find it hard at times. I have got to the point that most days I sleep well, in fact better than I do at night. I now do cut off the phone and run a fan to block out noise-my biggest proble is the isolation. My friends at work and I often are on opposite days, my husband is a day shifter all the way, and my other friends work Monday-Friday days--so isolation is a problem. I found that facebook and Yahoo is is a good way to keep up with what is going on and I call my family on my time. My husband and I do try to plan special times for when I am off.
Kay
3 months ago
152 comments
Anyone who thinks that nurses get lunch breaks just doesn't know what the profession of nursing is. Anyone who thinks that any hospital would allow a nurse even to close his/her eyes for 10-15 minutes, even just looking like they were asleep, without firing them, doesn't know the profession of nursing. 11pm to 7 am is bearable, but nobody has offered that shift in years because hospitals can save money by making all nursing staff work 12 hours shifts, and 7 pm to 7 am is deadly. If you have that extra 2-3 hours in the evening to rest before going in at 11 pm, again, it's manageable, but without it, nobody can last long on nights. I've even asked hospitals to allow night nurses to use the residents' sleeping quarters in the mornings (after the residents are up and out of them and no longer need them) to sleep a couple of hours before driving home, because as a night nurse, I have never once failed to fall asleep while driving home the next morning after working all night. It is a dangerous dangerous thing to overlook the dangers of night nursing and sleep deprivation. Hospitals will never care about this health need of it's nurses. Organizations will always just say sleep on your lunch break or take a nap at work....and again, only people who have no clue what nursing is will say those things. It just goes to show you that the general public and not even nursing organizations like nursing link actually know or understand the work of nurses. So sad....
whistleblower10
3 months ago
2 comments
prairie st johns in fargo north dakota will use sleeping on the job as a way to get rid you-it is misconduct-any other comments would be appreciated.
mrbrownrn49
3 months ago
68 comments
Snoozing on the job? Maybe on your lunch hour if you aren't on the clock. But I have never had the luxury of a nursing night shift where I could, or would, sleep. Otherwise this is sound advice for anyone on an off-shift.
millke
3 months ago
2 comments
Every hospital I have worked in would fire you on the spot if you were napping, even on your meal break. This extends to going to your car for a quick nap. I have been working nights for 22 years and in 6 different states.
samaji
3 months ago
2 comments
i am an RN but i am always afraid of night duty due to the fact that i always have malaria.This is really an eye opener. Nice article you may say.
vagaines
3 months ago
2 comments
I am an RN and I have been working nights for over 5 years but since I started working out about 4 months ago and eating a more well balance diet, I feel much better. Great article.
Tolulope
3 months ago
184 comments
Very insightful and useful, I'll like to say that this is worth sharing because it offers practicable steps to coping as a night shift worker, I'm a RN and I've been on night-shift for the past 1 year undergoing a specialty course in Accident and Emergency. I hope every night shift worker finds this useful.
WeekendWarriorATL
3 months ago
64 comments
I tried night shift- Hated it. I am a day shift person all the way!
blackmon44
3 months ago
44 comments
It's always been much easier for me to work at night than during the day, during the day it's so crowded at the hospital and at night it's less noisier and the atmosphere is more serene. What works for me is light eating and I take my vitamins especially B-Complex. I don't hardly drink coffee like the rest of them and I drink lots of water. I used to load up on energy drinks and that made things worse. I've also been taking chlorella, that seems to give me more energy too. But I try to get a nap before going in, if I don't I just make sure I take my vitamins and eat a snack or drink Ensure.
bleslie2000
3 months ago
2 comments
I am a night person, so working nights has always been easy for me. I've done it for 17 years now. I make it a routine to not let anyone interrupt my sleep. Phones on voicemail, friends and family are instructed to not visit during certain hours, but can alert me if an emergency develops. I also use what they call "white noise", a fan that runs only when I'm sleeping, but you can use other devices like the ones that make ocean noises, etc. Also I keep my meals regularly, just like I would if I'd work day, if it's a particularly busy shift, I always carry things like carrots, celery, or other finger foods that are nuitritious. Plus I try to drink alot of water, instead of soda. Hope some of these suggestions help nurses new to night shift or those who just aren't night owls. Thanks for recognizing night nurses.
rentalnurse
3 months ago
6 comments
I try to wk 3 nights together, I cant take benadryl so I take melatonin and it doesnt have the side effects. I can take a quarter of on and nap before my first night back and be awake and ready to go. Dont ya just hate the people who ring door bells and if that doesnt wk knock loudly, cant they get the hint. I did travel nursing for 8 yrs and stayed in hotels, the one I most frequented knew me and wouldnt dare knock, everyonce in a while a new employee would knock and i would have to set them straight.
SUENURSE
6 months ago
16 comments
I have been working the 2230-0700 shift for four years now. Two years as a CNA and going to school full time then two years as a LPN. Its not any easier not going to school working the night shift. Believe me, my CNAs and I are convinced that a full moon directly affects the way residents sleep. I have worked in two different nursing homes the entire time. For the past two, it has been on a floor split between Alzheimer/Dementia residents and those needing extensive assistance with almost everything. No sit down time at all. Charting, comforting and passing meds becomes a real challenge. Sleep is something others always say to get but somehow forget to not call you on the days you are trying to sleep. Like others, I try to run a full gammet when I get home: clothes, dishes, bill paying as I am a single Mom.
feliciaann
6 months ago
84 comments
I can certainly empathize with the whole night shift funk. I did it for years as a CNA. I will do the occasional night shift when needed now but never full time again. I am hooked on 2nd shift because you don't have the uproar that 1st shift has and administration is gone halfway through the shift! WooHoo!!! Things are just a tad bit more chaotic when they are in the building.