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Initially, being hired all new nurses begin on nights. I had wanted to work nights anyway. I come from a family of third-shifters, both my mother and sister were also third shifters. I started my orientation on nights and then four weeks on days. The day shift was not for me.
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#1 I’m Home All Day Long
Home all day, was fantastic since I had a very anxious older dog, who did better with someone home. This was another way to prepare for when my fiancee and I start our family someone will always be around. My mother raised my sibling and myself in this fashion. Currently, living in an apartment between, changing air filters, pest control, and other repairs or improvements there have been some days where someone needed to be home with the dog and let someone in the apartment. My dog had destroyed his crate and learned to open interior doors, but not the deadbolt, yet. Nights work well for receiving packages being delivered; they no longer need to wait outside. Everyone has a different living situation and having someone home works well in my life.
#2 I am a night owl by nature
I am a night owl. It’s not uncommon when given a few days in a row that my working hours shift, and I find myself starting to doze around the 2 a.m. mark. My mind goes into overtime at night. I’ve tried many tricks to turn it off but come to the realization I am a night owl. The thought of waking up at 5 a.m. every shift to be ready to work at 6:45 a.m. is horrible. Even before nursing, I worked two jobs one was a northeast chain of coffee stores, waking up at 5 to be in for 6. I quickly burnt myself out in that position. Also, I had some shifts where I was called and woken up because I overslept. Adjusting my waking schedule throughout the night was easy for me. Some other nurses said they felt almost drunk working night and complained of chronic headaches. Nope, not for this one.
#3 Enjoy the day
Enjoying the day may seem counter-intuitive working nights. When I oriented on days, my shift started at 6:45 a.m. My work day would end at 7:40 p.m. Sometimes a little later, getting me home at 8 or 9 p.m. To receive an eight hour night of sleep, I need to go to bed at 9 p.m. When I got in I feed and walked the dog, I would pack my lunch, take a shower, and start to settle for bed. In reality, I would not fall asleep until 11 p.m. or 12 a.m. The night shift allows me to do many of my chores before going to work at night. I can come home from the night shift and go right to sleep. I wake up a few hours before I leave to get anything done for the day. There have been plenty of mornings. I get home to make or pick up breakfast and sit outside enjoying the beautiful morning before sleeping for a few hours. I get to drive back in the morning sun and drive in the evening sun. Working night allows me to enjoy my days.
#4 Justify Sleeping all Day
I come home in the morning and sleep some of the days. My first day off after a couple of nights working I sleep until 3 p.m. I can easily justify sleeping all day when I am working all night. It usually takes me a day of not working to recover. If I worked days, my mind would wander and sleep would not occur until later, which would leave my sleeping during the day anyway. My nights off I can stay up and enjoy evens to work on school, personal projects, or anything else than enjoy the afternoon.
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